Peace talks have been stalled due to differences in understanding, defining and implementing the nationwide ceasefire agreement (NCA), said Dr. Salai Lian Hmung Sakhong, vice chairman of the Union Peace Dialogue Joint Committee (UPDJC).

He made the remark during a book launch symposium on peace and political talks held at Green Hill Hotel in Yangon on January 20. In the symposium, two books on peace and political talks published by the Centre for Development and Ethnic Studies were introduced.

"People have different views on understanding the NCA. Then they have different views on its definition. So we have also found differences in implementing the NCA provisions. This is why our peace efforts have been delayed and could not progress," said Dr. Salai Lian Hmung Sakhong.  

He said that Myanmar has a lot of ethnic armed groups but the root cause of the civil war in Myanmar is only a political problem. He added that the aim of those ethnic armed organizations must be to solve the political problem through political means. 

He then stressed the need to hold political talks to end civil war rather than saying "End civil war and surrender".

Although the government is willing to hold another round of the Union Peace Conference also called the 21st Century Panglong Conference this month, it could not have called meetings of the Peace Process Steering Team and UPDJC.    

Myanmar is carrying out its peace process in accord with the seven-stage political roadmap stated in the NCA such as agreement signing, political dialogue framework approval, holding of national peace talks, holding of the Union Peace Conference, singing of the Union Agreement, the parliamentary approval of the Union Agreement and implementation of the provisions of the agreement.

Dr. Salai Lian Hmung Sakhong highlighted the importance of the process to produce good results. Without understanding of the process, there would be no good results, he pointed out.