• Burmese
Friday, June 13, 2025
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Irrawaddy
26 °c
Falkenstein
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
No Result
View All Result
The Irrawaddy
No Result
View All Result
Home News Burma

Military Chief Says National Peace Deal Must Guarantee ‘Non-Separation’

The Irrawaddy by The Irrawaddy
October 15, 2018
in Burma
Reading Time: 2 mins read
0 0
A A
Military, government and ethnic armed group leaders attend a "peace summit" in Naypyitaw on Monday. / State Counselor's Office

Military, government and ethnic armed group leaders attend a "peace summit" in Naypyitaw on Monday. / State Counselor's Office

5.7k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

NAYPYITAW/YANGON — Senior General Min Aung Hlaing on Monday insisted that the “non-separation” of ethnic minority states and regions had to be part of any future peace deal with the country’s ethnic armed groups as the Constitution demanded it.

Myanmar’s military chief made the remarks on the first of a three-day “peace summit” in Naypyitaw that has brought him together with State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the leaders of 10 ethnic armed groups to break the deadlock in the country’s stalled peace process.

Among the main points of contention is the military’s demand that the armed groups promise ahead of any peace deal never to secede from the union, a proposal the armed groups have balked at.

RelatedPosts

Haseena Malik shows a photograph of her son Uzair Maqbool Malik at her house in Shopian, Kashmir, in September 2019. Malik, who participated in anti-government protests in 2016 but has not been convicted of a crime, is detained in a jail 1,000 km away in Agra, Uttar Pradesh state. / REUTERS

India ‘Transports’ Kashmiri Detainees to Distant Prisons

October 9, 2019
5.6k
RCSS/SSA soldiers march in a parade to mark Shan National Day at Loi Tai Leng, the headquarters of the SSA-S, in February 2016. / Nyein Nyein / The Irrawaddy

No Deals on Secession, Military Integration Without Consent of Shan People: RCSS

October 26, 2018
6.3k
State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi greets General Yawd Serk of the Restoration Council of Shan State on the second day of the peace summit in Naypyitaw on Oct. 16, 2018. / Myanmar State Counselor’s Office / Facebook

Gov’t, EAOs Agree Guidelines for Further Discussion of Key Peace Stumbling Blocks

October 16, 2018
5.8k

“It is not that we don’t believe our ethnic brothers, as some groups have said. Adding ‘non-separation’ is for a long-term guarantee. We need to join hands together on the peace path with trust and without doubt,” Snr. Gen. Min Aung Hlaing said.

He noted that Article 10 of the military-drafted Constitution states that: “No part of the territory constituted in the union such as regions, states, union territories and self-administered areas shall ever secede from the union.”

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said the government has repeatedly vowed to adhere to the democratic and federal principles the country’s ethnic minorities have long demanded.

“I want to say that it’s very important to collaborate for a union where stakeholders neither wish nor need to secede,” she said.

Last year the military said that if ethnic armed groups do not promise to not secede, there would be no further discussion of self-determination, autonomy or minority rights. As a result, peace negotiations have largely ground to a halt since the second session of the 21st Century Panglong Peace Conference in May 2017. The so-called package deal was left off the agenda of the third session of the conference in July.

“There are contradicting perspectives among the government, Tatmadaw [military] and us on self-determination and non-separation, which are the key hurdles to moving forward in every stage of the political negotiations,” Saw Mutu Say Poe, chairman of the Karen National Union, said in his speech at Monday’s summit.

He said the ultimate goal of establishing a federal system of government should not be boiled down to the issue of secession alone.

“Our demand for self-determination must apply to the respective states and regions of the union,” he said. “Our demand to draft state constitutions has to align with the union Constitution, and at the same time it will have a mechanism to solve any constitutional disputes.”

The armed groups feel that the military’s insistence on “non-separation” is “dictatorial” because the integrity of the union is already mentioned in the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement they have singed, said U Ye Tun, a former Lower House lawmaker in the union Parliament and an ethnic Shan.

“One side should not push for adding ‘non-separation,’ and the other side should no longer demand the right to secede if it wants to,” he said. “This matter will not be overcome as long as the union government is seen as the government of the [majority] ethnic Bamar.”

The government plans to hold three more sessions of the Union Peace Conference by the end of next year to finalize the basic principles of a peace deal, or Union Accord. To date, 51 basic principles have been agreed covering politics, economics, social issues, land, the environment and security.

