Prominent political figures attended a “trust-building summit” this weekend in Taunggyi, capital of Shan state, according to Shan Nationalities Democratic Party (SNDP) secretary Sai Nyunt Lwin.
About 200 representatives and senators from 40 Myanmar political parties attended the ethnic event that ran from Sept. 21-23. The summit that was sanctioned by the government was organized by various political organizations from Shan, Kayah and Mon states. Party leaders discussed a national ceasefire process and how to address the redrafting of the 2008 constitution into one that establishes a federal union in Myanmar.
The summit was the first of its kind in Shan state. SNDP was the original driving force behind the conference, but the organizing committee quickly expanded to include Kayah and Mon state parties attracting a wider audience.
Most active ethnic political parties in Myanmar are demanding the constitution to be amended in order to allow for a state-level autonomy that was promised during the 1948 Panglong Agreement, which Shan, Kachin, and Chin state representatives and government leaders were all signatories of.