Rebels undecided on ceasefire
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Several ethnic groups are yet to decide whether they will sign the nationwide ceasefire agreement despite meeting President Thein Sein, said Chin National Front Secretary General Pu Zin Kyone.
Thein Sein and the rebel groups held talks on September 9 before they met the government's chief peace negotiator Aung Min in the afternoon. Pu Zin Kyone said that the president urged them to sign it early next month.
"We cannot decide today whether we will sign the deal. We have to coordinate with each other on which day we should sign and which groups will be included. We will do this only after detailed preconditions," Pu Zin Kyone told reporters.
He said the negotiation team was formed from 17 armed groups, of whom 15 are set to sign the accord. The government recognised 11 of them but the agreement should be reached with the remaining six groups, he added.
The meeting with the president mainly focused on those six groups and on allowing three of them to enter the talks as no clashes had occurred between them and the government, said Pu Zin Kyone.
President's promise
After the meeting, President Thein Sein promised that the ethnic groups which sign the nationwide ceasefire agreement will be removed from the unlawful associations list.
Hla Maung Shwe from the Myanmar Peace Centre said: “The important issue is about unlawful associations. The president has promised to remove them from the unlawful associations list before they sign the agreement. What is more, the groups which do not sign will also invited to political talks. They won’t face action under the Unlawful Association Act.”
Aung Naing Oo from the centre said: “The agreement will be signed in the first week of October. The president agrees with the all-inclusive policy. The government will choose the exact date. The remaining groups, including the Lahu, Kokang and Wa, will be invited to political talks.
“We hope most groups will sign the agreement, not all of them.”
Padoh Saw Kwal Htoo Win from Karen National Union said: “The president will announce the removal of groups from the unlawful associations list a day or two before the ceasefire is signed.”
Rebel groups' reaction
In their joint statement, the Arakan Army, Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army and Palaung State Liberation Front – three of the groups not recognised by the government, said the next administration should resolve conflicts based on the Panglong Agreement.
The Panglong Agreement was reached in Panglong, southern Shan State, between General Aung San and the Shan, Kachin, and Chin peoples on February 12, 1947. The agreement accepted "full autonomy in internal administration for the frontier areas" and envisioned a federal union. It is celebrated in Myanmar as Union Day each February 12.
The three ggroups said the soon-to-signed ceasefire was an important deal capable of supporting genuine peace. The three organisations said they would stand by the principles laid down at the Laiza and Law Khee Lar summits earlier this year.
The statement said the groups valued mutual respect for national equality and autonomy, that they decided to work together in political and military affairs and that the leaders strongly condemned the army’s attacks on the ethnic groups, despite requests for an immediate ceasefire.
