KNU to Hold Public Meeting on Clashes with Tatmadaw

The KNU signed a bilateral ceasefire with the Union government in 2012, the Deed of Commitment for Peace and National Reconciliation in 2015, and the NCA in 2015, and has worked at the forefront of the peace process.Solutions are being sought to resolve the remaining obstacles in sub-national discussions regarding basic concepts and definitions.

It is time to put a greater effort into confidence-building measures to ensure ceasefire implementation, and such activities by the military deviate from and undermine the basic concepts and values of the NCA, said the KNU in a statement on March 16.

“For the successful implementation of the NCA, this incident indicates there is an urgent need to undertake negotiations to establish a common understanding and acceptance of an agreed interpretation and concepts of the agreement,” the statement said.

“Discussions on the military-related issues must go on, allowing the Joint Monitoring Committee (JMC) as an independent monitoring mechanism with impartial third-party participation,” it added.

The pastor’s brigade (negotiating units) of both sides, will meet in Kyauk Kyi, Hpapun township, on March 30 – organised by the JMC – to discuss the issue.

On March 31, military and KNU leaders will meet with civil organisations and locals, said Colonel Wunna Aung, general secretary of JMC.

“This road construction project was not meant to trouble locals and is not a sign of civil war,” said Dr Shwe Khar, general secretary of JMC for the military.

JMC will mediate the clashes between the KNU and military, he added.

The KNU requested security guarantees for all internally displaced Karen people seeking to flee the conflict and be allowed to return to their homes.

It also asked the government to allow national and international organisations – including those overseeing the NCA process – to provide humanitarian aid to the IDP displaced by military tensions.