“On September 17 and 18th, [the] UNA and NLD, as well as [the] ’88 Generation Peace and Society group, and representatives from the 1990 political parties will have [a] meeting. It [will] not [be] like the political framework of the current 56 parties,” said Nai Soe Myint, member of the UNA and central executive committee member of the Mon National Party (MNP).
Nai Soe Myint said that the groups are hosting the conference in order to be prepared to engage in tripartite talks, and to establish a political framework which safeguards the rights of ethnic groups and forms a democratic federal union.
“We will also meet with [the] United Nationalities Federation Council (UNFC) with the outcome of this conference,” said Nai Soe Myint.
Burma’s 56 political parties held a previous meeting on September 13th and 14th at the Green Hill Hotel in Rangoon to discuss Burma’s political framework; from this meeting a 15-member committee was founded in order to draft the country’s political framework.
Since the NLD, UNA, and the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) were not present at the September meeting, there will be another conference including UNA, NLD, and ’88 Generation Peace and Society group, along with representatives who won the 1990 general elections, which will focus on the national political framework.
A political framework was drafted by the 56 political parties that contested in the 2010 general elections.
The NLD would not cooperate with the Nationalities Brotherhood Federation (NBF) in drafting a political framework, and as such, the NBF will have to negotiate its own political framework with the NLD once it is drafted, according to Pu Zo Zam, spokesperson for the NBF.
After meeting with political parties, the Union Peace-Making Working Committee (UPWC) and the Nationwide Ceasefire Coordination Team (NCCT) met for the first time last August, initiating the process to draft a national political framework.
Once the UPWC and NCCT sign a nationwide ceasefire agreement, Burma’s political framework must be finalized within 90 days, so involved political parties have become involved in some important national sectors.
