The 7 EAO (Ethnic Armed Organizations) Alliance has stated that it is taking new approaches to address the ongoing political, military, economic, and social hardships people across the country face.
The third meeting of the 7 EAO Alliance’s leadership team was held online on January 14, 2025, with 22 attendees, including leaders, executive members, and relevant committee members.
During the meeting, a representative from one of the ethnic armed groups said that the alliance is focusing on establishing federal principles, negotiating and drafting constitutions tailored to individual states, and fostering the development of a federal military that aligns with the future federal union. Additionally, they discussed ramping up humanitarian activities that are currently being carried out.
“The purpose of the current meeting is to find new ways to overcome the existing hardships, and it can be described as a platform for broad mutual discussion and coordination. In terms of process, there are two main areas: one is the tasks that each of our seven groups needs to perform, and the other is our ability to discuss and coordinate with external groups,” the representative stated.
Moreover, due to the importance of external involvement in resolving the country’s crisis, the alliance plans to engage more with other ethnic armed groups and seek ways to engage with ASEAN countries and international figures involved in the previous Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) process.
Despite the challenges of connecting with other ethnic armed groups in the current expanded military context, the representative emphasized their efforts to overcome these difficulties as much as possible.
“The political dialogue that includes all relevant parties is not easy to establish, but we understand that solving political problems ultimately requires political negotiations. We will do our best to tackle the challenges and hardships in our capacity,” the representative added.
The 7 EAO Alliance has been conducting online meetings like this one every four months since its formation in March 2024. The alliance was reorganized after the NCA ceasefire, with the participation of several ethnic armed groups, including the Shan State Restoration Council (RCSS), the New Mon State Party (NMSP), the Pa-O National Liberation Organization (PNLO), the Arakan Liberation Party (ALP), the Lahu Democratic Union (LDU), the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (DKBA), and the Karen National Union (KNU/KNLA-PC).
