The Myanmar military is brutally killing civilians, including children and the elderly, and the regime will never bring about a genuine peace, said Acting President of the National Unity Government (NUG) on 14 October.

Speaking one day ahead of military junta’s 8th anniversary event of the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA), NUG’s Acting President Duwa Lashi La said, “I earnestly urge the international community and ethnic armed groups that it’s not the time to participate in the (8th) anniversary celebration of the NCA organized by the terrorist Military Council leader. This is not the time to celebrate about the NCA; this is a time to review what happened.”

He said the Military Council lacks the authority to host the annual NCA event as the treaty was signed by the relevant stakeholders including the government and the parliament, together with the 10 ethnic armed organizations—Karen National Union (KNU), Chin National Front(CNF), All Burma Students’ Democratic Front (ABSDF), Pa-O National Liberation Organization (PNLO), Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (DKBA), Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS), Arakan Liberation Party (ALP), Karen National Union/Karen National Liberation Army Peace Council (KNU/KNLA-PC), Lahu Democratic Union (LDU), and New Mon State Party (NMSP).

The first three signatories—KNU, CNF and ABSDF—have publicly declared nullification of the NCA, and withdrew from the agreement after the 2021 coup, and are fighting against the military together with the resistance forces.

The acting president also blamed the military for the bombing of Mung Lai Hkyet IDP village near Laiza, Kachin State, killing about 30 civilians, including 13 children, and injuring 75 others, and pledged to bring justice for the victims.

“This is a very inhumane act and a war crime against humanity. In the wake of these shattered lives, grieving families, and suffering individuals, it is imperative that justice be upheld. We must collectively strive towards this noble cause,” he added.

KNU’s statement on the NCA

The Karen National Union (KNU), one of the strongest resistance forces fighting the Myanmar military, made a statement on 15 October that the NCA agreement is no longer valid anymore as the military had violated all the agreements.

P’doh Saw Taw Nee, the spokesperson of the KNU and its CEC member said in the statement, “ The heart of the NCA is clearly stated in Chapter (1) where it says political problems must be solved through political means. It is not acceptable for us when the military itself violated the agreement that they signed off on. In fact, the Myanmar military was already violating various terms agreed in the NCA even before the coup.”

He also quoted Chapter 3 and 4 of the agreement, which were also violated by the military, for example, entering into the KNU’s territories, Brigade 3 and 5, and starting road construction without consulting with them.

P’doh Saw Taw Nee pointed out the military’s failure to protect civilians as per Chapter 4 of the NCA, and prohibiting NCA signatories, except the KNU, from holding state or sub-national level national political dialogue, with violating Chapter 5 of the treaty, in addition to the military’s negligence to consult signatory parties before carrying out the activities in each other’s territories in line with Chapter 6 of the agreement.

He remarked that the Myanmar military is the main obstacle in establishing a genuine federal democratic system in the country, and the military must stop atrocities first for any meaningful peace talk or political dialogue, and must withdraw from the politics and stay under civilian rule.