It is said to be the first meeting among the representatives of the different Arakanese political parties and civil society groups and was held for three days from 11th to 14th of January in Chiang Mai in Thailand.

A committee to collaborate on Arakanese national unity is also said to have been formed in their three-day meeting.

Colonel Htun Mrat Naing of the Arakan Army told Narinjara that the leaders in their meeting accepted that the Arakanese must build national unity for their political goals.

“This workshop meeting is quite satisfactory because there was no argument and everyone has accepted that they must build national unity. They have their own feeling that the life and land of Arakanese will be unthinkable if they fail to build unity”, said Col Htun Mrat Naing.

Over 40 Arakanese who included individuals and representatives of the different Arakanese political parties and civil society groups based at home and abroad are said to have attended the workshop meeting.

Daw Saw Mra Razar Lunn, a senior member of the organizing committee of the meeting, said, “We have held this workshop discussion or Arakanese national meeting with the aim to build our national unity as well as to lay out our common political goals.”

The meeting was jointly held by the Arakan Army, the Rakhine Women Union and the National United Party of Arakan and said to be mainly focused on the issues of Arakanese national unity and cooperation.

Daw Saw Mra Razar Lunn said they have laid down a six-point accord for their cooperation and a joint-committee to work for building national unity.

She said she, Col Htun Mrat Naing, senior leaders of other parties and individuals are included in the joint committee.

The Arakanese Young Monk Union, the Rakhine Nationalities Development Party, the Wan Lark Foundation, the Rakhine Women Union, the Arakan Liberation Party, the Arakan Army, the National United Party of Arakan, the Democratic Party and the Rakhine National Network, etc are said to have attended in the meeting.