Ethnic armed groups are expecting to hold national-level political talk in March and they will discuss with the government at the meeting planned to hold at the end of January, said Col. Sai Ngin, the team leader of Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement – Signatory, Ethnic Armed Organizations, the Union Peace Dialogue Joint Committee (NCA-S EAO UPDJC).
Meeting of the Peace Process Steering Team (PPST) was held at Chiang Mai on January 17 and 18 and Col. Sai Ngin talked about national-level political talk in the press conference held after the meeting.
The national-level political talk can be held with three stages: ethnic level political talk, regional level political talk and fact-sheet level political talk and ethnic armed groups, which signed the nationwide ceasefire agreement (NCA), will lead the ethnic level political talk.
However the military restricted some locations and number of people to attend ethnic level political talk and some of the ethnic armed groups faced difficulties to participate in the talk.
Although there are ten ethnic armed groups, which signed the NCA, some of the ethnic armed groups cannot hold the ethnic level political talk.
“We have to hold the national-level political talk if we want to hold 21st Century Panglong – Union Peace Conference. The NCA needs public meetings and national-level political talks. The ethnic armed groups and representatives of government and army will make a negotiation to hold the national-level political talks,” said Ye Baw Than Khae, Chairman of the All Burma Students' Democratic Front (ABSDF), which is one of the members of the PPST.
