Ceasefire deal needs military code of conduct - ethnic group
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A military code of conduct must be included in the ceasefire agreement between the government and ethnic armed groups, says the Chin National Front (CNF).
“There have been a few skirmishes in the areas that have agreed to ceasefires. Both sides need to agree on including a military code of conduct when signing the ceasefire agreement, in order to prevent these minor conflicts from occurring,” said the CNF’s Salai Lian Hmung.
During a seminar on trust-building for peace held in conflict-hit Shan State on Saturday, Minister Aung Min, vice chairman of the Union Peacemaking Work Committee, said that the government has signed 37 national-level ceasefire agreements with 14 ethnic armed groups and is still in discussions with the Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO) and the Palaung State Liberation Front/Ta’ang National Liberation Army (PSLF/TNLA).
Fighting between the government and the KIO resumed in 2011 after a 17-year-old ceasefire agreement broke down. The KIO has said that they want to give priority to political dialogue rather than a ceasefire.
“It doesn’t make sense to hold a nationwide ceasefire [ceremony] without the Kachin [KIO]. It can only be done after including everyone,” said Salai Lian Hmung.
Although the government’s Peacemaking Work Committee and the Palaung State Liberation Front/Ta’ang National Liberation Army (PSLF/TNLA) held discussions in July to sign ceasefire agreements, there have been skirmishes between the two sides.
The government will invite all 16 ethnic armies to sign a nationwide ceasefire agreement at the end of October. So far, though, no ethnic group has said it will accept the invitation.
