Representatives of the two factions of the Chin resistance participated in peace negotiations brokered by the civil society group Zo Reunification Organisation (ZORO) and the Mizoram State government, in the capital Aizawl, on Monday.
Officials from the Chinland Council, which includes the Chin National Front (CNF/CNA), as well as the Interim Chin National Consultative Council (ICNCC), which includes the Chin Brotherhood, attended the talks.
The Chinland Council and the Chin Brotherhood, which are the two factions of the anti-coup resistance in Chinland, agreed to resolve disputes non-violently. Mizo and Chin people are known collectively as the Zo ethnic nationality.
“ZORO expressed the urgent need for peace as a result of the recent incident of lives lost between us,” said ZORO General Secretary L. Ramdinliana Renthlei, who claimed that the Indian government in New Delhi tacitly supported the peace efforts.
ZORO oversaw a previous peace agreement between the CNF and the Zomi Revolutionary Army (ZRA), another ethnic armed group based in northern Chinland, on July 27.
The peace agreement last week came after fighting took place between the Chin National Army – which serves as the armed wing of the CNF-led Chinland Council – and the Chin Brotherhood in Matupi Township of southern Chinland, in June.
The Chin Brotherhood, which primarily operates in southern Chinland, claimed that two of its members were killed during the fighting.
According to the preliminary agreement, the parties also agreed to not encroach on each other’s liberated territory, recognize the shared culture between ethnic nationalities in Chinland, and to continue to participate in talks organized by ZORO.
“It aims to prevent misunderstandings between the Chin armed groups and to resolve disputes that occurred during the Spring Revolution,” Salai Htet Ni, the CNF spokesperson told DVB. He added that the CNA and Chin Brotherhood need to establish a mutual understanding in order to discuss cooperation in military operations in the future.
“The five-point agreement doesn’t amount to much, but of course it is a good start. It is good when both parties meet,” Salai Yaw Mang, the Chin Brotherhood spokesperson, told DVB.
The two factions of the Chin resistance plan to establish a peace committee to resolve disputes during a follow up meeting that will be held at an unspecified date later this year. Salai Htet Ni said that the Chinland Council and the ICNCC, which are the two leading anti-military councils in the state, did not reach a political agreement during the first round of talks.
The ICNCC was formed by resistance groups – including the CNF – as well as civil society organizations, and elected members of parliament, to build a political framework for Chinland in 2021. It was formed in response to the 2021 military coup.
The CNF and its allied resistance groups left the ICNCC over internal disputes and went on to form the Chinland Council in December 2023.
The Chin National Organization, the Zomi Federal Union, and the Chin National Council Mindat refused to join the Chinland Council over disagreements regarding various articles of its Chinland Constitution, including one that declares the CNA as the only armed force representing the Chin people.
The Chin Brotherhood was formed in response on Dec. 30, 2023. It remains affiliated with the ICNCC. Members of the Chin Brotherhood have also accused the Chinland Council of failing to conform to democratic standards as the body is dominated by the CNF and the National League for Democracy (NLD) party, which is led by jailed State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi.
The CNF was formed in 1988 and seeks autonomy for the ethnic Chin people. It signed the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) with the military in 2015 but it abandoned it shortly after the coup on Feb. 1, 2021.
