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Roundup: Myanmar's peace process gaining momentum

Xinhua, May 15, 2017 Adjust font size:

Myanmar's peace process is gaining momentum as it heads for the second meeting of the 21st Century Panglong Peace Conference slated for May 24, an inclusive dialogue designed to open to all ethnic armed groups.

A latest meeting of the Union Peace Dialogue Joint Committee (UPDJC), chaired by State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi and held late last week, has unprecedentedly agreed on self-legislation of region or state governments, achieving a breakthrough in the political dialogue between the government and cease-fire armed groups.

The consent is one of the 21 detailed facts agreed and which will be submitted to the upcoming second meeting of the Panglong Peace Conference in Nay Pyi Taw for approval.

The facts cover sovereignty, equality, self-legislation, federal union principle or structure and delegation of authority and democracy system.

The granting of rights for self-drawing of constitution of their own nationalities' states will be the first ever in Myanmar's history.

However, the regional constitution shall not be against the country's overall constitution and the constitution be applied within the regions, some ethnic leaders clarified.

The other points of the agreements reached at the meeting were related to sectors of economy, social affairs, farmland and natural resources and environment.

Aung San Suu Kyi, at the UPDJC meeting, called for working for the success of the Panglong Peace Conference, describing Myanmar's peace process as part of the world's and saying that the process can be taken as an important lesson and example for other countries in conflicts.

The UPDJC meeting discussed a range of matters dealing with probable signing agreements in the Panglong peace conference and adopted decisions on some sectors in the agenda related with politics, economy, social affairs, farmland, environment and security.

Meanwhile, Myanmar's peace commission also negotiated deals with non-ceasefire signatory armed groups to the Nationwide Cease-fire Accord (NCA) last week to enable them to attend the Panglong Peace Conference.

The negotiation, which took place in Chiang Mai, Thailand, covered areas proposed by the armed groups' Delegation for Political Negotiation (DPN), for them to sign the ceasefire pact.

The DPN consists of seven non-ceasefire signatories, mainly the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), Kayinni National Progressive Party (KNPP) and New Mon State Party (NMSP).

Myanmar's previous government and eight armed groups mainly involving Kayin National Union (KNU), Arakan Liberation Party (ALP) and Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS)/Shan State Army (SSA)-South signed the NCA on Oct. 15, 2015.

As part of its efforts for national reconciliation and peace, the incumbent government sponsored the first meeting of the 21st Century Panglong Conference in Nay Pyi Taw in August 2016 after its takeover and the second of its kind is to be followed as scheduled.

The government is also making efforts to bring in those non-NCA signatories to join the signing and enable them to be included in the peace process. Endit