KNPP’s Signing of NCA Depends on Outcome of Killings Probe

Shwe Myo Thant, secretary of KNPP central committee, said they do not totally trust the investigation being conducted by the Tatmadaw on the incident.

The Tatmadaw probe stemmed from an incident on December 19 last year when KNPP members manning a checkpoint along a highway in Kayah State stopped a convoy of Tatmadaw.

An argument between the two groups ensued and the Tatmadaw arrested four KNPP members and one local resident. The next day three of the arrested KNPP members were found dead, while another member escaped. The arrested civilian was also found dead.

The surviving KNPP member accused the Tatmadaw of perpetrating the killing. The Tatmadaw formed a team to investigate the case.

“The KNPP maintain the bilateral agreement of government since 2012 but we need to watch the condition of relationship between us and Tatmadaw,” Shwe Myo Thant said.

The KNPP, which operates in Kayah State, has signed a seven-point agreement with the government aimed at reaching a truce since October 2013.

The deal includes provisions to facilitate all-inclusive political dialogue in the country, form peace monitoring groups to maintain the ceasefire, make resettlement plans for ethnic Karenni refugees, cooperate on demining activities in Kayah State, and provide electricity to households in the region.

Provisions include a call to Myanmar authorities to consult with local communities and provide transparency with regard to any project aimed at extracting natural resources, and a requirement that any company implementing a project in the region be responsible for any impact and that it contributes to sustainable social development in the affected area.

The agreement was signed in Kayah State’s capital Loikaw on October 2013 at the conclusion of two days of negotiations between the ethnic armed group and the government’s Union Peace-making Work Committee.

“We will continue our peace process as a member of the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC),” Saw Shwe Myo Thant said.

The UNFC is an umbrella organisation of armed ethnic groups that aimed to negotiate peace with government.

“We would decide whether or not to sign the NCA based on the result of investigation commission. The escaped KNPP member will be the witness in the first week of March at the military court hearing on the case,” Saw Shwe Myo Thant said.

The KNPP and other local sources say Tatmadaw has sent an investigating team from Nay Pyi Taw to Loikaw three times already and met with people living near the scene of the alleged crime during its last visit earlier in January.

The team includes four members of the Tatmadaw’s top military court and a colonel from its Eastern Command base in Shan State.

US Ambassador Scot Marciel met with KNPP members on Friday and discussed the creation of a federal union, and the people’s welfare.

“He spoke about the peace process as he knows KNPP was one of the ethnic armed groups which has not yet signed the NCA,” said Khu Daniel, a KNPP central committee member.

He said the US is ready to support the peace process of Myanmar if all ethnic groups agree to sign the NCA.