KNU urge Govt to send higher ranked officers to peace-talks

The Karen National Union has requested that the Burmese government include members of its military elite in future ‘peace talks’ between the two sides.

In a meeting held yesterday, in the Burma border town of Myawaddy, the KNU chairman General Saw Mutu Say Poe met with Burma’s Vice-President, Sai Mauk Kham.

According to a KNU source, General Mutu, the heads of Pa-an District and of Doo Pla Ya District meet Vice-President, Sei Mauk Kham and a number of the countries high-ranking military leaders.

The Vice-President, Sei Muak Kham and other government ministers were visiting Myawaddy to evaluated the local education and health situation and to inspect the Thai-Myanmar Friendship Bridge and the Myawaddy border trading zone.

The KNU source said the meeting between the Karen leaders and the government delegation was informal.

The KNU leaders repeated their position to the government delegation that the KNU would only carry out development projects and, only after reaching a concrete cease-fire agreement. The KNU urged the government ministers to include more high-ranking Tatmadaw (Burma Army) leaders in any future talks.

The KNU and Burma government reached a preliminary cease-fire in January 2012.