Coup Leader Min Aung Hlaing will discuss federalism at the junta’s meeting with ethnic armed organisations (EAOs), according to Colonel Khun Okkar, the leading committee member of the Peace Process Steering Team (PPST).

“The Coup Leader sent us a message, through his soldiers, that he wanted to discuss federalism with the ethnic armed organisations. He wants to implement federalism during his administration. He wants to discuss what kind of federalism ethnic people are asking for. He wants to discuss what he can do about the demands of ethnic people and he wants to discuss openly with ethnic armed groups”, said Colonel Khun Okkar.

The coup Leader urged the EAO leaders to register for the meeting, the deadline for registering was 9 May. The date of the meeting will be announced later.

Ten EAOs signed the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) in 2015. Five of those 10 EAOs will attend the meeting. They are the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (DKBA), The Karen National Union/Karen National Liberation Army Peace Council (KNU/KNLA - Peace Council), the New Mon State Party, the Pa-O National Liberation Organization (PNLO) and the Arakan Liberation Party (ALP).

The five NCA signatories not attending, according to statements made by the groups, will be the Karen National Union (KNU), the Kachin Independence Organization/Army (KIO/KIA), the Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP), the Chin National Front (CNF) and the All Burma Students Democratic Front (ABSDF) Among the groups that have not signed the NCA, the National Democratic Alliance Army-Mongla (NDAA) will attend the meeting.

Though the meeting date has yet to be finalised Min Aung Hlaing has said he will meet all the groups together and have individual meetings with each group, according to Colonel Khun Okkar.

Over 70 years after Myanmar gained independence, the conflict between the military regime and the EAOs has not yet been resolved rather, conflict has increased and the peace process is still ongoing.

Min Aiung Hlaing waited for over a year after the coup to call for peace talks with the EAOs. Many junta opponents believe his calling for talks now is a cynical ploy because the military has suffered such large losses since the coup. They now need peace with the EAOs so that they can send troops engaged in fighting the EAOs to reinforce other troops fighting non ethnic anti-junta forces in Bamar areas such as Sagaing Region, where the army never previously encountered resistance before the coup.