The first meeting in the new year of the Peace Process Steering Team (PPST) took place in Chiang Mai, Thailand. The 2-day meeting included the ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) who signed the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement-NCA on January 18th.
PPST participants decided to hold a national-level political dialogue before resuming the 21st Century Panglong Conference (Fourth Meeting).
The All Burma Students’ Democratic Front (ABSDF) Chairman, and PPST member, Ye Baw Than Ke said a “National-level political dialogue in inevitable if the 21st Century Panglong Conference will be held again. It is going to be like public meetings, topics, and regional related discussions. These kinds of discussions are already required under the NCA process. The negotiation teams from the government, the Tatmadaw and NCA signatories soon will discuss these meetings.”
The Shan and Arakanese ethnic groups that could not hold a meeting for various reasons have also agreed to hold a national-level political dialogue.
“To summarize, the five agreements obtained from the two-day meeting includes the discussion on how the UPC (Union Peace Conference) will be held, as well as detailed discussions on the main points to emphasize when we hold it. We have decided to talk with the government delegation that are involved in the 28 working teams,” reported Nai Aung Ma Ngaea a PPST spokesperson.
Despite this progress, there are some signs of discontent.
Pa-O National Liberation Army (PNLO) Chairman Khun Okkar, told RFA News, “to be honest, there is a force/ group that is willing to prevent this from happening, but I do not want to name the organization. There are various possible ways for the group to not be able to hold this event on time.”
To hold the 21st Century Panglong Conference (Fourth Session) in April, there will be bilateral negotiations on the three-step agreement regarding the establishment of the democratic federal union as well as a discussion on the implementation of the peace process and fundamental principles beyond 2020.
Organizers are aiming to include all groups in the 21st Century Panglong Conference. The PPST also decided to hold a meeting between the non-NCA-signatory groups and the NCA signatory groups before holding the Union Peace Conference.
Chairman of the Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS) General Yard Serk has been appointed as the PPST interim leader. Current PSST members include the Karen National Union (KNU), the Arakan Liberation Party (ALP), the Chin National Front (CNF), the New Mon State Party (NMSP), the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (DKBA), the Karen National Union/ Karen National Liberation Army – Peace Council (KNU/KNLA-PC), Lahu Democratic Union (LDU), the Pa-O National Liberation Army (PNLO) and the All Burma Students’ Democratic Front (ABSDF).
