An interview with U Kwan Kayaung Aung Kham, Vice-Chair-2 of the Kachin State People’s Party (KSPP) about the meeting the NLD and the future prospects for building up a federal union

Q: The winning candidates from the KSPP met the NLD in the recent days. May I know the latest developments??

A: The KSPP held a meeting on December 31st and three points were agreed at the KSPP’s meeting.

The first is that NLD needs to officially send the invitation letter. The second is venue. The third is the question of selecting delegates and whether it will be done according to the CEC (the KSPP’s Executive Committee) and the KSPP’s delegate selection principle.

We informed the NLD about the above-mentioned points. But we did not get any response from the NLD. I want the public to know that our CEC agreed to meet the NLD. We have decided to cooperate in building up a unity government. Our chair and two elected candidates attended the meeting but our CEC has not approved it. Any matters will be decided through the agreement of our executive committee (CEC).

The NLD only invited the winning candidates. This makes it difficult. The inter-party unity may collapse. We say meetings with NLD must be held with the persons decided by our CEC and not just NLD preferences of only meeting winning candidates... I worry that the meetings between the parties and the future reconciliation may be difficult. The important point I want to point out is we will not accept NLD choosing who they talk to in the future.

Q: Does the party have a plan to accept NLD offers to allot KSPP a minister post in the new government if they make the offer? Has the party made a decision on it?

A: We are not holding special discussions just about the ministerial post. We mainly discussed policy about the future federal union. The election is aimed for the formation of a government and the appointment of ministers. The main point is we are holding discussions, accepting the fact that the unity government needs to be formed in the future through coordination. As I mentioned earlier, we accept their discussion and will make cooperation. Any offer made for the minister post is meaningless.

Q: What should the NLD really do for the future federal union?

A: Now the NLD’s spokesperson said the NLD won a landslide victory. The NLD can form the government independently. I have no nothing to say about it. The NLD needs to hold talks with all groups as it plans to form the national unity government. The NLD must recognize equality and needs to carry out it systematically. But now their talks are like tea-breaks. The NLD does not provide exact plans. The future for all involved is not good without exact plans.

Q: Would you like something to add about the meetings with ethnic parties?

Q: Our merger party has a single policy. No.1 is to send the official letter. No.2 is a separate place for talk. Third is holding the talks only with our CEC selected committee. It is required to practically implement the 1947 Panglong Agreement. It needs to discuss whether or not the constitution will be amended or rewritten, and how to build up a future federal union which goes beyond the offer for the minister posts. If not, nothing will happen. No good results can emerge unless the NLD accepts this.