20 agreed points still needed for emergence of genuine federal Union

The third meeting of Union Peace Conference also known as 21st Century Panglong Conference was in progress in Nay Pyi Taw on July 11 in 2018. (Photo-State Counsellor Office)

Published 16 October 2019

Min Naing Soe

Twenty agreed points are needed for the emergence of genuine federal Union, said Sai Kyaw Nyunt, the joint-secretary of Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD), who is also the secretariat member of the Union Peace Dialogue Joint Committee (UPDJC).

The remarks came from the fourth anniversary of NCA signing held on October 15.

We still need to meet a lot of agreed points. Let me ask when the peace process come to a stop. We have several matters to discuss. Twenty agreed points are still needed for the emergence of the genuine federal Union, said joint-secretary Sai Kyaw Nyunt.

If the ethnic leaders are able to sign these twenty agreed points together, implementations can be carried out very well, said joint-secretary Sai Kyaw Nyunt.

The main objective of the peace process is to amend the Constitution. When the already-agreed Union Accord is reviewed, lack of agreed points has been found in political sector, said joint-secretary Sai Kyaw Nyunt.

Most of the already-agreed points are found being indifferent to those prescribed in the Constitution. Agreements are found in economic sector to some degree. Financial status is not strong in the federal point of view. Although progress is seen in land sector, it is not in a satisfactory state, said joint-secretary Sai Kyaw Nyunt.

We have seen that the agreement to establish federal democratic Union has not been laid down yet when reviewing the Union Accord. The democracy and federal-based Union has been already agreed. Federal principles are not easy to reach the agreement, said joint-secretary Sai Kyaw Nyunt.

In the citizen chapter, the 1982 Citizenship Law is complex. It cannot be amended until now. The Constitution should clearly express that the citizenship law would go on the enactment, said joint-secretary Sai Kyaw Nyunt.

The legislative and executive reforms contained in Union Accord haven’t reached the agreement. The judicial sector still needs amendments. It is time to change into the judicial system suitable for people-centered federal system, said joint-secretary Sai Kyaw Nyunt.

Translated and Edited by Win Htut