UPWC and NSCN-K meeting ( Photo; MPC)

The National Socialist Council of Nagaland- Khaplang (NSCN-K) has not decided if it will sign the nationwide ceasefire agreement (NCA), which is likely to be signed by the government and ethnic armed organisations (EAOs) in the first week of October. (40)

The National Socialist Council of Nagaland- Khaplang (NSCN-K) has not decided if it will participate in the nationwide ceasefire agreement (NCA) signing between ethnic armed organisations (EAOs) and the government, penciled in for the first week of October.  (38)

U Kyaw Wan Sein, a member of the NSCN-K central committee, in an interview with IMNA, said: “We have not yet decided whether to sign the NCA. Today [16 September], we met with U Aung Min of the UPWC [Union Peace-making Working Committee]. They explained the NCA signing, but we have not yet told them whether we would sign it. This is because we have to report to our chairman. After this, we will go back to our headquarters and conduct a meeting with the chairman and committee members, then we will decide whether we will sign or not, but at the moment we have not yet decided.”

The NSCN-K’s central committee members met with the UPWC on 16 September at the Myanmar Peace Center (MPC), where both sides discussed ratifying the NCA.

After again meeting the UPWC in Rangoon on 17 September the NSCN-K representatives went back to their headquarters in the Nanyun area to meet with their Chairman S S Khaplang and the committee members to discuss whether to sign the NCA.

Regardless of what the NSCN-K decides the UPWC and MPC believe that the NSCN-K will eventually sign the NCA in the first week of October as planned.

The NSCN-K is an EAO based on Burma's western border with India. The group signed a preliminary union-level (bilateral) ceasefire with the government on 9 April 2012.

The NSCN-K is one of 15 EAOs that have been invited to sign the ceasefire by the NCA.

Reporter Aik Sai

Edited in English by Mark Inkey for BNI