The NCA: Let not one rotten fish fill the whole boat with foul smell
It was Lincoln who once said, “If a man ceases to
attack me, I never remember the past against him.”
The implication is crystal clear. If that man returns
to his bad ways again, all his past misdeeds will be remembered. Not only what
he did, but all those what his friends, and his outfit has done, past and
present. Worse, all the good deeds that his group has done may be forgotten.
The Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA), though
signed by 8 of the 15 ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) recognized by the
government on 15 October, was approved by the Union Legislature on 8 December,
thanks to the efforts of government leaders like U Aung Min and U Thein Zaw.
To add to the credit of the government, and especially
the military, negotiations that followed the NCA signing —military Code of Conduct (COC) and terms of
reference (TOR) for the Joint Implementation Coordination Meeting (JICM), Joint
Ceasefire Monitoring Committee (JMC) and Union Peace Dialogue Joint Committee
(UPDJC) that will oversee the political negotiations — went smooth, mostly because military
representatives graciously conceded that all the demands by the signatory EAOs
were in line with the NCA.
The understanding showed by the military was such
there were even unfounded but understandable accusations from some quarters
that the signatories were working hand in glove against the non-signatories.
That was until the 77th day after the NCA signing.
On New Year’s eve came the unexpected blow: A patrol
of the Restoration Council of Shan State/Shan State Army (RCSS/SSA), better
known as SSA South, was attacked by a column of the seemingly friendly Infantry
Battalion (IB) 278 in Mongpu, Mong Piang township eastern Shan State. The SSA reportedly lost one fighter.
But the loss was more than one precious life. Both the
SSA and the local people appeared to have lost confidence in the Burmese
military as an institute of honor. Hardliners in the EAOs, both signatories and
non-signatories, moreover have been “proven” by that unfortunate oversight that
they have been right all along.
The only things that can save the day appear to be the
speedy establishment of JMCs at state and local levels, and the holding of the
political dialogues in faith by both sides, especially by the government side.
If not, not only can we not expect the non-signatories
to come on board, even the signatories will be leaving it, deciding that War
War, if we are permitted to counter-paraphrase Churchill, may be bloodier but less dishonest than Jaw Jaw.
Tags: Opinion
