Yangon, October (19)
The Ethnic Armed Organizations (EAOs) have said that the coup leader, General Min Aung Hlaing’s statement that some provisions of the 2008 Constitution will be amended is only for the military to remain in power and is unacceptable.
In his speech on the 7th anniversary of the signing of the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) on October 15, the military leader said that he would amend the constitution to implement the demands and wishes of the ethnic groups.
Furthermore, the coup leader stated that the military council will take a firm stance in carrying out the peace process based on the NCA and the 2008 Constitution.
Comrade Salai Yaw Aung, a member of the central steering committee of the All Burma Students’ Democratic Front (ABSDF), said the military leader’s statement was unacceptable and it was no longer possible to build peace in the country because the 2008 constitution had already been invalidated due to the coup.
However, the coup leader said that he was working in accordance with the constitution in serving the country and invited the remaining organizations to sign the NCA to move towards peace.
The Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP)’s Secretary 1, Khu Daniel, also responded that he does not trust or accept the regime that will give opportunities to the ethnic groups.
The KNU spokesperson, Padoh Saw Taw Nee, responded that the junta chief’s claim that he would reform the constitution to address ethnic issues was merely lip service and that the military council was the enemy of federalism and democracy. In addition to this, Saw Taw Nee criticized that after the signing of the NCA in 2015, the military disrupted the peace process and violated all the peace agreements.
U Than Soe Naing, a political analyst said, ” the military leader’s statement doesn’t make any sense. All these are just the plans of Min Aung Hlaing’s group to prolong the life of the military dictatorship, and that plan is not accepted by forces such as National Government Unity (NUG), People’s Defense Forces (PDF) and Ethnic Armed Organizations (EAOs). Therefore, we can neither walk the path of peace with that plan, nor solve the country’s problems”.
The military council has open front lines almost all over the country, and clashed with non-NCA signatories and PDFs including EAOs on a daily basis.
The hard-hit military council promised to reform the 2008 constitution for the ethnic groups, but the ethnic armed organizations did not accept it.
The Committee Representative Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH) declared the annulment of the 2008 Constitution, which was drafted to assure the junta’s prolonged power, on March 31 of the previous year.
News – Than Lwin Times
