Myanmar Govt and Karen rebels sign cease-fire

MyanmarGovernment and one of the main ethnic country, rebel groups signed a cease-fire Thursday, hoping to end one of the causes of civil conflicts longest in the world.

Interim the most recent attempts to reform Myanmar, a delegation of Ministers of the capital of Naypyidaw and senior members of the Union Karen National (KNU) has signed the Covenant of PA - an, capital of the war-torn Eastern Karen State.

KNU, as David Htaw spokesman, said that the Group has now choose that would allow you to maintain a representative to speak more with the Central Government within 45 days of the preliminary pact, he said "is based on trust".

"Our task started barely". "" We need many things, "he told journalists, adding that the Government had shown"real good will"."

The military-dominated Governmentin March last year after decades of a military regime pure and simple, attempted to join the ethnic groups in apparently reforms to end their isolated status.

Railways Aung min, among those who signed the cease-fire declared the day a "victory for 60 million people" - to the entire population of Myanmar.

The United States welcomed the move as a "good step".

Spokesman for the State Department that Victora Nuland said that Washington had long called for the dialogue between the Government and ethnic rebels and that a "central theme" as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton talks with Myanmar heads of State and Government had been there over a month.

Parts of the civil war in the country since independence in 1948 and the end of the conflict as also allege violations of human rights, taken by Government troops, is a fundamental requirement of the international community.

Many villagers stage Karen Stateof Myanmar oldest insurgency, have been forced to flee and tens of thousands of refugees in the life of the camps at the border in Thailand.

Permission groups say that the Government intentionally, counterinsurgency they go of their homes, destroy campaigns on civilian villages in the years and force them to work outside the army has directed.

News of the truce is suspicious of Karen worldwide communities, commends the Karen represents the eastern region of Myanmar refugees.

"Treats the symptoms, not the causes of a single ceasefire." It must also sustainable political dialogue for a political solution ", said a statement accusing the Government neither attack and kill in Karen villages." "

Myanmar expert Renaud Egreteau, at the University of Hong Kong, warned that previous attempts on a lasting peace and have required all splinter groups Karen be included in the continuation of the necessary negotiations.

"We should at this stage of temperament of euphoria," he told AFP.

Myanmar General dos justified decades of iron as the military regime as a means to maintain stability and unity in a country where a third of the population of ethnic minorities.

Although the peace agreement with the ethnic KNU is marked a major breakthrough with one of the most known groups of rebels, the tensions with other ethnic groups seeking much more autonomy and rights remain.

The fighting in northern Kachin State between the army and the rebels since last June, tens of thousands of people have replaced the year.

The conflict has Thein in his order of the army to stop refugees international operations group noisy global campaign despite President.

In December, a ceasefire was reached a different ethnic guerrilla group, grand based in northeastern Shan State between local Government deal and Shan State Army South.

Since then, have other steps include discussions with the icon of democracy Aung San Suu Kyi, in a special election in April and reduce an unpopular Chinese dam supported by mega promising are the installation of a new Government allowed.

The United States and the European Union have however, for advance called before they lift the economic sanctions, in particular for the release of hundreds of political prisoners and the end of ethnic conflicts.