Arakan NationalParty (ANP), which was denied registration by the military junta, held anexperience briefing in Yangon on 26 October about the ceremony for the9th anniversary of the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA).
Theexperience briefing was conducted by the two leaders, who attended the 9thanniversary of NCA in Naypyidaw on 15 October.
"Theyinvited two former representatives of the ANP to attend the ceremony. Therepresentatives believed that it was important to share their experiences withthe party workers and hence they invited the central committee members. Therewas nothing particularly special about it," said U Tun Aung Kyaw, a memberof the ANP's policy steering committee.
The two ANPleaders, who attended the NCA ceremony, are U Ba Shein (former Pyithu Hluttawrepresentative from Kyaukphyu) and Daw Khin Saw Wai (former PyithuHluttaw representative from Rathedaung).
U Tun AungKyaw stated that U Ba Shein presented and discussed the crisis & sufferingof the Arakanese people caused by the intense fighting at the experiencebriefing. He opined that if peace is achieved promptly, national interests canbe effectively pursued.
U Pe Than,a former ANP party leader and political analyst, stated that the attendance ofANP party members at the NCA anniversary ceremony was exploited.
"Althoughthe ANP is not a registered party, I believe it is being used to createdivisions. The individuals involved in the ANP are convinced that pursuing apolitical path can be more practical than adopting a revolutionary one,"he added.
In hisspeech at the NCA meet, junta leader senior general Min Aung Hlaing stated thatinstead of engaging in political discussions, the unta will not compromise onthe demands of armed groups.
The politicalparties criticized the junta leader's remark and the resistance forcesresponded by stating, "We are fighting because we don't want to askfor what we want."
U Pe Thanresponded to the junta leader's remarks by stating that the Arakan politicalparties are pursuing a political path for 10 years but have not been allowed toform a provincial government. He pointed out that there is no way to establisha federal government under the 2008 Constitution, and the political path isalmost dead.
"InArakan State, the ANP received most of the votes, but it was not allowed toform a government. Therefore, if you pursue the political path, the federalmodel of self-government, self-determination, and the right to shape your owndestiny are not possible under the 2008 Constitution. Because of this, thepolitical path has died, and the resistance forces started to gain theirstrength and also more territories," said U Pe Than.
Thepowerful ethnic armed organizations which originally participated in the NCAare no longer involved with the process. Despite the NCA reaching its 9thanniversary, it remains a meaningless agreement for the ethnic groups.Furthermore, fierce fighting erupted in many regions, and due to the expansionof military presence, the NCA became just a piece of paper.
The 9th NCAanniversary was briefly organized by the National Solidarity and PeacemakingNegotiation Committee (NSPNC) on 15 October at Myanmar International ConventionCenter-2 in Naypyidaw.
On 1 July,the junta denied the ANP for the party registration, citing a violation insection 7 of the political party registration law.
However, UTun Aung Kyaw, a member of the ANP's policy steering committee, noted thatwhile the ANP was denied registration, there has been no announcement ofdissolution, unlike the National League for Democracy (NLD) and the ShanNationalities League for Democracy (SNLD).
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