Leaders of Myanmar’s armed ethnic groups on Tuesday amended a draft nationwide cease-fire accord (NCA) during an eight-day summit at Law Khee Lah, Karen State, after a special 15-member team was formed to discuss changes and supplements to the document, an official who was appointed head of the team said according to a report by RFA on 8 June.
“Leaders from all groups have accepted the points that we added to draft nationwide cease-fire agreement (NCA), and we have to discuss these [new points] in the future,” said Zipporah Sein, the KNU vice president, who was elected by the Nationwide Ceasefire Coordinating Team (NCCT) coalition of 16 armed ethnic groups to lead the committee.
The NCCT, which signed a draft peace deal with the government’s Union Peace Working Committee (UPWC) on March 31, wants the team be restructured into a committee that negotiates the amendments with the government, according to a report by Eleven Myanmar media group.
“The government has to work on the agreements we already have if it really wants to have a nationwide cease-fire,” she said.
Government negotiators previously informed the NCCT that it planned to sign the final NCA this month with subsequent political dialogue conducted in late October or early November around the time of this year’s general elections, Eleven Myanmar media group reported.
Although the NCCT and UPWC have agreed on most of the accord’s content, some areas of disagreement remain.
The group headed by Zipporah Sein is insisting that the final NCA include the three ethnic groups with which the government is still at odds because of ongoing military clashes in northeastern Shan state—the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), the ethnic Kokang’s Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) and the Arakan Army (AA).