FRIDAY, March 29, 2024
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Only 12 ethnic armed groups to attend Panghsang summit

Only 12 ethnic armed groups to attend Panghsang summit

Only 12 of Myanmar's ethnic armed forces will attend the 3-day peace-building summit in Panghsang region, Shan State, further casting doubt on the ceasefire agreement.

Expected to be signed before the election, the nationwide ceasefire accord needs endorsement from all to ensure true peace in the country where sporadic fighting still occurs. Leaders of the armed groups are expected to voice their supports to the draft agreement reached by the government and 14 armed groups.
The Nationwide Ceasefire Coordination Team (NCCT), formed in November 2013 by 16 ethnic armed rebel organisations, had urged the organiser, United Wa State Army (UWSA), to include more groups. Among 16 members, only the Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO) and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) have yet to reach accords with the government.
Currently, only nine members of the NCCT have been invited to the summit which will start on May 1, while seven have been excluded.
NCCT groups that were not invited include the Chin National Front (CNF), Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), KNU's peace council, Lahu Democratic Union (LDU), Wa National Organization (WNO), Arakan Liberation Party (ALP) and Arakan National Council (ANC). Also, the All Burma Student's Democratic Front (ABSDF) and Naga group currently have ceasefire agreements with the government and have not been invited.
"NCCT will be invited as the representative, which means not every member of the NCCT will be invited," said an unidentified source within the ethnic armed forces.
The reasons for exclusion of other groups are varied. For example, ABSDF was not invited because at their core, they do not represent an ethnicity, the source said.
Aung Myint, deputy secretary of the Central office of UWSA, explained that the invited groups will be represented by their chairpersons, vice-chairpersons, military leaders and other staff. It will be announced later which local and international news media will be allowed to cover the summit.
The following groups have been invited: Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS), KIO, Karen National Union (KNU), Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP), Pa-Oh National Liberation Organisation (PNLO), New Mon-State Party (NMSP), UWSA, Palaung State Liberation Front (PSLF/TNLA), Arakan Army (AA), Shan State Progressive Party (SSPP/SSA), Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) and National Democratic Alliance Army (NDAA).
New fighting erupted during the traditional New Year holiday period, when the military and Kachin Independence Army – KIO’s armed force - opened fired on April 18 and 19 in Hpakant, Kachin State.
This followed clashes in January, also in Hpakant, when the KIA blocked the way of Kachin State Transportation Minister and arrested three policemen of the minister’s security force.
The lastest fighting broke out despite both sides reached an agreement on April 6 to prevent further clashes.
Fighting with rebels in Kokang Self-Administered Zone is northern Shan State since February 9 has also continued. According to the government, 110 soldiers have died and 259 have been injured from February 9 to March 21, from 253 clashes.
Within over two months, there are 24,200 war refugees sent to their respective areas across the nation through Thiri Mingalar Mansu Shan Monastery. Some from Laukkai have returned home last week, under the government-arranged transportation service.
On April 18, the commander-in-chief of the defence services, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, said that Kokang clashes are nearing an end.
“Thank you for your help. Now the clashes are nearly at an end,” Min Aung Hlaing told injured soldiers at No.9 Military Hospital, Lashio.
The rebels belong to Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), which is a member of the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC) – another umbrella of armed groups.
The UNFC’s chairperson, N’Ban La, sent an open letter to the President Thein Sein on April 13, calling on him to stop the military’s offensives and resolve the conflict through talks, as the fighting was an obstacle to the nationwide ceasefire process.
Clashes with the military also took place in Rakhine State over the past few weeks, the first such battles in about a decade. The Arakan Army aims to pressure the government to include it among rebel groups engaged in the peace talks.
"We were very upset because the government does not recognise our claim to membership in the Nationwide Ceasefire Coordination Team," General Nyunt Htun Aung, the second incommand of the Arakan Army, said in a telephone interview.  "The Arakan Army will be more active in Rakhine state in the future since our army is stronger than before," Nyunt Htun Aung told Reuters. "It's time to stand along with our people."
The ranks of the Arakan Army have grown in the past year to more than 2,000, from about 300 fighters, he said, with training from KIA.  It has also joined forces with MNDAA.
But Rakhine state government official Hla Thein dismissed the threat from the Arakan Army, calling it incapable of a serious insurgency, such as that in Kokang led by the MNDAA, a well-armed ethnic Han Chinese rebel group.

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