Delegates from 150 ethnic political parties and armed groups from Myanmar met in Chiang Mai to discuss the country's pressing ethnic issues and peace process during a 3 day conference hosted by the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC).
The UNFC is an umbrella group for eleven ethnic armed groups that sometimes advocates on their behalf during peace discussions.
The meeting that started on Monday and finishes on Friday, with a press conference, was the first time representatives from the majority of Myanmar's political parties came together under one roof. Discussions focused on peace and national reconciliation, and the key points of a federal union policy.
Expectations of the assembly committee were further surpassed with the presence of the multi-party Peace and Democracy Front (PDF) that was established in 1989. Since forming, the PDF, which mostly consists of groups active in northern Myanmar, has kept its association with other ethnic parties to a minimum. A similar conference was attempted in September 2012, but a number of groups, including the PDF, didn’t attend.
"Normally, when a meeting like this is attempted, we have to consider covering travel expenses for the attendees," said Hkun Okkar, a spokesperson for the conference. "In this case, we were surprised to find out most of the groups were willing to cover expenses on their own."
The UNFC is trying to get government approval for subsequent multi-party assemblies in Myanmar.
