Eastern Mirror Desk
Dimapur, June 3: Despite mounting aggression by the Tatmadaw (Myanmar army), the NSCN (K) group led by Yung Aung has ruled out signing the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement, according to a report in the CNN-News18 website on Monday.
It quoted the outfit’s ministry of publicity in-charge, Joseph Lamkang as having said: “Myanmar, in reality doesn’t care for the real aspiration of the Nagas. The seven years ceasefire only benefited them as it was one-sided. NSCN started to feel that we were at the receiving end of Myanmar government’s operations. In last three years, they have been aggressively forcing us to sign the NCA. But, we did not do so. Then they became aggressive at the negotiating table, stopped all our supply routes and have applied their famous ‘four cuts’ policy.”
Lamkang added that Myanmar is well versed with the Naga issue, and knows that the subject is different from other ethnic issues. Lamkang said that Myanmar could have taken a different route rather than forcing her NCA on the Nagas.
The NSCN (K), it reported, wants to continue their fight for ‘sovereignty’ of the Naga people.
“Myanmar herself is not stable and the ethnic people are not happy with the way they are treated. We do not see a stable Myanmar now or in near future, unless they change their Constitution and mentality towards ethnic issues,” Lamkang added.
On the issue of NCA, he said, “The present NCA is the modern version of original Panglong Agreement of 1947. Nagas did not sign the old Panglong Agreement because we decided to be independent. Nagas have fought and died for it, hence why should we sign the NCA? Myanmar has made a terrible mistake by trusting India too much.”
The Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) was a landmark ceasefire agreement between the government of Myanmar and representatives of various ethnic armed groups, officially called as “ethnic armed organisations” (EAOs) by the government.
The draft was agreed upon by a majority of the invited parties on March 31, 2015; and the agreement was signed by President Thein Sein on October 15, 2015. The signing was witnessed by observers and delegates from the United Nations, the United Kingdom, Norway, Japan and the United States. A ceremony is held by the government annually on the anniversary of the signing of the agreement.
The government of Myanmar originally sent invitations to 15 different ethnic armed groups, inviting them to participate in long-term peace negotiations. However, seven of those invited groups declined or dropped out during negotiations due to alleged unfairness.
The Lahu Democratic Union and the New Mon State Party later joined the ceasefire and signed the agreement on February 13, 2018.
Hostilities between the Tatmadaw and the Naga group have risen after more than 400 soldiers from six battalions led by the Hkamti district tactical commander under the Tatmadaw’s North-West Command took control of the NSCN (K)’s headquarters in Ta Ga area of Nanyun township on January 29, 2019.
The Tatmadaw has accused the NSCN (K) of supporting insurgent groups of Indian origin, including ULFA (I), National Democratic Front of Bodoland (S), KLO, PDCK, KYKL, PREPAK, PLA, UNLF and RPF in Myanmar’s soil.
