“There are still a lot of alliance groups; and some [political] parties are exclusively members of one alliance. For example, member parties of the United Nationalities Alliance (UNA) usually do not join as member parties of other alliance groups. But, some groups accept all [political parties],” said U Kyi Toe, of the NLD.
Although the EAPP will not accept individual parties who hold membership with other alliances, the group has announced that it will, however, accept a whole alliance as a member group.
The EAPP, led by the NLD, was founded last October, and has member groups from twelve political parties [of UNA] and ten parties of the Committee Representing People’s Parliament (CRPP), which was founded in 1993.
The EAPP was founded with the guiding aim of achieving a federal union during the country’s current democratic transition, and to foster understanding between political parties, pledging to collaborate with other ethnic parties, according to U Nyang Sark, Chairman of the Chin Democracy Front.
“It is necessary for all [political] parties to cooperate in Burma’s politics. For [the EAPP], [the alliance] will have to negotiate and continue to collaborate with other alliances’ individual member parties; if any individual alliance’s party comes to cooperate with us, we will accept that too,” said U Nyang Sark.
EAPP committee members will be selected this upcoming week, and will be chosen from the alliances’ member parties, which include the Shan State Kokang Democratic Party, the Wa National Unity Party, the Chin Democracy Front, the Kayah National Democracy Front, the Ta’ang National Party, the Karenni National Progressive Party, the Democracy and Human Rights Party, the Mon Democracy Party, the Chin Progressive Party, the Shan National Democracy Front, and the National League for Democracy.
