The newly formed alliance of seven out of 10 ethnic armed organizations that signed the 2015 Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement aims to continue peace talks with the regime. They gathered in Chiang Mai, Thailand, replacing the Peace Process Steering Team. Colonel Saw Kyaw Nyunt, representing the Karen National Union/Karen National Liberation Army Peace Council (KPC), stated that setbacks prompted the formation of this alliance to pursue inclusive political dialogue and protect civilians affected by armed conflict. “So, we seven signatories [of the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement] have formed a new group to work together toward our goal,” said Saw Kyaw Nyunt.

Eight original signatories of the 2015 Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement formed the Peace Process Steering Team in 2017 with the goal of facilitating peace negotiations with Myanmar's military and administration. However, disagreements among its members over whether to continue the ceasefire agreement or participate in military action led to tensions following the coup on February 1, 2021. On Sunday and Monday, representatives from seven different ethnic groups got together to reorganize the group and give it a new name: the Seven Ethnic Armed Organization Alliance.

In addition to the Karen Peace Council, additional organizations involved in the initiative are the Arakan Liberation Party, the Pa-O National Liberation Organization, the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army, the New Mon State Party, the Restoration Council of Shan State, and the Lahu Democratic Union. There was also Mutu Say Poe, a signatory to the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement and the previous chairman of the Karen National Union.

Notably, the Karen Peace Council is a separate entity from the Karen National Union and its armed wing, the Karen National Liberation Army, despite using similar names in its title.Yawd Serk, chairman of the Restoration Council of Shan State, will chair the 7 EAO Alliance. Nai Aung Min, a representative of the New Mon State Party, will be its deputy chairman. Colonel Sai Ngin of the Restoration Council of Shan State will be the alliance’s general secretary and Colonel Saw Kyaw Nyunt of the KPC will be its joint general secretary.

The coordinator of the partnership will be Myo Win of the All Burma Students Democratic Front. The central executive committee of the student group suspended Myo Win, its previous vice-chair, in October of last year for participating in the junta-led commemoration of the eighth anniversary of the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement.
Colonel Khun Okkar, the Pa-O National Liberation Organization's sponsor, and two members of its central executive committee were in attendance. One of them—whose identity was withheld—was supposedly assigned to the newly established alliance's secretariat.
The Pa-O National Liberation unit's leader, Major General Khun Thurein, informed The Irrawaddy that his unit was not associated with the 7 EAO Alliance.

“It is the decision of individuals [to join the alliance], and he does not represent the PNLO,” Khun Thurein said.

Since the 2021 coup, three groups who signed the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement – the Karen National Union, the All Burma Students Democratic Front, and the Chin National Front – have been in conflict with the regime. Meanwhile, the Pa-O National Liberation Organization and the New Mon State Party initially engaged in peace talks with the junta but later resorted to armed resistance. The PNLO withdrew from peace talks in January due to clashes with junta forces, while some senior members of the New Mon State Party joined the armed revolution in February. At a meeting in Chiang Mai, General Yawd Serk proposed self-administration in areas controlled by seven ethnic armed groups, but the proposal was not adopted.

BOB Post