The political roundtable dialogue was launched by the Burma News International (BNI) together with the Kachin News Group (KNG), a partner media group of the BNI.

The roundtable dialogue was mainly focused on the circumstances of the 3rd Round of the 21st Century Panglong Peace Conference and also discussed about armed conflict in Kachin State, the conditions of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and the issue of controversial ethnic complications.

“Our organization doesn’t only publish update news, but also consider how to support the ongoing peace process as well. Different communities should take part in the peace process in order to exchange different opinions face-to-face,” Nan Pawt Gay, chairperson of the BNI’s policy affairs committee told the KNG.

During the peace roundtable discussion, the issue of women’s participation in peace process, the issue of restriction upon the news media, the issue of the State Government’s less knowledge with peace process were talked comprehensively among the members of parliament, representatives from the civil society organizations and the journalists.

In addition, the issue of Chinese companies’ tissue culture bananas plantation, which causing land and environmental problems in Kachin State, was discussed in the roundtable and also talked about the Bhamo road construction which was implementing without official endorsement.  Daw Jan. Ja Seng Hkawn, a member of parliament, explained about the Bhamo road construction project reportedly initiated by the regional government.      

BNI is a network of ethnic based independent media organizations upholding journalistic ethics and promotes media freedom while providing reliable, accurate, and balanced daily news from the country’s different regions and diverse ethnic people to local, regional, and international communities.