World     

Myanmar gov't, ethnic armed groups set ceasefire accord date

Xinhua, October 4, 2015

• Myanmar government and some ethnic armed groups agreed on Sunday to set Oct. 15 for the formal signing of the nationwide ceasefire accord (NCA) in Nay Pyi Taw, sources with the Myanmar Peace Center said.

  The designation of the date for NCA signing at the Myanmar International Convention Center came after talks between the government's Union Peace Making Work Committee (UPWC) and eight armed groups out of 15 invited by the government for attendance.

  Of them, seven implied to take part in the signing as advance signatories as decided at their own meeting in Thailand's Chaing Mai prior to the formal talks with the government.

  The seven armed groups are Kayin National Union (KNU), Kayin Peace Council, Pa-O Nationalities Liberation Organization (PNLO), All Burma Students' Democratic Front (ABSDF), Chin National Front (CNF), Arakan Liberation Party (ALP) and Democratic Kayin Buddhist Army (DKBA).

  The meeting formed a joint committee for holding the NCA signing which comprises 10 members each from the two sides.

  A press conference of the Peace Center following the end of the talks quoted U Aung Min , Vice Chairman of the UPWC, as saying that door will be open to those groups, especially in the north of the country, for delayed signing in view of the fact that they are not in readiness to sign the NCA as currently set.

  The Peace Center, however, insisted that the NCA signing will lay a foundation for the peace process accepted by all for the next term of the government.

  Before the set formal signing, the draft NCA was preliminarily signed between the government's UPWC and the ethnic groups' Nationwide Ceasefire Coordination Team (NCCT) in late March after conclusion of more than one year's negotiation.

  The two sides are set to draw up a political framework within 60 days after the formal NCA signing, and start a political dialogue within 90 days.

  The peace process began in November 2013 when UPWC and NCCT met in Myitgyina, Kachin state's capital, for the very first time for the nationwide ceasefire talks, while the final round, which was the 9th, was held in Yangon in August.

Copyright © China.org.cn. All Rights Reserved