A member of the government Peace Commission, assigned by President U Win Myint to spearhead a committee to work with the ethnic armed groups in the fight against the dreaded disease, confirmed AA was invited to join in the campaign against the virus.

The official said the invitation was sent as part of the “no one left behind” policy of the government in the fight against COVID-19, which already killed six people in the country.

An official of the ethnic armed group, which has fought government forces in deadly skirmishes since November 2018, confirmed receiving the invitation from the peace commission.

On March 23, the government declared the AA a terrorist organisation for allegedly threatening the peace and security of the country and for allegedly attacking civilians, as well as uniformed and non-uniformed government workers.

U Lamai Gum Ja, a spokesperson of the Kachin State-based peace advocacy organization Peace-Talk Creation Group (PCG), said AA was among the eight ethnic armed groups, which are non-signatory to the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement, invited by the government to join the COVID-19 fight.

“AA has been declared terrorist group but they are also ethnic armed group inside Myanmar and there is no enemy when it comes to fighting COVID-19,” he said.

“That is why, the government urged armed groups to cooperate when it comes to mitigating the spread of COVID-19 in ethnic areas under their control,” he added.

He said the commission had sent information materials, including posters, to the ethnic armed groups to help in disseminating information on how to prevent from COVID-19 infections.

The AA and its two allies, the Ta’ang National Liberation Army and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, extended a unilateral truce until the end of May to give way to efforts to fight COVID-19.

However, the Tatmadaw (military) rejected the truce saying the ethnic armed groups usually take advantage of the ceasefire to expand their territories, and conduct illegal activities, such as extortion and recruitment.

The AA official said it is difficult for them to actively cooperate with the government’s anti-COVID-19 efforts, as the Tatmadaw operations continue.

The government committee tasked to coordinate anti-COVID campaign met with representatives of the 10 ethnic armed groups that signed the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement on March 5 in Yangon to discuss intensified cooperation against the disease.

Most of the 10 NCA-signatory groups and the 8 non-signatory ethnic armed groups are operating near Myanmar’s border areas with Thailand and China.

Over a hundred civilians died and hundreds more injured since the fighting between government forces and the AA erupted in 2018. More than 150,000 people in Rakhine and Chin states fled their homes to escape the fighting.

The predominantly Buddhist Arakan Army, established in 2009, is fighting for autonomy from the central government. - Translated