Three Kachin political parties have selected ‘Kachin National Congress Party’ as the temporary name for the newly merged party and discussed policies and future work programs, according to the party leaders.
“Our new name is the Kachin National Congress Party. The logo is the Kachin national flag, which is red over green with two crossed swords and a white star at the corner. We are announcing it to the media and our Kachin people today (February 20),” said Dr M Kawn La, chair of the Kachin National Congress (KNC).
The Kachin State Democracy Party (KSDP)’s chair Dr Tu Ja said they will seek confirmation from the public on the party’s name and logo soon.
“This will be entrusted to the public. I want to explain that we will seek confirmation at the people’s conference on March 31. This KNCP is not official yet. Our three parties agreed to use this name when we establish the party, but we haven’t received recognition from public representatives,” he said.
The party leaders announced this to the media and attendants of the Kachin Political Parties Cooperation Committee (KPCC)’s special meeting held at Majoi Hall in the Kachin State’s capital Myitkyina on February 20.
“We are able to unite now. Based on the YMCA’s agreement on January 13, 2018, we were able to unite after signing [the agreement]. We were able to select our party’s name and logo on February 15-16, 2018. We will reveal this to the public on March 31. We will set down the tasks for our unity and future work programs after getting their approval,” said Gumgrawng Awng Hkam, chair of the Kachin Democratic Party (KDP).
The Kachin National Consultative Assembly (KNCA) also known as WMR, will organize the people’s conference with the KDP, KSDP, and the KNC on March 31.
Besides getting approval from the Kachin people, the party’s proposed name and logo can only be used after the registration is allowed by the Union Election Commission (UEC), according to Dr Tu Ja.
The three Kachin parties have set down future work programs to stand by the union policy based on federal policy, implement a federal democratic union system based on federal system, implement a fair economic system that aims toward the citizens’ interest, and build an education system and health system that meet international standard and a peaceful and developed society.
Attempts have been made to merge Kachin political parties since 2013, but the three parties were able to agree on the merger five years later. They signed the merger agreement during the KPCC’s meeting held at the YMCA Hall in Myitkyina on January 13.
