15 October 2021 10th Waxing of Thadingyut 1383 ME
Esteemed national brethren,
The day 15th October 2021 is the Sixth Anniversary of signing the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement-NCA to ensure national unity and peace between the government of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar and ethnic armed organizations. I’d like to pray for all national brethren including members of the Sangha and ethnic nationals to enjoy fruitful results of peaceful and tranquil lives and to further strive for restoring the perpetual peace for the State and the Union interests.
In line with a saying goes: “when one has been saying nothing, it would be easier to think nothing”, it is impossible to stop the peace process primarily essential for the country. Only when relevant organizations are always talking about something and holding negotiation will they always have critical thinking and ideas on how to do improvement.
The day 12th February 2022 is the Diamond Jubilee Union Day of our country. Likewise, the day 4th January 2023 is the Diamond Jubilee Independence Day of our country. Two important historical events and two big days for a country are nearly to reach the Diamond Jubilee celebrations. If it calculates the term of these jubilees based on the lifespan of Myanmar people, it would be a life span of a person. Everybody needs to notice a saying that “If one does not know the past, one may commit mistakes again. Likewise if one is too eager to embrace the past, one may lose the road to the future”. The government has decided to further promote the process of cementing the Union Spirit and peace process before the forthcoming Diamond Jubilee Union Day and Independence Day.
The government will implement three steps to adopt the further strengthening and sharpening the Union Spirit, forming the implementation bodies formed with ethnic people and carrying out the practical tasks. In this regard, suggestions will be taken from ethnic national people and relevant bodies in addition to informing and educating them.
The Tatmadaw has so far declared 20 statements on suspending the military operations from 21 December 2018 to 30 September 2021 for practically raising the peace process. As a gesture of hailing the Diamond Jubilee Union Day, a statement was declared to further suspend the five-month suspension of military operations from 1 October 2021 to 28 February 2022 to further accelerate the tasks of the peace process and national unity. In raising the peace process-
(1) Relevant ethnic nationals and stakeholders participate in levering up the peace process.
(2) The national unity and peace coordination committees at different levels, the Tatmadaw peace talk committee and ethnic armed organizations directly hold the dialogues and meet with the peace process enhancement bodies.
(3) The processes are being undertaken for further strengthening the peace with NCA signatories and efforts are being made to mitigate the firing attacks and to reach the bilateral agreements for non-NCA signatories to sign the NCA.
Some ethnic armed organizations need to practically review the concepts without fictional thoughts that it does not need to talk with the current government as the latter is not the elected one and that the current government cannot fully implement the peace process. Evidence indicates the successes in the peace process in the term of the Tatmadaw government after 1988, declining of attacks and development undertakings in ethnic areas. Among these organizations, it proved that the majority of ethnic armed organizations could sign the NCA. Although governments took the office one after another, the country is the Union of Myanmar. It is necessary to systematically identify the government and the State. We all need to be loyal to the Union of Myanmar and forge an honest and genuine will to restore peace for the State rather than the government. All need to hold up the spirit “We are Myanmar”. Hence, NCA signatories are invited again to further cement the NCA and nonNCA signatories to join the step of the ceasefire and peace process rather than the existing step and sign the NCA. All are urged to carry out the tasks with the vow of the Diamond Jubilee Union Day.
The government on its part has expressed, “Emphasis is being placed primarily on two points in building the nation, and the first point is to firmly implement the democracy in accord with the aspirations of the people as the political vision, and the second point is to prioritize the prosperity of the nation and food sufficiency.” These are the prioritized political policy of the government for future plans. These two points are interrelated. Peace is essential for our country in undertaking the tasks for prosperity.
The Republic of the Union of Myanmar was revitalized in the multiparty democracy in 2011. In its term, the first government offered the ethnic armed organizations on 18 August 2011 to initiate the peace process essential for building the firm multiparty democracy in accord with the aspiration of the people. Up to now, 10 ethnic armed organizations have signed the NCA. These organizations and peace negotiators are further recognized for their efforts, spirit and endeavours for the peace process.
Today is a period when the Tatmadaw has taken the State responsibilities in accord with the Constitution (2008) and the State Administration Council leads the country as the Tatmadaw and political parties strived for negotiations through various ways and means over the vote-rigging of NLD in the 2020 election but the mission failed. Since the time of taking the State responsibilities, the State Administration Council has laid down and is implementing the five-point road map and nine objectives, emphasizing the agreements involved in the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement—NCA for restoring the perpetual peace. The Tatmadaw Peace Talk Committee was reconstituted on 1 February 2021 and the National Unity and Peacemaking Central Committee, the Work Committee and the Negotiation Committee on 1 February. Currently, the negotiation committee held meetings with NCA signatories and non-NCA signatories 21 times for implementing the peace process with momentum.
Although the government is levering up the peace process, terror acts of destructionist local and foreign organizations which do not wish to serve the interests of the country, media and extremist NLD members wishing to grasp the power of the State through terror ways harm the peace and stability and rule of law in some areas of the country and hamper the peace process to some extent. As the government is controlling all measures as much as possible with compassion not to harm the peace process, ethnic armed organizations need to take special care of not derailing from the NCA route due to terror acts, destructive acts and instigations of local and foreign elements and media.
Our government is implementing the political processes to strengthen the multiparty democracy and building of the Union based on democracy and federalism. The government has firmly guaranteed it. Hence, ethnic armed organizations need to faithfully and firmly walk along the NCA route to be able to contribute much to hold the free and fair multiparty democracy general election on schedules in line with the current aim of the government and emerge new democratic government the people elected.
At present, the whole globe is suffering from the COVID-19 starting from late 2019. The State Administration Council adopted the policies “No one is important than the life of the people” and “Not only the citizens residing in the Union but all human beings regardless of race and religion shall have the equal term of rights to enjoy the healthcare services” and is striving for prevention, control and treatment activities of COVID-19 for the entire people across the nation with might and main. As the vaccination programme is being implemented not only for members of NCA signatories, non-NCA signatories and people from the areas of ethnic armed organizations but also the people from the internally displaced person camps, infection rate and mortality rate are remarkably declining at present. All ethnic armed organizations are urged to cooperate with the government in effectively assisting in the prevention, control and treatment activities of COVID-19 across the nation.
Our government has openly declared that it would continue the implementation of the NCA for restoring the perpetual peace and that the door would always be opened for dialogues. As the Tatmadaw is taking the responsibilities of the government, it can carry out all parts of peace dialogues except the approval at the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw. Although it can seem that political dialogues cannot be held due to lack of elected government, Hluttaws and MPs, representatives from the political parties would become elected MPs and the cabinet members upon completion of the election. Hence, our efforts to continuously emphasize the political dialogues and peacemaking process together with stakeholders may achieve further progress.
Political maturity and unity of stakeholders and the entire people play a crucial role in building the Union based on democracy and federalism. It is necessary to take lessons that Myanmar could not achieve the deserved development due to requirements in political maturity in successive eras. We must try hard to overcome such challenges. We need to build political maturity and unity with wise mental faculty for ensuring the peace of the nation. I sent a message to the esteemed entire ethnic people to participate in the nation-building tasks.
Senior General Min Aung Hlaing
Chairman
National Unity and Peacemaking Central Committee
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