Burma’s ethnic areas are anything but peaceful despite recent ceasefire

1 November 2015

Asian Correspondent- Two weeks after a National Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) was signed between Burma’s central authorities and a number of ethnic armed groups, the country’s ethnic areas remain anything but peaceful.

It is easy to guess that the war in northern Shan State may have played a role in the UWSA’s decision. According to Tom Kramer, a researcher with the Transnational Institute (TNI), “the attacks in northern Shan State are believed to be a kind of punishment for not signing, but they are also aimed at cutting the SSA from the UWSA, their main ally.”

“The Wa are very worried about this because the situation is deteriorating,” he says, mentioning that the MNDAA, one of the three groups excluded from the ceasefire deal, is also one of their allies.

“This is part of a very long strategy on the part of the central authorities: it is about managing conflict, not solving it,” argues Mr. Kramer, adding that the present offensive “raises a lot of serious questions about the government and the armed forces.”

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Ethnic Conflict in Myanmar