Ceasefire

Rangoon-based Karen National Thahaya (Friendship) Association issued a statement on March 28 to urge the Karen National Union (KNU) and the Tatmadaw to keep their troops in line with the nationwide ceasefire agreement (NCA) after armed clashes broke out in the KNU-controlled area in Hpapun District, Karen State on March 5. “We don’t want any skirmishes in this area. By…

The public needs to be aware of the code of conduct that must be observed by both the Tatmadaw and the ethnic armed group[s] during the ceasefire period, according to Col. Win Naing Oo, Mon State Minister of Security and Border. He said this remark at the recent meeting between the State-level Joint Ceasefire Monitoring Committee (JMC-S) and the public,…

The Karen National Union (KNU) chairman General Mutu Sae Poe said the nationwide ceasefire agreement (NCA) was signed to solve political problems by political means and it was not to abandon the way of arms. He said this in his address to the 69th Karen National Revolutionary Day on January 31. “The KNU has thought and performed by putting at…

The Karen National Union (KNU) will hold a plenary meeting among Joint Monitoring Committee (JMC) representatives from the KNU to discuss the implementation of the JMC. The decision was made during the emergency meeting of the KNU’s Central Standing Committee held from January 23 to 26. The KNU’s secretary general P’doh Saw Tar Doh told Karen News that the plenary…

Mutual trust plays a key role in the delay to signing the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA), said Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (DKBA)’s commander-in-chief General Saw Mo Shay, speaking at an event commemorating the DKBA’s 23rd anniversary at the group’s headquarters in Karen State on December 21. “We believe in the NCA. We signed it because we believe in the peace…

Karen organizations are accusing the government of abusing the ceasefire process to take advantage of investment opportunities with little regard for potential consequences to the environment or the local population. The latest iteration of the long-standing complaint was lodged by handful of groups after the Kawthoolei Land Seminar on November 2-4. Over 370 participants representing 53 Karen organizations attended the…

Amid anniversary celebrations of the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement, the chairperson of the Karen National Union (KNU) bemoaned the lack of progress and lingering weaknesses in the peace process. Speaking at the October 15 commemoration of the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement’s two-year anniversary, KNU chair General Mutu Sae Po pointed out lingering weaknesses in the pact, which was signed by just eight…

What was supposed to be a public forum on the peace process in Bago Region this week turned into more of a lecture when the question and answer portion of the event was cut. The Joint Ceasefire Monitoring Committee of Bago Region’s September 12 meeting in Kyaukkyi township attracted a crowd of about 400 people. “They [the Joint Ceasefire Monitoring…

Civil society groups in Karen State last week discussed concerns that the official ceasefire monitoring body may restrict their peace-related activities. At a meeting held by the Kayin Women’s Empowerment Group (KWEG) and Belgium-based Nonviolent Peace Force in Hpa-an on September 8, some organizations said that with the official ceasefire mechanism setting up local-level offices, the CSOs involvement may be…

Supporting the nuts and bolts of implementing the peace process, a local-level committee was formed with an office in Hpapun township, Karen State officially opened on August 30. This is the first local-level Joint Ceasefire Monitoring Committee to get to work. The eight-member committee includes three representatives from the government, three from ethnic armed organizations and two from the community.…