Your Thoughts …
Tags: secession
The Irrawaddy

The Irrawaddy

...

Similar Picks:

Haseena Malik shows a photograph of her son Uzair Maqbool Malik at her house in Shopian, Kashmir, in September 2019. Malik, who participated in anti-government protests in 2016 but has not been convicted of a crime, is detained in a jail 1,000 km away in Agra, Uttar Pradesh state. / REUTERS
Asia

India ‘Transports’ Kashmiri Detainees to Distant Prisons

by Reuters
October 9, 2019
5.6k

Hundreds of people detained without trial by Indian authorities following a crackdown in Kashmir have been moved to jails hundreds...

Read moreDetails
RCSS/SSA soldiers march in a parade to mark Shan National Day at Loi Tai Leng, the headquarters of the SSA-S, in February 2016. / Nyein Nyein / The Irrawaddy
News

No Deals on Secession, Military Integration Without Consent of Shan People: RCSS

by Lawi Weng
October 26, 2018
6.3k

Ethnic group says it will not let Tatmadaw use peace process to force one-sided disarmament

Read moreDetails
State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi greets General Yawd Serk of the Restoration Council of Shan State on the second day of the peace summit in Naypyitaw on Oct. 16, 2018. / Myanmar State Counselor’s Office / Facebook
Burma

Gov’t, EAOs Agree Guidelines for Further Discussion of Key Peace Stumbling Blocks

by Nyein Nyein
October 16, 2018
5.8k

Two-day summit ends with statement on seven common goals

Read moreDetails
The government’s first meeting of peace process stakeholders convenes in July 2017. / Myanmar State Counselor’s Office / Facebook
News

To Advance Peace Process, Gov’t Urged to Build a Union All Groups Want to Join

by Nyein Nyein
September 28, 2018
5k

Dozens of stakeholders swap ideas with government officials at informal talks in Yangon

Read moreDetails
Load More
Next Post
People’s Park near the Shwedagon Pagoda where land leasing to a private company has been making a massive loss. / The Irrawaddy

Anti-Corruption Commission to Review Complaint Calling for Investigation of Losses of Public Funds

A road in Kachin State / The Irrawaddy

Anti-Corruption Commission Asked to Probe Kachin State Highway Project

No Result
View All Result

Recommended

The Hidden Fallout From China’s Cross-Border Crime Crackdown in Myanmar

The Hidden Fallout From China’s Cross-Border Crime Crackdown in Myanmar

4 days ago
1.4k
How the Myanmar Military’s Propaganda Efforts Have Evolved Over the Decades

How the Myanmar Military’s Propaganda Efforts Have Evolved Over the Decades

2 days ago
919

Most Read

  • Civilians in Need as Arakan Army Advances on Kyaukphyu

    Civilians in Need as Arakan Army Advances on Kyaukphyu

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta Advances into Karenni State

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Jade Hub Burns as Junta Counteroffensive Penetrates Hpakant

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • China Defends Myanmar Junta on Human Rights at UN

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • High-Level Ministerial Meeting Held to Speed Up Preparations for Myanmar Junta’s Election

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Newsletter

Get The Irrawaddy’s latest news, analyses and opinion pieces on Myanmar in your inbox.

Subscribe here for daily updates.

Contents

  • News
  • Politics
  • War Against the Junta
  • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
  • Conflicts In Numbers
  • Junta Crony
  • Ethnic Issues
  • Asia
  • World
  • Business
  • Economy
  • Election 2020
  • Elections in History
  • Cartoons
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Commentary
  • Guest Column
  • Analysis
  • Letters
  • In Person
  • Interview
  • Profile
  • Dateline
  • Specials
  • Myanmar Diary
  • Women & Gender
  • Places in History
  • On This Day
  • From the Archive
  • Myanmar & COVID-19
  • Intelligence
  • Myanmar-China Watch
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Food
  • Fashion & Design
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • Photo Essay
  • Donation

About The Irrawaddy

Founded in 1993 by a group of Myanmar journalists living in exile in Thailand, The Irrawaddy is a leading source of reliable news, information, and analysis on Burma/Myanmar and the Southeast Asian region. From its inception, The Irrawaddy has been an independent news media group, unaffiliated with any political party, organization or government. We believe that media must be free and independent and we strive to preserve press freedom.

  • Copyright
  • Code of Ethics
  • Privacy Policy
  • Team
  • About Us
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Burmese

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Business Roundup
  • Books
  • Donation

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.