The government-formed Union Peacemaking Work Committee (UPWC) has informed the resistance-formed Nationwide Ceasefire Coordination Committee (NCCT) that the joint meeting scheduled this weekend is to be moved to the first week of March, according to Hkun Okker, member of the NCCT yesterday.

“U Aung Min (Vice Chairman #2, UPWC) wrote to us on 15 February,” he said, “without naming the reason for this. Padoh Kwe Htoo Win (deputy leader of the NCCT and General Secretary of the Karen National Union) however says the reason appears to be that the Kar-Long (National Defense and Security Council, the nation’s supreme decision making body) has not yet met to discuss the matter.”

The “matter” is the NCCT’s 29 page Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) draft approved by the ethnic armed movements at Law Khee Lar, KNU base, on 25 January. The government’s latest draft, delivered on 29 December, by contrast, is only 13 pages.

“Nevertheless, the NCCT has been empowered to make adjustments as it sees fit except for the first chapter,” an NCCT member told SHAN on 30 January.

The NCCT draft has 11 chapters plus an appendix for Military Code of Conduct (COC). The first chapter is “Basic Principles” which must be accepted by both belligerents.

After the meeting in Chiangmai on 29 January, the government side had reported to the media that the two sides were 80% in agreement.