Peace Commission agrees to meet DPN officially in Yangon

05 August 2017
Peace Commission agrees to meet DPN officially in Yangon
Ongoing negotiations. Photo: Phanida/Mizzima

Government’s Peace Commission has agreed to meet the Delegation for Peace Negotiation (DPN) of United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC) officially for the sixth time in Yangon on August 10 and 11.
Advisor of the Peace Commission Hla Maung Shwe said that the informal talks with DPN held in Chiang Mai, Thailand on August 4 had progressed more than the earlier informal meeting held on July 20 and then they agreed to have an official meeting in Yangon.
“We presented the results of previous informal meeting held on July 20 to our PC Chairman and members and then we brought the discussions and negotiations in our PC to this informal meeting here. We can say we could make more progress than the previous informal meeting. We could make negotiations with them. So we will meet again with them on August 10 and 11 in Yangon for the sixth time,” Hla Maung Shwe said to reporters.
He added that he was satisfied with the result of this informal meeting as UNFC discussed and agreed to attend the next Third Panglong Conference and to sign the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) as the main agenda of the meeting.
But Tun Zaw, spokesman of DPN, said that the government’s delegation discussed with them to sign the NCA but the DPN replied that they would sign the NCA only after the agreement adhered to their 8-point proposal as conditions for signing NCA.
Tun Zaw told reporters, “We can reach agreement with them on signing the NCA only after our 8-point proposal reaches the stage of lawful validity and effect.”
He added that they still needed to continue their negotiations on reviewing the political framework and matters on monitoring the ceasefire as the good result of their year-long negotiations for signing the NCA.
“We have more matters to be discussed and some of these matters will be a long-term process. They are reviewing the political framework, mechanism for monitoring of the ceasefire after signing the NCA. We need to discuss how to consolidate these matters. These are the remaining matters to be discussed. So there are matters to be discussed before signing the NCA and matters to be discussed after signing the NCA,” he went on.
He further said that they wanted to continue their negotiations onto the path of to the NCA in an all-inclusive manner but the former government led by President Thein Sein and the current National League for Democracy-led government still refused this all-inclusive proposal and because of this they had been unable to sign the NCA.
The informal meeting held August 4 was attended by government’s PC team led by secretary Khin Zaw Oo and members Aung Kyi, Aung Soe, Hla Maung Shwe, Dr. Min Zaw Oo,Kyaw Lin Oo and the DPN delegation led by Khoo Oo Reh and its members Nai Aung Ma Ngay, Col. Sao Aun, Maj. Hatton, Col. Min Tun, Nar Pit Bun and Tun Zaw.