Two Holdout Myanmar Armed Ethnic Groups Agree to Cease-Fire Deal
Two Holdout Myanmar Armed Ethnic Groups Agree to Cease-Fire Deal
RFA, 29 Aug 2014
URL: http://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/cease-fire-08292014165117.html
Two major Myanmar armed ethnic groups that have shunned talks to enter into a nationwide ceasefire agreement with President Thein Sein’s government have agreed to sign a peace deal that could be clinched as early as next month.
The United Wa State Army (UWSA), the country’s largest armed rebel group, and the National Democratic Alliance Army (NDAA) from eastern Shan State this week agreed to be included in a cease-fire accord in the final stage of negotiations between the government and an alliance of rebel organizations.
The UWSA and NDAA are not members of the National Cease-fire Coordination Team (NCCT), an alliance of 16 armed ethnic groups which has been negotiating the cease-fire deal with the government’s Union Peace Working Committee (UPWC).
“We support NCCT and UPWC’s discussion as they are both working for the country’s peace,” NDAA representative Kham Maung told RFA’s Myanmar Service.
But both the armed ethnic groups have individual cease-fire agreements with the government, which now wants a collective nationwide cease-fire pact with all groups before forging a political dialogue aimed at granting greater autonomy to ethnic states.
“We have already signed a state-level and union-level [agreement],” Kham Maung said. ‘We will join the political talks after the nationwide cease-fire.”
A senior official of the government-affiliated Myanmar Peace Center (MPC) said the UWSA and the NDAA would sign the nationwide cease-fire agreement when completed.
"Both of the ethic armed groups will sign the nationwide cease-fire deal. They will not secede from the Union," the official said, according to the Myanmar Eleven newspaper.
The United Wa State Army (UWSA), the country’s largest armed rebel group, and the National Democratic Alliance Army (NDAA) from eastern Shan State this week agreed to be included in a cease-fire accord in the final stage of negotiations between the government and an alliance of rebel organizations.
The UWSA and NDAA are not members of the National Cease-fire Coordination Team (NCCT), an alliance of 16 armed ethnic groups which has been negotiating the cease-fire deal with the government’s Union Peace Working Committee (UPWC).
“We support NCCT and UPWC’s discussion as they are both working for the country’s peace,” NDAA representative Kham Maung told RFA’s Myanmar Service.
But both the armed ethnic groups have individual cease-fire agreements with the government, which now wants a collective nationwide cease-fire pact with all groups before forging a political dialogue aimed at granting greater autonomy to ethnic states.
“We have already signed a state-level and union-level [agreement],” Kham Maung said. ‘We will join the political talks after the nationwide cease-fire.”
A senior official of the government-affiliated Myanmar Peace Center (MPC) said the UWSA and the NDAA would sign the nationwide cease-fire agreement when completed.
"Both of the ethic armed groups will sign the nationwide cease-fire deal. They will not secede from the Union," the official said, according to the Myanmar Eleven newspaper.