The Irrawaddy

December 03, 2003—A delegation from the KNU will travel to Rangoon for talks with the government in the near future, according to a well-placed source within the Karen National Union (KNU), who asked not to be named.

Gen Khin Nyunt met with KNU leaders in 1995

Karen sources said five junior army officers would fly to Rangoon from Bangkok very soon. The nature of the discussions is not yet known and some senior KNU officials are not well informed about the trip, said the source.

Meanwhile, Burma’s military government is open to dialogue with the KNU without conditions, said a KNU leader.

Col San Pwint, a spokesman for Burma’s Ministry of Defense, told the KNU that the government is open to talks, but would not accept the presence of any third parties, such as Thai or Western representatives, said Gen Tamalar Baw, a KNU chief of staff. Col San Pwint met with KNU leaders on Nov 22 in Mae Sot, on the Thai-Burma border. The Burmese colonel reportedly invited Karen leaders to visit Rangoon "to see for themselves."

Gen Tamalar Baw declined to comment on what topics would be covered in any dialogue between the two groups. He said the KNU could have a bilateral meeting with the military government without changing their policy, which encourages tripartite dialogue between ethnic groups, the opposition and the ruling junta.

Some colleagues who traveled to Mae Sot with Col San Pwint said "it is a good time to negotiate," according to Gen Tamalar Baw.

Burma’s Prime Minister Gen Khin Nyunt has already met with leaders of the United Wa State Army, Kachin Independence Organization and Shan State Army (North) to discuss his proposed road map and the National Convention, which is set to reconvene in early 2004. All three groups have signed ceasefire agreements with Rangoon.

The KNU is the largest armed ethnic group to hold out on signing a ceasefire with Rangoon. It has been fighting successive Burmese governments for nearly 55 years.

The KNU and the junta have met to discuss a possible ceasefire four times since 1995. None resulted in any agreement. The junta demanded that the KNU lay down its arms and stop hostilities with the Burma Army but the condition that the group disarm was not acceptable to the KNU leadership.