Civil society organisations (CSOs) must cooperate so that true peace can be achieved according to a statement issued by the Burma Southeast Region Civil Society Organizations (BSERCSOs) conference.
Southeastern region civil society organizations
Peace Conference –Moulmein (Photo: IMNA)
The statement said: "It was agreed and decided as one that it is necessary for BSERCSOs to achieve peace and, in the near future, to join together and carry out projects that benefit the people."
The conference was held from 21 to 23 September at State Hall, Moulmein, the Mon State capital. Representatives from 114 CSOs in Karenni, Karen and Mon states and Tenasserim Division attended. Other people attending included: Mon and Karen State government representatives, Hluttaw representatives, Senior Delegation (SD) leaders and members and representatives from 14 international non-governmental organisations.
Padoh Naw Zipporah Sein, the leader of the SD, the ethnic peace negotiating team, said: “Civil society organizations are encouraged to cooperate in political talks and the country’s development, after signing the nationwide ceasefire agreement.”
The conference also called on the organisations participating in the peace process to implement a genuine peace that guarantees people's livelihoods and establishes a peaceful federal union.
Khun Myint Htun, the chairman of the Pa-O National Liberation Organization (PNLO) said: "Because we also want to setup federal union, we have to sacrifice our lives.“
The CSOs also discussed implementing the peace process and presented papers on how the peace process was progressing with regards to their particular fields of interest.
Other topics discussed at the conference included: the peace process and land project issues; the peace process and illegal drug issues; the peace process and large development projects; CSO monitoring of the peace process; and peace and human security issues.
Edited in English for BNI by Mark Inkey
