Meeting between army and SSPP held at Nay Pyi Taw

Meeting between army and SSPP held at Nay Pyi Taw
Army delegation and representatives of SSPP met at Nay Pyi Taw (Photo-SSPP)
Army delegation and representatives of SSPP met at Nay Pyi Taw (Photo-SSPP)
Published 26 February 2019
Min Naing Soe

The meeting between the Tatmadaw(military) delegation led by Lt. General Yar Pyae and representatives of Shan State Progressive Party (SSPP) led by Vice President (2) Maj-Gen Sao Khun Sai is held at Paung Laung guesthouse in Nay Pyi Taw on February 25 and the army offered the SSPP to hold meeting once a month to build mutual trust.

Both sides mainly discussed about the misunderstandings, the arrest of SSPP members made by the army and finding ways to build mutual trust, said Col. Sai Phone Han, spokesperson of the SSPP.

“We found ways to meet regularly. For instance, we can meet once a month and we can meet at Mainaung or Kholan. We discussed how to build mutual trust. The army offered to meet once a month,” said the Colonel.

The SSPP will submit the military’s offer to its central committee and although the SSPP agreed to meet, they are not sure whether the meeting will actually be held once a month. They will hold a meeting to discuss about it at the next central committee meeting.

Members of National Reconciliation and Peace Center (NRPC) and representatives of the SSPP met on February 22 and the authorities will release all detainees arrested by Section 17 (1) of Illegal Association Act after scrutinizing them, he said.

“The army said they will cooperate with the NRPC to solve this issue,” said the Colonel.

Another disagreement between army and the SSP is of territorial dispute. SSPP agreed to make an interim ceasefire at a union and state level in a meeting held at Taunggyi on January 28, 2012. In the agreement, the SSPP is allowed to stay temporarily in the place they arrived in while they are based at their headquarters, Wun Hai. The SSPP assumed it as misunderstanding, he said.

Shan State Progressive Party/ Shan State Army (SSPP/SSA) is one of the ethnic armed groups which hasn’t signed the nationwide ceasefire agreement (NCA) and it is a member of Federal Political Negotiation and Consultative Committee (FPNCC), organized with ethnic armed groups from northern areas of Myanmar.