Min Thu Tha – Nai Hong Sar, who leads the Nationwide Ceasefire Coordination Team (NCCT) that is negotiating on behalf of Burma’s armed ethnic groups, said that a nationwide ceasefire agreement (NCA) will not be signed in August. The NCCT leader made this statement after meeting with members of the Union Peace-Making Working Committee (UPWC), which is responsible for negotiating with armed ethnic groups on behalf of Burma’s government.
Nai Hong Sar said the government’s alleged intention to sign a NCA by August was just propaganda because “There are still disagreements on key points of the ‘single text draft’ [of the NCA. For example,] the government side doesn’t even accept the term ‘federal’. [Also,] there is no agreement…about how to proceed after signing the NCA.”
Crucially, the NCCT leader indicated that the government isn’t prepared to accept the establishment of a federal union with national equality and autonomy. In this regard, Nai Hong Sar said that “If we look at it generally, a federal union based on ethnic equality should be founded because ethnic unity is vital. The president and members of [parliament] are saying that domestic peace must be established, but in reality when we have discussions the army refuses to contemplate [a federal union].”
Nai Hong also said there was greater consensus between the two sides when the government was negotiating with a different alliance of ethnic armed group leaders called the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC). However, after the NCCT was formed Nai Hong Sar said that many Burmese generals reverted to their old hard-line positions. UNFC members plan to meet soon to discuss the so-called “single text” NCA in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
The second round of talks on drafting a “single text” NCA were held from May 21-23 at the Myanmar Peace Center in Rangoon, and the third round will be held in the same place this month, according to a joint statement issued by the UPWC and NCCT
Earlier this month, Karen National Union (KNU) delegates held talks with President Thein Sein and Burma’s Commander-in-Chief, Min Aung Hlaing, during which they agreed that the NCA would be finalized within three months, according to Burmese news outlets.
