āThis committee [the armed ethnic groups] was organized to demand the people’s fundamental rights (from birth) that have been denied the ethnic people, such as equal rights and self-determination according to the 1947 Panglong agreementā, Nai Hongsa, the spokesperson of the committee explained.
āThis committee has been named ‘The Committee for Approving a Federal Union,’ and it has discussed the steps for establishing a federal union politically and militarily,ā Nai Hongsa said.
The committee has been meeting since November 2nd, in Mae Hong Son, according to Mizzima News. Today, the committee discussed details about a military agreement between the groups.
āThe six ethnic armed groups are Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), Karen National Union (KNU), New Mon State Party (NMSP), Karenni National People’s Party (KNPP), Shan State Army -South (SSA-S) ,and Chin National Front (CNF). These groups are based on the Thai-Burma border, China-Burma border, and India-Burma border. It will not be difficult to make an alliance militarily, no matter the distance,ā Nai Hongsa explained.
The six armed groups are headed by the KIO vice chairman as the committee chairman, KNLA Chief of Staff, General Mu Too, as the vice chairman, General Secretary of NMSP, Nai Hongsa, as the committee secretary, and U Shwe Myo Than from KNPP as the vice-secretary.
āThe groups in the alliance will not be forced to fight. They can support each other eith military supplies and IT technology. They can also help with information sharing. We won’t have difficulty cooperating if the Burmese army attacks, because we have a military strategy,ā Nai Hongsa added.
Members of this committee believe that the political situation will not change after the making of a new government with the 2010 election, which is controlled by the Burmese army. They believe that the stance on the ethnic groups will not change with the November 7th election.
