Myanmar ethnic summit assigns new coordination team to work for signing peace accord with gov't

Ethnic armed groups in Myanmar have assigned a 15-member high-level special coordination team to continue dealing with the government to work for the formal signing of the draft nationwide ceasefire accord ( NCA) preliminarily reached with the government, according to a statement of the eight-day ethnic summit which ended here Tuesday.

The two sides will work to produce signatories representing respective sides and the summit decided that all groups, who agreed to the draft NCA, shall participate in the signing under the framework of Law Khee Lar principle laid down in January 2014, the statement said.

The summit was also able to obtain suggestions over the draft proposal for political dialogue prepared by the Nationwide Ceasefire Coordination Team (NCCT) who initiated the peace negotiation with the government, it said, adding that the NCCT will cooperate with the newly assigned coordination team for further deal with the government.

The 15-member special coordination team is led by Naw Zipporah Sein, Vice Chairman of Karen National Union (KNU), involving members from Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) and Chin National Front (CNF).

The Lae Khee Lar ethnic summit conference in the southeastern state of Kayin lasted from June 2 to 9.

The draft NCA was preliminarily signed between the government's Union Peace-Making Work Committee (UPWC) and the ethnic groups' NCCT at the end of March after conclusion of more than one year's negotiation on the NCA.

The government on its part has expressed readiness to complete the formal signing over the draft NCA once it is adopted by the ethnic summit conference.

The Law Khee Lar conference, sponsored by ethnic armed groups' NCCT, is a follow-up of a six-day summit of ethnic armed groups, sponsored by the United Wa State Army (UWSA) in Panghsang, the self-administered zone of the Wa ethnic group in northern Shan state, in early May. Endi