Amid ongoing clashes, RCSS announces it will sign Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement
The
Restoration Council of Shan State/Shan State Army-South (RCSS/SSA-S) will sign
Burma’s Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) on October 15, Lt. Gen. Yawd Serk
announced today.
“We
believe the NCA is a bridge to solve the [country’s] political problems and
become a genuine federal state,” the armed group’s leader said.
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| Lt.Gen. Yawd Serk, leader of Restoration Council of Shan State/Shan State Army (RCSS/SSA) |
“I
encourage all groups to join,” he added, explaining that widespread
participation would make the ceasefire more “meaningful.”
S.H.A.N
reported on Tuesday that the
RCSS/SSA-S had been deliberating at its headquarters on whether to sign the
controversial agreement. The decision comes as another major Shan armed group,
the Shan State Political Party/Shan State Army-North (SSPP/SSA-N), faces
renewed clashes with the Burma Army after announcing withdrawal from the NCA.
“For
us, we are not going to sign if all armed groups are not included,” said SSPP
representative, Lt. Col. Sai La, in a phone interview with S.H.A.N. “If any
group is left out, the fighting will happen.”
Today,
three government battalions faced off with SSPP/SSA-N troops in central Shan
State.
“They
have ordered SSPP/SSA-N to withdraw from the area, otherwise they will attack
our headquarters,” Sai La said.
Lt.
Gen. Yawd Serk also commented on the ongoing fighting between the Burma Army
and ethnic armies.
“I
will not agree if the government supports those who sign the NCA, but attacks
the other groups who do not sign,” he said.
The
RCSS/SSA-S leader echoed earlier statements by Myanmar Peace Center senior adviser U Hla Maung Shwe,
who told S.H.A.N. last month that, even with a ceasefire, “no one can
guarantee” that fighting would not take place.
An
end to active armed conflict will not happen immediately, acknowledged Yawd
Serk, who hopes it will “gradually reduce.”
As
a peacebuilding measure, the RCSS/SSA-S has requested the establishment of more
liaison offices through which problems can be discussed in lieu of fighting.
They
also called for government efforts to demilitarize its presence in 24 of Shan
State’s 50-plus townships.
Providing
a list of locations where the RCSS/SSA is active, the group advised that “the
government should not deploy their troops by any means” to these areas, in
order to avoid clashes.
Despite
the presence of a previously signed ceasefire enacted in late 2011, the
RCSS/SSA-S noted that the Burma Army has “not complied with” the agreement, and
that the years since have been punctuated by armed clashes, of which, the
Myanmar Peace Monitor reports,
there have been over 70.
Eight groups have now committed to signing the NCA next week,
out of 20 organizations who originally requested inclusion in the process, and
15 who were invited by the government.
The signatories will include the RCSS/SSA-S, the Karen National
Union (KNU), Democratic Karen Benevolent Party (DKBA), Karen National
Liberation Party-Peace Council (KNLA-PC), Chin National Front (CNF), All Burma
Students Democratic Front (ABSDF), Pa-O National Liberation Party (PNLA) and
Arakan Liberation Party (ALP).
By SAI AW / Shan Herald Agency for News (S.H.A.N.)
(Edited in English by Simma Francis)
Tags: News, Politics
