The United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC), an alliance of ethnic armed organizations (EAOs), has invited ethnic political party coalitions to join them at a summit in Kachin State’s Mai Ja Yang, an area administered by the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO).
The two coalitions, the United Nationalities Alliance (UNA) and the Nationalities Brotherhood Federation (NBF), will join signatories and non-signatories of the nationwide ceasefire agreement to discuss the government’s union peace conference next month, dubbed the 21st Century Panglong Conference.
“We have invited five people from both the UNA and NBF to the summit,” said U Tun Zaw, Joint-secretary (1) of the UNFC.
Last weekend, the UNFC sent a letter to the government’s National Reconciliation and Peace Center to report the invitations.
“They already invited us. But we will have a meeting to discuss who the five people will be to attend the summit,” said U Sai Kyaw Nyunt, Joint Secretary (2) of the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD), a member of UNA.
The two coalitions consist of 32 ethnic political parties, 12 in the UNA and 20 in the NBF.
Organizing committee members for the EAO summit, planned for July 26 to 29, include Khu Oo Reh of the Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP) as chairman, Padoh Saw Kwe Htoo Win of Karen National Union (KNU) as vice-chairman, General Gun Maw of Kachin Independent Army (KIA) as vice-chairman (2), and Colonel Sai La of Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS) as secretary and Nai Shwe Thein of the New Mon State Party (NMSP) as joint secretary.
