By Thu Thu Aung / The Myanmar Times | December 7, 2016

A proposal to designate the Northern Alliance-Burma as a terrorist group is set to be discussed in the Shan State legislature, following the voting down of a similar motion by the Union parliament’s lower house late last week.

The revived motion was put forward yesterday by U Aung Thu, a representative of the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party for Lashio constituency No 2.

The Shan State Hluttaw has been in meetings over the past two days for an emergency session that is expected to run through tomorrow, in response to the recent uptick in conflict in the state’s north.

Approval to deliberate the proposal was reached by a vote of 61 in favour – from military and USDP lawmakers – to 53 objections. The proposal will be up for discussion today.

“We Shan Nationalities League for Democracy representatives voted ‘no’, but

[the proposal] was approved because the USDP and military candidates [comprise over] 50 percent in the hluttaw,” said SNLD MP Sai Htun Nyan (Kyaukme 2).

“The conflict isn’t new. It’s a long-running civil war. If they approved [declaring the Northern Alliance] as terrorists, it is likely to encourage genocide. The government should intervene in the conflict and try to reach a ceasefire between the two groups,” said lawmaker Sai Sein Lu (SNLD; Theinni 2).

Fresh fighting broke out on November 20 when the Northern Alliance – comprised of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), the Arakan Army (AA) and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) – staged attacks on several Tatmadaw and police positions in Muse and Kutkai townships.

“They see ethnic armed groups as terrorist groups. We ethnic people also see the Tatmadaw as terrorists. There are two sides in every problem. The government should try [to find a way] to reach a ceasefire,” said Ta’ang National Party MP U Aung Win.

Ethnic minority representatives and the military have been engaged in slinging accusations about arbitrary detention of civilians since the conflict flared.

The Ta’ang Women’s Organisation has claimed that police detained 17 Ta’ang civilians at Cherry Guest House in Lashio on December 3, with 11 released the following day. Six remain detained at Lashio police station, the organisation said.

The Kachin Peace Network released a statement last week calling for the immediate release of 52 civilians that it says were detained arbitrarily on the day of the initial Northern Alliance offensive and remain in Tatmadaw custody. The group was taking part in a wedding ceremony in Hpau Jung Pa village on November 20 and the “arbitrary detention of the civilians is a clear sign of breaching the Geneva Convention”, the statement read.

On December 2, Deputy Defence Minister General Sein Win made a proposal in the Pyithu Hluttaw to designate the members of the Northern Alliance terrorist groups. His proposal failed in the National League for Democracy-dominated parliament, with 244 against and just 141 in favour.

The Northern Alliance concentrated its initial joint offensive on November 20 near mile post 105 in Muse township and the fighting has spread in the days since.

The groups say their hand was forced, and that they feel the Tatmadaw had been exerting tremendous pressure on ethnic armed groups in recent months.

On December 4, the Northern Alliance issued a statement calling for genuine peace talks and demanding that the government unilaterally announce a nationwide ceasefire.

This article originally appeared on the Myanmar Times on December 7, 2016.

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