Statement on Ongoing Battles

Statement by United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC) | October 8, 2016

1. The current battles in the Kachin, Shan and Karen States, in addition to injuring thousands of local people and forcing them to abandon their hearths and homes and flee, have been causing the loss of lives of innocent villagers, including children.

2. The battles taking place currently are mainly due to aggression against the lands of the ethnic nationalities and military offensives by the Myanmar Tatmadaw (Myanmar army).

3. Our ethnic armed resistance organizations have desired and have been calling on those in power and governments, in successive eras, to resolve the fundamental political problem by political means. However, the successive rulers, who took up the country’s power, have not held genuine political conferences, up to this day.

4. Our UNFC, on its part, had negotiated for the ‘Framework for Political Dialogue’ during the time of U Thein Sein government from 2012-2013, and for ‘Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA)’ from 2013-2015, as part of the Nationwide Ceasefire Coordination Team (NCCT), in an effort to end for good, the nearly 70 years long civil war.

5. However, as U Thein Sein government did not accept the signing of NCA together by all the members of the NCCT, the NCA cannot be implemented up to this day, and the country has to face gravely the continuing miseries of war.

6. If the Myanmar Tatmadaw, on its part, does not end immediately its offensives and does not find solution to the country’s political problem by political means and, if it continues to use military might for settlement, the internal peace will still be far and away. For that reason, it is necessary to stop immediately finding the solution by military means, in order to halt military offensives, respect the people’s demonstration of their aspirations and resolve the problem through consultation, with earnest mutual trust.

7. Accordingly, the UNFC strongly protests and condemns the offensive battles launched under various pretexts by Myanmar Tatmadaw, in the lands of the ethnic nationalities, and the damage caused to homes and properties and the loss of lives of the innocent local populations.

Central Executive Committee

United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC)

 

Contacts:

Nai Han Tha – Vice Chairman                    Phone: +66(0)80-503-0849

Khu Oo Reh – General Secretary              Phone: +66(0)84-805-1344