The comments were made at a ceremony to celebrate the first anniversary of the NCA signing at the MCC 1 Hall in Naypyitaw on 15 October.

In his opening speech at the ceremony General Mutu Say Poe said: “Although Myanmar is enjoying diplomatic support and international recognition for commencing political dialogues within the one year’s period of the NCA and holding the Union Peace Conference — 21st Century Panglong, it should also be noted that there are still weaknesses in implementing the NCA.”

He explained that though there has been bilateral policy dialogue at union level there are still limitations to implementing the NCA at state and regional levels.

He said that at present the NCA appears to be an elite peace process and that it has to move on to become a more inclusive process.

On behalf of the NCA signatories Gen. Mutu Say Poe also urged the Burmese Government and the Burma Army to relax their policies, suspend the use of force in the country’s northern areas and to avoid conflict with NCA signatories in order to pave the way for non-signatory groups to sign the NCA.

Also attending the ceremony were President U Htin Kyaw, State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (national parliament) Speaker Mahn Win Khaing Than and Burma Army Commander-in-Chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing. There were also representatives from all the EAOs that signed the NCA and invited local and foreign guests.

In her speech Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said: “It’s been a year since the signing of the NCA. It is sorrowful that none of the organisations that did not sign the NCA, have signed the agreement within a one year period. I want to tell the government, the Tatmadaw (Burma Army), and ethnic organisations to compete among themselves to see who is the most maganimous, who is the most forgiving and who cherishes the present more than the past.”

In his speech Sen. Gen. Min Aung Hlaing said that all the NCA signatories accept that the 70-year-long ethnic armed conflict is a political issue that needs to be solved through political dialogue.

He said that the NCA is a result of negotiations between the Burmese Government and EAOs, so it would be inappropriate to start engaging in national-level political dialogue because that would override the NCA.

The Burmese Government signed the NCA with eight EAOs at the MCC 2 Hall in Naypyitaw on 15 October 2015. Since then there has been fighting between the Burma Army and NCA signatories.

Reporting by Saw Tun Lin for KIC News
Translated by Thida Linn
Edited in English by Mark Inkey for BNI