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Kokang group needs to be inclusive in Myanmar's ceasefire accord signing: peace negotiator

Xinhua, March 21, 2015 Adjust font size:

Peace negotiator of ethnic armed groups taking part in peace talks with the government in Yangon said on Saturday that the signing of the nationwide ceasefire agreement should include Kokang armed group to ensure peace.

U Naing Han Tha, chairman of ethnic armed groups' Nationwide Ceasefire Coordination Team (NCCT), said that the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) is a member of the NCCT and exclusion of it in the signing of the nationwide ceasefire agreement will be impossible to gain peace and the accord would not be complete.

U Hla Maung Shwe, peace negotiator of the government, revealed that fifth day peace talks between the government's Union Peace- Making Work Committee (UPWC) and the NCCT was smooth, leaving a few points expected to be finalized on Sunday.

By far, the two sides have agreed to raise the Kokang issue as a topic to be separately discussed.

Peace negotiators of the Myanmar government and ethnic armed groups resumed their formal 7th round of peace talks in Yangon on Tuesday focusing on a few remaining points in the draft nationwide ceasefire accord left by previous talks in a bid to push for its finalization.

The peace talks, preliminarily set for six days and are being participated by representatives of the parliament, military officials and government ministers, is witnessed by the United Nations Special Envoy Vijay Nambiar and Chinese Foreign Ministry Special Envoy for Asian Affairs Wang Yingfan.

Meanwhile, heavy fighting between government forces and Kokang ethnic army continued almost on a daily basis with the government forces resorting to air strikes. Endi