Recent fighting between the Tatmadaw (government army) and the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (DKBA) could delay the progress of upcoming political talks, said Nai Hongsar, who is the leader of the Nationwide Ceasefire Coordination Team (NCCT) and also the Vice-Chairman of the United Nationalities Federation Council (UNFC).
He said: “This conflict could impact on the talks and could also [reduce people's] faith [in the talks]. [We] do not want to undo the results we have already obtained during the ongoing search for a ceasefire. Both sides need to work hard and not lose their momentum [in their search for a ceasefire agreement].
Nai Hongsar also said that because the already signed union-level ceasefire had not included any agreements regarding the location of army bases or rules that either side should follow clashes would be inevitable.
The NCCT and the Union Peace-Making Working Committee (UPWC) agreed at its recent sixth round talks, held at the Myanmar Peace Centre in Ragoon from 22nd to 26th September, that both sides would engage in another round of talks at the end of October. According to Nai Hongsar, the next round of talks will include discussions regarding the locations of respective armed groups, rules the armed groups must obey and the foundation of observer groups.
He said: "The UNFC is still working on [a draft document] detailing the locations of armed groups' bases. If it is not ready in time the talks can be postponed to next month.
Meanwhile, NCCT leaders have recognized that the continued fighting between the Tatmadaw and ethnic armed groups is reducing the chances that talks regarding a nationwide ceasefire agreement will succeed. It is also disrupting the peace talks.
NCCT leaders worry that the peace process may regress, since, in addition to fighting in Karen State, fighting continues to occur between government troops and local armed groups in Shan and Kachin states, according to U Nyo Ohn Myint, a member of the Myanmar Peace Center (MPC).
He said: “Some leaders are very concerned about the [next] talks.They cannot fail because both sides want peace for the whole nation. These talks will not be abandoned. We will meet, again, by the end of this month, but we have not scheduled the date yet. When both sides meet again the conflict issues will be negotiated and solved first and then [ceasefire] talks will be discussed.”
