A meeting between the delegation led by Dr. Aung Moe Nyo from the National League for Democracy (NLD) and the Kayah State Democracy Party (KySDP), was cancelled after an disagreement over the venue, said U Thae Yal, Secretary of the KySDP.

The Kayah State Democracy Party (KySDP) was upset because it did not receive any advance notice.

U Thae Yal explained “At around 7 am this morning, NLD’s Dr. Aung Moe Nyo contacted us via phone. According to our party’s decision, the meeting was scheduled to take place at the KySDP. Party’s office. If both sides do not reach an agreement over the venue, the KySDP planned to meet in a mutually agreed place.”

The NLD’s CEC members—Dr. Aung Moe Nyo, Magway Region Chief Minister, Karen State Chief Minister Daw Nan Khin Htwe Myint and upper house MP U Inn Htone Naw Sam from Myitkyina Township in Kachin State, arrived in Loikaw Township of Kayah State on January 11th.

On the morning of January 12th, the delegation met the elected candidates and the CEC members at the Kayah State NLD office. It also planned to meet the KySDP at the Kayah State NLD office at 1 pm at the same venue.

The KySDP complained “we feel their acts show little respect to us as the NLD contacts us only when they arrived here,” and so they did not show up at the NLD office and the meeting never took place.

Dr. Aung Moe Nyo gave his side of the story  “In Kachin State, we met the ethnic parties at the State NLD office. In Mon State, we also held the meeting at the NLD Office. It is impossible to meet in any other place. The central committee of the NLD decided to meet ethnic parties in the NLD office in Kayah State. If we meet them in another place, the people will criticize the NLD for trying to create divisions among ethnic parties. That’s why the delegation has decided to meet the party at the NLD office in Kayah State as per the decision made by the central committee of the NLD.”

If the NLD team had exercised a little flexibility then there is no reason why the meeting could not have taken place at an alternative venue.

Dr. Aung Moe Nyo failed in his mandate to meet elected members of the Karenni party just because “the central committee of the NLD decided to meet ethnic parties in the NLD office in Kayah State” was not acceptable to the KySDP who had not been consulted.

This does suggest a lack of respect for the Karenni Party that their views can be so readily dismissed without due consideration.