Trust Levels With Govt Are ‘Low,’ KNPP Says

Trust Levels With Govt Are ‘Low,’ KNPP Says

By NETWORK MEDIA GROUP (NMG)

Monday, October 21, 2019

Representatives of the Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP) say that unresolved issues on the ground in Karenni (Kayah) State have negatively affected trust-building with the government, and have made it difficult for the organization to consider signing the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA).

Representatives of the government’s Peace Commission and the KNPP held an informal meeting in Chiang Mai, Thailand on October 18, after which, KNPP spokesperson Nei Nei Plo spoke to the media.

“We are still continuing our negotiations with the government. In practice, there are many reasons and issues on the ground that cause trust to be low. We need to rebuild the trust,” Nei Nei Plo said.

Both the government and KNPP leaders said that they discussed how ceasefire implements should be implemented.

“NCA implementation needs to move forward without any deadlocks… If trust goes down, it will be difficult not only for the KNPP but also for other non-NCA EAOs (ethnic armed organizations) to sign the NCA,” Nei Nei Plo explained.

President’s Office spokesperson Zaw Htay said that the KNPP had submitted a new proposal related to a possible future signing of the NCA.

“The government, army and Parliament will discuss this proposal. After that, we will meet the KNPP again,” he said.

The KNPP reiterated its commitment to continuing political negotiations with the government in line with the NCA path.

Around the same time as their meeting with the KNPP, the Peace Commission also held informal meetings with the Karen National Union and the Restoration Council of Shan State, both of which are signatories to the NCA.

Zaw Htay said that the NCA-signatory EAOs are likely to attend an anniversary commemoration of the signing of the NCA in October 2015, and that the informal meetings in Chiang Mai had reportedly yielded positive results.