Six ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) have issued a joint statement urging the United Nations, ASEAN, and international diplomats not to attend the upcoming ceremony marking the 10th anniversary of the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA), which is organized by the junta’s Peace Commission.
According to Nai Gongsakar, spokesperson for the New Mon State Party (Anti-Dictatorship), NMSP-AD, the ongoing peace talks and elections held by the junta are merely performative and lack genuine substance. He emphasized that ASEAN and the international community must recognize that these processes will not resolve the current military conflicts.
“What they are doing is just a show. There’s no real meaning in their so-called peace talks. ASEAN, the UN, and the international community need to understand this—that’s why we’re speaking out. Pretending like there’s peace won’t bring real peace, nor will it solve the ongoing conflicts. None of the five ASEAN consensus points has been implemented. They are only working to prolong the military dictatorship and the 2008 Constitution. The international community should neither recognize nor support them. Any dialogue should include all stakeholders. What they’re doing now is the wrong path, and the revolutionary people do not support it,” said Nai Gongsakar.
The six EAOs stated that attending the NCA anniversary event would mean supporting the junta responsible for daily airstrikes, civilian killings, and the forced conscription of young people. They called on the international community to stand with the people by boycotting the ceremony and refusing to legitimize the junta’s “staged peace process,” which fuels instability in Myanmar and across the region.
Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, head of the junta’s Peace Commission, had earlier invited international witnesses who participated in the original NCA signing to attend the 10th anniversary event.
Padoh Saw Taw Nee, spokesperson for the Karen National Union (KNU), also denounced the event, saying: “When we were trying our best for peace, they ruined it instead of improving it. What they’re doing now has no legitimacy. After we declared the NCA void, fighting broke out everywhere. That’s the reality we see. Yet the Peace Commission still pretends nothing is wrong and continues to hold meaningless meetings. Nothing they’ve done has succeeded. The more they do these things dishonestly, the worse the outcomes will be.”
The six ethnic armed organizations that jointly issued the statement are the All Burma Students’ Democratic Front (ABSDF), the Chin National Front (CNF), the Karen National Union (KNU), the New Mon State Party (Anti-Dictatorship) [NMSP-AD], the Pa-O National Liberation Organization (PNLO), and the Lahu Democratic Union (LDU).
The Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) was originally signed on October 15, 2015, by eight ethnic armed groups, including the KNU, CNF, ABSDF, and PNLO, with the goal of resolving Myanmar’s political crisis through political dialogue. Later, the New Mon State Party (NMSP) and Lahu Democratic Union (LDU) joined the agreement on February 13, 2018.
