The National Solidarity and Peacemaking Negotiation Committee (NSPNC) established by the Military Council, did not accept a proposal developed by 7 ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) who signed the National Ceasefire Agreement to hold a meeting.
The ethnic armed organizations that proposed to meet with the NSPNC include the Reconstruction Council of Shan State (RCSS), the Rakhine State Liberation Party (ALP), the New Mon State Party (NMSP), the Lahu Democratic Union (LDU), the Karen National Union/Karen National Liberation Army-Peace Council (KNU/KNLA-PC), the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), and the Pa-O National Liberation Organization (PNLO).
These 7 ethnic armed organizations have each signed the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA), and have held individual meetings and discussions with the Military Council.
These 7 EAOs recently proposed an informal meeting with the NSPNC on December 7, but the NSPNC replied that they were not ready to meet.
According to Col. Saw Kyaw Nyunt, spokesperson of the negotiation team, “As far as I know, their opinion came back on the 8th. They are not ready to meet and hold any discussions. Our proposal was to establish when and where we want to meet, and when we want to meet again. As you can see in the letter, it is our negotiation letter and proposal. We are proposing the program that we are working on. However, the NSPNC side is not ready to discuss the proposal. We have not even been able to discuss potential dates for such a meeting,” he said.
On December 12, 2022, in Chiang Mai, Thailand, a small number of representatives from both sides began a dialogue . Then it was proposed to meet in Taunggyi (or) Mawlamyine on December 15-17, and later to hold formal discussions in Yangon on December 20-21.
U Than Soe Naing, a political analyst, said rejecting the idea of even holding discussions may be because there is no evident benefit at a time when war is being fought.
“There is no benefit in holding discussions when the war is in full swing. This is one possible reason for the NSPNC rejection,” added U Than Soe Naing.
Comrade Aye Lwin, spokesperson for the All Burma Students’ Democratic Front (ABSDF), agreed, saying “there is no reason to meet with the junta in the current context.”
Proponents for the idea of dialogue initially hoped to hold an informal meeting to try and reach a negotiated agreement. This idea was driven as an effort to alleviate a crisis that people have been facing for almost 2 years.
