Military chief urges EAOs to make only "realistic" demands

By Admin 15 Oct 2025

DMG Newsroom

15 October 2025, Nay Pyi Taw

Myanmar's junta chief, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, has urged ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) to make only "realistic" demands during political dialogues.

He made the remarks in a speech marking the 10th anniversary of the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA), held in Nay Pyi Taw on Wednesday.

While acknowledging that some EAOs had agreed to certain provisions for constitutional amendments and political goals, Min Aung Hlaing said they should focus only on what is practically achievable.

"For constitutional amendments, I myself have agreed to some parts. My desire is for the country to be peaceful and developed. We have to ask ourselves why we have been left behind. Therefore, we will do as much as possible from our side. I want ethnic leaders to speak only of what is possible. If you keep talking about impossible things, you won't be able to make progress," said the junta chief.

He added that the junta remains committed to political dialogue under the NCA framework.

However, ethnic armed groups that no longer recognize the NCA view it differently, saying the junta is merely using the ceasefire agreement as a political tool to protect its own economic and institutional interests.

"They're just playing politics for their own organizational and regional interests. At this point, the NCA path is being used by the military as a tool to sustain its grip on power," said Salai Htet Ni, spokesperson for the Chin National Front (CNF), speaking to DMG.

The junta currently faces mounting pressure as it battles offensives by both ethnic armed groups and revolutionary forces across the country.

In protest, several NCA signatories - including the Karen National Union (KNU), Chin National Front (CNF), All Burma Students' Democratic Front (ABSDF), Pa-O National Liberation Organization (PNLO), New Mon State Party (NMSP-AD), and Lahu Democratic Union (LDU) - announced on October 13 that they would not attend the NCA anniversary ceremony, denouncing it as a façade.

The junta leader also accused revolutionary groups of "disrupting national peace" and insisted that his regime is striving for peace across Myanmar.

The regime is simultaneously pushing to hold an election as a means to legitimize itself internationally, despite excluding the 2020 election-winning National League for Democracy (NLD). Min Aung Hlaing maintained that the planned election would be "free and fair."

"We have tested the Myanmar electronic voting machines many times. We decided to proceed even if it costs more. There is no reason to think vote rigging will happen. I believe this will be a successful, free, and fair election," he said.

Among those attending the ceremony were former KNU chairman Mutu Say Poe, DKBA deputy commander-in-chief Major General Saw Shwe Wah, KNU/KNLA-PC vice-chairman Naw Kapaw Htoo, Arakan Liberation Party (ALP) chairwoman Daw Saw Mya Raza Linn, New Mon State Party representative Nai Aung Min, and PNLO patron Major General Khun Okka.

The NCA was first signed on October 15, 2015, by eight groups - the KNU/KNLA, DKBA, KNLA-PC, RCSS/SSA-South, CNF, PNLO, ALP, and ABSDF. Two additional groups, the Lahu Democratic Union (LDU) and the New Mon State Party (NMSP), joined on February 13, 2018.

"Inviting Chinese and Indian representatives to the ceremony is less about peace and more about showing those countries that the junta still controls the ethnic groups. It's also a kind of pre-election publicity stunt," a political analyst told DMG.

Since the 2021 coup, some NCA signatories have withdrawn, while only those maintaining good relations with the junta remain. Among the original signatories, the KNU, CNF, ABSDF, NMSP-AD, and PNLO are now fighting against the junta.

Currently, the military regime is under severe strain due to nationwide attacks by both EAOs and resistance forces under the Spring Revolution.