The two main ethnic armed negotiating blocs will not be attending the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) anniversary ceremony in Nay Pyi Taw this weekend, representatives said. October 15 marks two years since the pact was inked.
The Palaung State Liberation Front/Ta’ang National Liberation Army (PSLF/TNLA) said the Federal Political Negotiation Consultative Committee (FPNCC) will not attend the commemorative event because each of the ethnic armed organizations were invited individually.
“The whole alliance wasn’t invited. If the whole alliance was invited, we would hold a meeting and go there after making a decision,” said Brigadier-General Tar Jok Jar, vice chair of the TNLA.
”They didn’t invite the FPNCC. They only invited three or four organisations. We can’t go without the approval of the whole alliance,” he added.
The Brig-Gen said the TNLA received an invite via the United Nationalities Federal Council, the negotiating blog to which it used to belong.
He said the Arakan Army (AA) and the Shan State Progress Party/Shan State Army (SSPP/SSA) have also received invitation letters, while other members of the FPNCC have not been informed so far.
Lieutenant Colonel Naw Bu, the information officer of the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), said that his organization has yet to receive an invite, and even if a last-minute letter does arrive, he thinks the deadline will be too tight for them to attend.
“When I asked the respective central committee office, they told me that they haven’t received an official invitation letter. Even if it arrives, I think it’s inconvenient to attend it since we would be informed at short notice. This is my opinion,” he said.
Unlike the United Wa State Army-led FPNCC, the UNFC has received a bloc-wide invitation letter. However, it will not be able to attend due to a lack of preparation time, according to the body’s general secretary, Khun Oo Reh.
The NCA signatory groups led by Colonel Khun Okkar met with the government representatives in Nay Pyi Taw on October 12 and proposed to the government to invite the FPNCC and the UNFC to the NCA’s second anniversary ceremony. The government agreed.
Eight ethnic armed groups signed the NCA with former President U Thein Sein’s government on October 15, 2015.
