An alliance of the 10 political parties, the Group of Democratic Party Friends (GDPF), held an inter-party meeting on April 4 and 5 in the headquarters of the Democratic Party (Myanmar) in Rangoon and urged the government to hold a Union Conference to find  a solution to end the more than 60-year civil war in Burma. Khin Maung Swe, an NDF leader, said that everyone involved in the civil armed conflict should take part in the conference.

Mizzima correspondent Ko Wild interviewed Khin Maung Swe about the purpose of an all-inclusive Union Conference.

Question: What groups should be selected to take part in a Union Conference?

Answer: All we can do is make a suggestion. We just put out the idea of holding a conference immediately. The government must decide which groups should be invited to the conference.

Q: Do you think that political parties can affect the civil war by forming special committees in the Parliament to solve the long-term armed conflict?

A: Since Burma achieved independence, it has been in a state of civil war for more than 60 years because we have many political problems. The groups chose to fight against each other instead of choosing political ways to solve the problems. Although the former governments talked with the armed groups one by one, they did not choose to hold a political dialogue, so lasting peace could not be established.

We have the Constitution. Whether we can seek peace or not will depend on how the government and Parliament can meet the demands of the ethnic armed groups.

But, it’s very difficult to amend the Constitution. It would take a lot of time to amend it. The Parliament could organise committees to address the problem, but to establish permanent peace, every group must really want national reconciliation.

Q: What is the difference between a ‘Union Conference’ and a ‘Second Panglong Conference’, which has been proposed by the National League for Democracy and Committee Representing People's Parliament (CRPP)?

A: A Union Conference is the last step. It would be somewhat similar to the National Convention which was started in 1993. At first, regional discussions would need to be held.

Also, a general amnesty should be declared. Then regional peace talks should be conducted. Then it would be time to hold an all-inclusive Union Conference.

So, a Union Conference would be different from a ‘Second Panglong Conference’ because the Parliament could participate in the conference. A Union Conference will include the government, the people, the Parliament, the armed groups, the opposition groups and the pro-democracy groups.