Hkun Okker, a key leader of the 12-ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) alliance, the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC), has for the first time denied publicly that the coalition has any pact formed with Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of the National League for Democracy (NLD).

The UNFC leaders so far have met her in Rangoon twice, first in May and later in August, when the EAOs’ Nationwide Ceasefire Coordination Team (NCCT) had been holding Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) negotiations with Naypyitaw’s Union Peacemaking Work Committee (UPWC).

Only 4 of the 16 NCCT members (Arakan Liberation Party, Arakan Army, Democratic Karen Benevolent Army, and Karen Peace Council) are non-UNFC movements.

According to the Myanmar Peace Center (MPC), unconfirmed reports that the UNFC and Aung San Suu Kyi have agreement that the NCA negotiations and the peace process as a whole should wait until after 2015 elections, when a new government and legislature have come into being, were one of the reasons that the military had stiffened its stance at the latest NCA 4th draft meeting, 22-26 September.

“We don’t have any agreement between us,” said Hkun Okker. “During both meetings, we informed her what was going on and she in turn told us what she’s been doing. Nothing more than that.”

Hkun Htun Oo, leader of the United Nationalities Alliance (UNA) that has been formed by the 1990 elections winning ethnic parties, regarded as an UNFC ally, has already declared that there is no such agreement among the three.

Many who had believed there were unpublicized agreements between Aung San Suu Kyi, the UNA and the UNFC, were stunned when she announced on 5 November she wouldn’t support any constitutional amendment efforts outside the parliament.

In fact, both Hkun Htun Oo and Sai Aik Pao, a leader of the Nationalities Brotherhood Federation (NBF), the alliance of the 2010 elections winning ethnic parties; had urged the President and the Commander-in-Chief at the 31 October “Pentapartite” meeting that efforts must be made to complete the NCA negotiations as soon as possible and start the political dialogue.

Speaking on the said meeting, Hkun Okker’s comment was:
“We have heard that the C-in-C had strongly recommended that the nation’s leaders give more priority to “national politics” rather than “party politics.” If it’s true, then, he’s ignoring the constitution that the military itself had written.

“The 4th national objective, according to the constitution, is to promote a multi-party system. It is not proper that the 6th objective (that the military must have the leading role in national politics) should be prioritized while the 4th objective is being brushed aside.”

He also asked the President, now that Burma no longer chairs the 10 nation Asean after 13 November, whether he is going to let the military go on rampage against the EAOs.

The EAOs were not represented at the 31 October meeting in Naypyitaw. 14 leaders that had attended it represented the government, military, legislature, democratic political parties and ethnic political parties.

An academic suggested later that the EAOs should be represented at such a gathering if it is to be meaningful.