The proposal to hold the Joint Implementation Coordination Meeting (JICM) in December sent by a government delegation to Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS) will seek the decision of a Peace Process Steering Team (PPST) meeting, said RCSS Secretary Colonel Sai Ngin.
PPST is formed leaders of the 10 ethnic armed groups, signatories to the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement.
The government and RCSS delegations met in Chiang Mai, Thailand, on November 19. At the meeting, the government side proposed to hold the JICM in December as it could not been held on October 30 as scheduled due to various reasons.
“Everything is OK at today’s meeting. As our peace process has been suspended for over a year, we will discuss when we start our JICM. It was first to be held on October 30. But we could not for various reasons. This time, the government proposed the timeline. We also discussed what we wanted,” said Col Sai Ngin.
The proposal will be presented during the PPST meeting scheduled to take place in the first week of December for decision and approval.
“We will call a meeting of PPST, the highest authoritative body of our EAOs (ethnic armed organizations). We will discuss this after calling the meeting. Through this, we will agree to hold a JICM. Next, we will move towards UPDJC and JMC meetings and then the fourth 21st Century Panglong Conference that will be due in earlier next year,” the colonel added.
