Representatives from the Burmese military’s Triangle Region Command in Shan State have met members of the Shan State Army at a secret location near the Thai-Burmese border to negotiate a ceasefire agreement, according to sources close to the Shan rebels.

Col Yawd Serk, leader of the Shan State Army (South)—the strongest of Burma’s armed ethnic opposition groups—agreed to talk to Burmese military officials by way of Thai military negotiators, the sources said.

The Shan rebels were represented by a 5-member delegation, led by Maj Sai Lao Hseng, who also serves as the SSA’s spokesperson.

“I know that the position of the SSA is that surrender will be out of the question,” Khun Sai, editor of the Shan Herald Agency for News, told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday. “If there is an agreement for a ceasefire, two basic conditions would have to be met: the agreement must also include Karen and Karenni armed groups, and there must be a follow-up discussion of political issues as soon as possible.”

The SSA-S controls areas of southern Shan State in northeastern Burma near the border with Thailand. Burmese troops have conducted offensives against their positions for several years.

Yawd Serk formed the SSA-S when Khun Sa's Mong Tai Army surrendered to the Burma's junta in 1996. He also serves as the chairman of the Restoration Council of Shan State, the political wing of the SSA-S.

Irrawaddy.org