Myanmar Ethnic Armies Call For All-Inclusive Cease-Fire, End of Hostilities
Myanmar Ethnic Armies Call For All-Inclusive Cease-Fire, End of Hostilities
Radio Free Asia, 07 May 2015
URL: http://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/summit-05072015171353.html
Myanmar’s armed ethnic groups have called on the government to include all ethnic rebel armies in a final nationwide cease-fire agreement (NCA) and to cease hostilities against three of the groups if the peace deal is to proceed, sources said Thursday.
At the end of a six-day summit to discuss a draft NCA at the headquarters of the United Wa State Army in Pangsang, Shan state, representatives of 12 armed ethnic groups released a 12-point statement outlining their demands to government negotiators before a final deal could be signed.
The statement urged Myanmar’s army to end fighting with the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) in Shan state’s Kokang region, the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) in northern Shan state, and the Arakan Army (AA) in Rakhine state and called on the government to include the three groups in a final NCA.
It also requested mediation from the United Nations and China on the NCA process, called for an end to human rights violations committed by government troops in ethnic areas, pressed for reform of Myanmar’s 2008 junta-backed constitution, and demanded the creation of a Wa state as part of a federal union.
Khu Oo Yal, secretary of the United Wa State Army (UWSA), which hosted the summit, told RFA’s Myanmar Service that there could be no final NCA without the MDNAA, an ethnic Chinese group also known as the Kokang army, the TNLA and the AA.
“We all agreed that every ethnic armed group should be included when the final NCA is signed to make it a truly ‘nationwide’ agreement,” he said.
If the government refuses, rebel groups will continue negotiations in a peaceful way, Khu Oo Yal said, though he warned that if their demands are not met “the problem of the ethnic armed groups will never be solved.”
“We all need to think seriously about this if we really want peace in our country,” he said.
“These armed groups will keep fighting with the government army if they are ignored. That’s why we all are urging the government to include all ethnic armed groups when the final NCA is signed.”
At the end of a six-day summit to discuss a draft NCA at the headquarters of the United Wa State Army in Pangsang, Shan state, representatives of 12 armed ethnic groups released a 12-point statement outlining their demands to government negotiators before a final deal could be signed.
The statement urged Myanmar’s army to end fighting with the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) in Shan state’s Kokang region, the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) in northern Shan state, and the Arakan Army (AA) in Rakhine state and called on the government to include the three groups in a final NCA.
It also requested mediation from the United Nations and China on the NCA process, called for an end to human rights violations committed by government troops in ethnic areas, pressed for reform of Myanmar’s 2008 junta-backed constitution, and demanded the creation of a Wa state as part of a federal union.
Khu Oo Yal, secretary of the United Wa State Army (UWSA), which hosted the summit, told RFA’s Myanmar Service that there could be no final NCA without the MDNAA, an ethnic Chinese group also known as the Kokang army, the TNLA and the AA.
“We all agreed that every ethnic armed group should be included when the final NCA is signed to make it a truly ‘nationwide’ agreement,” he said.
If the government refuses, rebel groups will continue negotiations in a peaceful way, Khu Oo Yal said, though he warned that if their demands are not met “the problem of the ethnic armed groups will never be solved.”
“We all need to think seriously about this if we really want peace in our country,” he said.
“These armed groups will keep fighting with the government army if they are ignored. That’s why we all are urging the government to include all ethnic armed groups when the final NCA is signed.”