Six EAOs urge rejection of NCA 10th anniversary commemoration 

By Admin 13 Oct 2025

DMG Newsroom

13 October 2025, Mrauk-U
 
Six ethnic armed organisations have issued a joint statement urging armed groups not to attend the 10th anniversary ceremony of the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) to be held in Naypyidaw on October 15, and led by Myanmar’s military regime.
 
The Karen National Union, Chin National Front, All Burma Students’ Democratic Front, Pa-O National Liberation Army, New Mon State Party and Lahu Democratic Union, all signatories to the NCA, issued the joint statement on October 13.
 
The 2021 military coup undermined the principles and objectives of the NCA, and international institutions including the UN and ASEAN are urged not to attend the ceremony and not to provide support that would legitimise the military dictatorship, the statement said.
 
The military regime is attempting to legitimise its control by holding sham elections and commemorating a hollowed out NCA, and these actions will only prolong the conflicts in Myanmar and the suffering of its people, the statement added.
 
KNU spokesperson Padoh Saw Taw Nee told DMG that the military regime and those ethnic armed groups that are still attending the 10th anniversary of the signing of the NCA are turning a blind eye to the realities of what is happening in the country.
 
“We have to say that some ethnic armed groups, as well as the military regime, are lying to themselves. I don’t see any reason to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the signing of the NCA when there are so many conflicts in Myanmar. They are lying to themselves,” he said.
 
Eight ethnic armed groups, including the KNU, Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS), Democratic Karen Buddhist Army, Karen National Union/Karen National Liberation Army-Peace Council (KNU/KNLA-PC), PNLO, ABSDF, Arakan Liberation Party and CNF, signed the NCA on October 15, 2015, under the administration of former President U Thein Sein.
 
During the National League for Democracy (NLD) government, the NMSP and LDU signed the NCA as well in February 2018, bringing the total number of ethnic armed groups that have signed the peace accord to 10.

“Among the groups that signed the NCA, some joined the military regime, while others broke away and became armed groups,” said a veteran politician in Arakan State. “Now, the six ethnic armed groups are issuing a statement that they are continuing their armed struggle. According to this statement, the NCA no longer exists.”
 
Among the NCA signatories, groups such as the KNU, CNF and ABSDF have been fighting against the military regime, rejecting the 2021 coup.
 
The NMSP and PNLA are also divided into two groups: those who accept the NCA and those who do not accept it and are fighting the military regime.
 
“It would be more natural for the six ethnic armed groups to completely withdraw from the NCA signatories rather than making such statements. We should also urge the other groups to withdraw. That way, both sides will be clear,” said the veteran Arakanese politician.
 
The military, which seized power and annulled the 2020 election results, is facing armed revolt across Myanmar, and has lost about 100 cities and towns to anti-junta forces since the coup.
 
The military regime is trying to resolve the political and military crises they are facing by holding elections and seeking international recognition, including through validation of the NCA.
 
“I think only ethnic armed groups allied with the military regime, such as the RCSS, ALP, KNLA-PC and DKBA, will attend the 10th anniversary of the NCA signing ceremony,”  said a politician who monitors the peace process in Myanmar. “However, there are reports that some ethnic armed groups that have not yet signed the NCA have also been invited. Whoever attends the ceremony, this event is nothing more than fulfilling the wishes of the military regime.”
 
The 10th anniversary commemoration of the NCA signing will be held in Naypyidaw from October 15 to 17. The programme will include a “Workshop on Building a Peaceful Myanmar Future” and will focus on the success of the elections, which will be held in phases starting December 28.
 
The NCA path aims to build a Union based on freedom, equality and justice, with full guarantees of self-determination in line with the Panglong spirit, based on democracy and federalism, with a focus on the Three Main National Causes: non-disintegration of the Union, non-disintegration of national solidarity and perpetuation of national sovereignty.
 
However, many ethnic armed groups say the NCA’s provisions have been nullified by the military coup. Currently, the KNU, CNF, ABSDF, and NMSP-AD, among the signatories to the NCA, are engaged in active conflict with the military regime.
  
The political dialogue under the NCA path must involve the government, parliament, military, political parties, and ethnic armed organisations (EAOs), but since no parliament exists post-coup, there is no forum to ratify political dialogue agreements, and all processes for implementing the NCA peace path have come to a standstill.