Myanmar Spring Chronicle – November 18 View
(MoeMaKa, November 19, 2025)
Two Ethnic Armed Groups Temporarily Withdraw from the NUCC
On November 18, reports emerged that two ethnic armed groups — the Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP) and the Karen National Union (KNU) — have temporarily suspended their participation in the National Unity Consultative Council (NUCC), the political coalition established before the formation of the National Unity Government (NUG).
The news was confirmed by THN Freelance Journalist, which contacted U Aung San Myint, Secretary of the KNPP. The development is seen as a setback for the Spring Revolution’s political momentum, which has already been under strain both militarily and organizationally.
Formation and Structure of the NUCC
The NUCC was established on March 8, 2021, shortly after the military coup, to serve as a broad political coordination body. Later that same month, it issued the Federal Democracy Charter — a declaration outlining the vision for a future Federal Democratic Union of Myanmar.
The founding members included:
-
The Committee Representing the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH),
-
Armed resistance organizations,
-
State/Federal unit councils and ethnic-based consultative councils,
-
Political parties rejecting the coup,
-
Spring Revolution groups such as strike committees, women’s organizations, and civil-society organizations.
In total, the NUCC initially consisted of 28 organizations with 56 representatives. The exact number of delegates per group was not fixed — representation depended on organizational size and scope.
Later, membership expanded to 61 representatives, though some names were withheld for security reasons.
NUCC’s Role in the Spring Revolution
In the early months of the revolution, the NUCC was regarded as the highest political body within the pro-democracy movement. It was the NUCC that oversaw the formation of the NUG, effectively acting as a political guiding structure above the new government.
Its membership spanned multiple power centers — elected lawmakers from 2020, ethnic armed organizations, civil society, and strike committees — but also reflected differing perspectives between non-military activists and armed groups.
At its height, the NUCC included eight armed organizations, though only three were publicly named: the KNU, KNPP, and ABSDF (All Burma Students’ Democratic Front). The remaining five were unnamed. Whether those groups are still participating or have quietly withdrawn is unclear.
The NUCC held its first People’s Assembly in January 2022 and the second in early 2024, but since then, its activity has appeared to slow.
Signs of Political Fragmentation
Over the past two years, both the CRPH and the NLD have paused their participation in the NUCC. This, along with growing differences between civilian political bodies and armed groups, has created uncertainty about the NUCC’s current role — whether it is a political leadership council above all resistance organizations or simply a parallel advisory body to the NUG.
Diverging viewpoints among member groups — particularly between strike committees and CSOs on one hand and ethnic armed groups on the other — have further weakened its coherence.
This new suspension by the KNU and KNPP, at a time when the junta is accelerating its sham election plans and revolutionary forces are struggling to sustain nationwide offensives, highlights the waning unity within the anti-junta coalition.
Whether this represents a temporary lull in coordination or the start of deeper political reconfiguration remains to be seen. It is not uncommon in Myanmar’s political history for alliances to form and dissolve in response to shifting power and interests.
Historical Context of Fragmentation
Myanmar’s post-independence history has seen repeated cycles of coalition-building and dissolution among ethnic armed groups.
-
In 2011, southern and western ethnic groups formed the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC) — a key alliance before President Thein Sein’s peace talks.
-
By 2015, as the government’s peace process advanced, UNFC weakened, and a new coordination body called the Peace Process Steering Team (PPST) was formed.
-
Around the same time, northern armed groups formed the Federal Political Negotiation and Consultative Committee (FPNCC), led by the United Wa State Army (UWSA), representing seven powerful northern forces.
However, since 2021, the FPNCC too has grown largely inactive, its relevance diminished by shifting military and geopolitical realities.
Thus, in Myanmar’s modern history, alliances emerge and fade — shaped by battlefield conditions, political calculations, and conflicting interests. The NUCC’s current fractures may reflect that same pattern, rooted in the enduring challenges of building and sustaining unity amid a prolonged revolution and civil war.