The claim was made by U Aung Min, the Union Minister and Vice-chairman of the government's ceasefire negotiating team, the Union Peace-Making Working Committee (UPWC) during a meeting with political parties at the Myanmar Peace Centre (MPC) on Monday 14 September.

He claimed that the government was unaware of the existence of the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) and the Arakan Army (AA)  when it took office in 2010 and when it invited EAOs to participate in the NCA process, which is why the government will not let the MNDAA or the AA sign the NCA.

When political parties at the meeting suggested that all EAOs should be allowed to sign the NCA U Aung Min explained to representatives from the  thePhalon-Sagaw Democratic Party, the Ta’aung (Palaung) National Party and the National Democratic Party why the government would not allow the excluded EAOs to sign the NCA.

He said: "After the president took office on 18 August 2011 all [the EAOs] from the whole country were invited to peace [talks]. At that time our government only knew of 16 [ethnic armed] organisations. We did not know the AA, we only got to know of it when [AA] cadets were shot dead in Laiza [at a Kachin Independence Army (KIA) base on 19 November 2014]. We got to know that there was an AA when the news about the deaths of the AA cadets was reported. Similarly, we only found out about the MNDAA in February 2015 when fighting erupted with the government troops. We only got to know about the MNDAA at that time. it did not exist in the past, but we were told of the Kokang armed group and it was officially [legally] recognised by the government, [but] not the MNDAA, this armed group has just emerged."

U Aung Min also explained that government representatives had gone to Muse Town to meet with the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) but no agreement was reached. Following that the president summoned U Maung Kyaw, the chairman of the Palaung Region Administration and directed him to meet with the TNLA, but the TNLA turned him down and there was no meeting between the TNLA and the government.

More talks will have to be held because all the EAOs, political parties and civil society groups want the NCA to be all-inclusive and signed by all the EAOs, while the government does not want an all-inclusive NCA.

The government refuses to allow six EAOs to sign the NCA. they are: the AA, the MNDAA, the TNLA, the Arakan National Council (ANC), the Wa National Organisation (WNO) and the Lahu Democratic Union (LDU). Both EAOs and political parties do not want these groups to be excluded from signing the NCA.

The government has said that even though it would not allow any of those six groups to sign the NCA they will allow them to all join the political dialogue that will follow the signing of the NCA.

Reporter Chit Min Htun for IMNA

Edited in English by Mark Inkey for BNI