"In January 2012, our Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies facilitate a visit of the Karen National Union to visit the Moro Islamic Libera tion Front in Cotobato City, Mindanao. The KNU had asked about the experience of armed groups in ceasefires, and there is no better place in the region today than to see how hard the Philippine government and MILF have worked to sustain a ceasefire while there peace talks go on. The Chairman of the MILF peace panel, Mohagher Iqbal, chose carefully his advice to the KNU. Number one he said: ?Prepare, prepare, prepare. And when you think you are ready prepare some more.” He explained that as an armed group you have been well trained to fight in the jungle, but negotiations is a different arena, and requires training, preparation, knowledge, awareness, tactics, strategies, skills. He understood that even when you think as the group demanding your right you are ready, there will some aspect of the negotiation you have not yet considered. Secondly, he said: Maintain military discipline. He said military discipline is not just for fighting wars. He said when you sign a ceasefire agreement you need to ensure that your chain of command is in tact. A ceasefire does not mean disarm. A ceasefire is the ceasing of hostilities so talks can go on. If you sign a peace agreement you need to know that when you tell you troops to disarm they will put down their guns and they will go home. You can negotiate confident you cannot deliver on your own promise. Thirdly he said: You will think negotiating with your opponent is hard, but negotiating within your own group is even harder. Unifying and bringing your people along with the negotiation is the most challenging aspect of peace talks. At times you will feel closer to your negotiating counterpart, then you do to your own stakeholders..."