The nationwide ceasefire agreement (NCA) was unanimously approved by both houses of parliament (the Assembly of the Union) on 8 December.
U Tin Maung Thann, a special advisor to the government-established Myanmar Peace Center (MPC) said: “The NCA has passed its first critical test."
During the parliamentary discussions about the NCA, held on 8 December prior to the vote, some lawmakers said the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement was inaccurately named as it was only signed by eight out of the country’s 16 ethnic armed organisations (EAOs) recognized by the government.
Those who did not sign include powerful EAOs such as the Kachin Independence Organization/Army (KIO/KIA), the United Wa State Party/Army (UWSP/UWSA) and the Shan State Progress Party/Shan State Army-North (SSPP/SSA-N).
The larger EAOs that did sign the NCA include the Karen National Union/Karen National Liberation Army (KNU/KNLA) and the Restoration Council of Shan State/Shan State Army-South (RCSS/SSA-S).
During the second Joint Implementation Coordinating Meeting (JICM) on 17 November the participants passed a resolution to submit the NCA to the parliament, in accordance with Article 26 of the NCA, which states: “We shall submit this agreement to the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw [The Assembly of the Union] for ratification in accordance with established procedures.”
The meeting also scrutinised the activities of the Joint Ceasefire Monitoring Committee (JMC) and the Union Peace and Dialogue Joint Committee (UPDJC).
After the meeting the government representative and MPC chairperson U Aung Min promised that if the NCA faced tough opposition: “We will ask the parliament to place the NCA on parliamentary record, which is easier and also legally binding.”
The UPDJC has been drafting the Framework for Political Dialogue (FPD) and was due to meet on 14 December. This will be followed by a third JICM which is expected to endorse the drat political framework.
According to the NCA text the country’s first political dialogue session (also called the Union Peace Conference) has to start by 13 January at the latest.
By SAI KHUENSAI / Director, Pyidaungsu Institute and Founder, Shan Herald Agency for News (S.H.A.N)
Edited in English by Mark Inkey for BNI
