An interview with Colonel Saw Kyaw Nyunt of the KNU/KNLA-PC on their plan to attend the 8th anniversary of the NCA signing and the military council’s commitment to the NCA’s essence
The 8th anniversary of the signing of the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) is coming up on 15 October. In this interview with KIC, Colonel Saw Kyaw Nyunt of the Karen National Union/Karen National Liberation Army Peace Council (KNU/KNLA- PC) discusses whether his organization intends to attend the event and his view on the military council’s statement on the implementation of the NCA, and offers his perspectives and suggestions for restoring peace in the country.
Q: The 8th anniversary of the signing of the NCA is coming up on 15 October. We have heard that the military council has sent out invitations. Has your Peace Council received an invitation? Do you have plans to attend?
A: It is true that the military council has sent invitations to the armed ethnic organizations (EAOs) for the 8th anniversary of the signing of the NCA. We also have plans to attend the event.
Q: What preparations and plans does the PC have for participating in this event? Can you tell us about it?
A: It’s actually nothing special. They have invited the leaders who originally signed the NCA, as well as other political groups. It’s been quite a long time since we had political dialogues with stakeholders to overcome the crisis that the whole country is facing. We met again with the political leaders who had already signed the NCA, and together we reaffirmed the NCA agreements in order to jointly and fully implement them . Since this is a non-political anniversary, we are not making any special political preparations.
Q: Will all the groups that signed the NCA participate? What is your opinion?
A: That depends on the will of each group. Invitations were sent not only to individual leaders who signed the NCA, but also to organizations involved in the NCA. We can’t say for sure which other groups will attend or how many.
Q: The military council keeps saying that it is implementing the NCA, but fighting is still going on in the areas of some ethnic armed groups like the KNU that signed the NCA. What is your opinion on this situation?
A: In an abnormal political situation, there are naturally different views and points of view among political groups. Even among leaders within a group, there can be different views in such times. Some EAOs voluntarily engage with the military council, while other groups don’t. This depends on the territorial situation and the political developments and experiences of each group.
Regardless, the groups don’t conduct their discussions based on the NCA. The NCA was signed between the government and the ethnic armed groups. For this reason, neither the government nor the armed ethnic groups can currently follow the NCA path. Therefore, the political dialogues supposedly based on the NCA have been suspended since February 2021. The meetings we attend are not dialogues based on the NCA, but are based on the PPST’s understanding of overcoming the country’s political crisis through talks with stakeholders.
Q: Given the current situation where things are not going the way of the NCA, how far will the ethnic armed groups and the military council go in negotiating a solution?
A: As I said earlier, this anniversary event is being held just to celebrate the NCA. There may be different expectations and goals, but from a political perspective, this is just a ceremony held as usual. No changes will be achieved with this one event. However, dialogues and meetings that can help overcome the political crisis will take a lot of time. This ceremony is intended to honor the commitment of the senior leaders who originally signed the NCA. It may also be intended to consider how to revive political negotiations under the NCA that have not yet been implemented. This will require extensive discussions given the complex political situation. So there will be no real changes resulting from this one event.
Q: The military council has invited the NCA signatory EAOs and international witnesses to this anniversary event. Do you think the military council’s statement to implement the NCA in its core essence really be implemented?
A: We don’t know the details of what they plan to do on their side. But in terms of the nature of the NCA, in 2013-2014, when it was first drafted, almost all the armed ethnic groups in the country participated in the joint drafting of the NCA. However, the number of groups increased from 8 to 10, which jointly carried out the NCA process for the duration of about two government terms. After 2021, however, the NCA processes came to a halt, as I explained earlier.
It is true that it has political essence. But under the current political circumstances, it is just an ordinary ceremony that is held. As political negotiations become a lot less frequent, we also hear that there is an intention to revive political dialogues. Inviting international witnesses is now just a formality. We can’t say for sure whether they will attend or not.
Q: The political situation in Myanmar is considered hopeless by analysts. What suggestions do you have to improve the situation?
A: Our country has had over 70 years of civil war. We have already agreed to end it for good. For the new generation, we also had an understanding that we need to build national reconciliation. We all wanted our country to become a union based on democracy and federalism, but we had different perspectives, different points of view and different ways of working, but we did not agree. However, political dialogues involving all stakeholders are essential, and we must continue to look for ways to make this happen. This is the only way to solve the problem.
Q: What else would you like to add?
A: Whatever the situation, as a state within the Union experiencing a nationwide crisis, Karen State can’t act alone. If we do, we will be affected directly or indirectly. Only a Union peace can guarantee stability and peace for Karen State, Kachin State and the whole country. Therefore, we will continue to do our best as it is our responsibility.
Sent by KIC.