Myanmar’s Democratic Alliance Pushes to Unify Scattered Resistance

Myanmar’s leading anti-regime alliance, the Steering Council for the Emergence of a Federal Democratic Union (SCEF), has stepped up a major push for unity, holding strategic discussions with 14 different resistance organizations in a single week.

A source close to the SCEF told The Irrawaddy that the meetings aimed to improve cooperation and build collective leadership between resistance groups.

The SCEF was formed in March by the civilian National Unity Government (NUG), the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH) and major ethnic armed revolutionary organizations: the Kachin Independence Organization/Army (KIO/KIA), Karen National Union/Karen National Liberation Army (KNU/KNLA), Chin National Front/Army (CNF/CNA), and the Karenni National Progressive Party/Karenni Army (KNPP/KA).

The alliance aims to unite military, political, and administrative efforts to build a federal democratic Myanmar.

It held meetings last week with prominent ethnic armed organizations including the United League of Arakan/Arakan Army (ULA/AA), the Spring Revolution Alliance (SRA), the New Mon State Party–Anti-Military Dictatorship (NMSP-AD), and the Pa-O National Liberation Organization/Pa-O National Liberation Army (PNLO/PNLA) alongside the Pa-O National Federal Council (PNFC), as well as Sagaing, Magwe, Mandalay, and Mon State parliamentary bodies and federal councils.

The meetings came a week after SCEF officials met with ASEAN foreign ministers from Thailand and the Philippines in Bangkok for mid-July talks on Myanmar’s crisis.

On July 20, the SCEF met with the Spring Revolution Alliance (SRA), a coalition of 19 resistance forces including prominent armed groups such as Karenni Nationalities Defense Force (KNDF), Chin Brotherhood, and Bamar People’s Liberation Army (BPLA).

The following day, it held talks with NMSP-AD and the Mon State Consultative Council and Committee Representing Mon Hluttaw.

The NMSP-AD split from the New Mon State Party in 2024 to joining the fight against the regime.

“The meeting focused on cooperation,” said NMSP-AD spokesperson Naing Kaung Star. “We have already decided to join the SCEF.”

On July 22, SCEF officials met with the PNLO/PNLA and the Pa-O National Federal Council (PNFC), an umbrella organization representing the Pa-O people in southern Shan State.

The PNLO split in 2024. A faction led by Khun Thurein joined the resistance while another under Colonel Khun Okkar reformed as the PNLA (NCA-S) and remains a regime dialogue partner under the National Ceasefire Agreement.

PNFC spokesperson Khun Wai Htoo said the meeting covered the current political situation, ASEAN’s Five-Point Consensus (5PC), and unified international representation for the revolutionary movement, particularly within ASEAN.

He added that the SCEF highlighted its common political agreement and shared goals under a unified “One Strategy, One Policy” framework.

The two sides also agreed on the six political objectives of the so-called K3C + NUG. Announced in 2024 by the KIO, KNU, KNPP, CNF and NUG, these objectives include eliminating military dictatorship, placing all armed forces under a democratically elected civilian government, abolishing the army-drafted 2008 Constitution, implementing a new federal democratic constitution, constructing a new federal democratic union, carrying out transitional justice for junta victims.

On July 23, the SCEF held an online meeting with General Tun Myat Naing, chair of the Arakan Army, which controls most of Rakhine State. Discussion focused on the current political landscape, requirements for future political processes, and SCEF core policies.

The AA has captured 14 out of Rakhine’s 17 townships, as well as Paletwa Township in neighboring Chin State. The ethnic army is now pushing to capture the state capital of Sittwe and nearby Kyaukphyu, home to Chinese mega projects, while expanding operations into neighboring Magwe, Bago and Ayeyarwady regions.

According to US defense think tank the Jamestown Foundation, the AA has become Myanmar’s most powerful rebel group, extending governance through legal and social institutions while training and supplying a nationwide network of armed resistance groups.

The Irrawaddy reached out to the SCEF, AA, and SRA for comment but received no immediate response.

Political analyst Ko Htin Kyaw Aye described the meetings as a significant milestone for the anti-regime movement.

“Holding discussions with these resistance groups, particularly those outside the SCEF, is a positive development,” he told The Irrawaddy.

He noted that meeting with non-member groups to explain the context and explore more ways to collaborate is a strong step forward.

After rebranding in April following widely denounced elections, the regime handed rebel ethnic armies a 100-day ultimatum to join peace talks while warning the PDF to surrender. Its National Solidarity and Peacemaking Committee (NSPNC) has since held talks with non-combatant ethnic armed groups, including pro-regime militia groups.