A Rakhine party calls for a union-level conference

Published on Sunday, 20 January 2013 22:10

Arakan League for Democracy (ALD) is preparing to have a union-level conference of political parties and ethnic armed forces in Rakhine State for a formation of national policy, said the party’s chairman Aye Thar Aung.

ALD will organize a preliminary meeting to discuss arrangements for the meeting on January 25 in Pauktaw Township, Rakhine. The party would try to persuade all groups in the state to join the meeting, he said.

There are only three political parties and two ethnic armed forces in Rakhine state. Rakhine Nationalities Development Party (RNDP), Arakan League for Democracy (ALD), Union of Myanmar National Force Arakan State Party are political parties, while two ethnic armed forces are Arakan Liberation Party (ALP) and Arakan Army (AA).

Political groups representing Bengalis will not be invited for the meeting as there is still a bitter controversy about whether they are citizens or not, he said.

If the first-phase meeting was able to decide a state-level policy, the second phase meeting would be called for union-level conference for national political platform, he said.

The government’ s military would also be invited to join the union-level conference as the military remained pilot position in the national politics, he said.

Shan National League for Democracy (SNLD) and 88th Generations Student Group are also trying to arrange a union-level conference. Many national ethnic organizations urged Aung San Suu Kyi, the chairperson of the National League for Democracy to lead a national conference, something like a second Pinlon Conference.

The Pinlon Agreement, widely known as Panglong Agreement, was reached between Myanmar government under General Aung San and the Shan, Kachin, and Chin peoples on 12 February 1947.