NLD Meeting With Kachin Ethnic Parties on New Year’s Day
By Network Media Group
Thursday, December 31, 2020
When the Kachin State People’s Party (KSPP) meets with the National League for Democracy (NLD) on New Year’s Day, it will ask the party to implement the Panglong Agreement, as well as propose it meet the KSPP during future dialogue with five other “state-based” parties.
These include the Karen National Democratic Party, Kayah State Democratic Party, Chin National League for Democracy, Mon Unity Party, and Arakan National Party.
Shwe Min, chair of the Lisu National Development Party (LNDP), told NMG that his party and other representatives of the Kachin ethnic parties who won seats in the recent race (KSPP and New Democracy Party) will meet with the NLD tomorrow in Myitkyina. But he had no idea what would be tabled because no-one had told his party anything in advance.
Immediately after winning the election, NLD pledged to unify the ethnic nationalities in a statement sent to 48 ethnic political parties. On December 12, a three-person negotiating group was formed to meet with the ethnic parties.
NLD Vice-Chair Dr Zaw Myin Maung told media outlets after the meeting in Myitkyina the three-person team–Dr Aung Moe Nyo, Nan Khin Htwe Myint and N’hton Kham Naw San–will travel to Mon State.
In its statement, NLD stated that it expected to cooperate with ethnic parties in a shared vision of a “democratic federal” Burma. The importance of “self-determination” was emphasized, however, by the comments of the ethnic parties that “federal” should be the first adjective and not the second one.
