The Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (DKBA) has selected 25 representatives from among its ranks to attend the long delayed second session of the Union Peace Conference, also known as the 21st-Century Panglong Conference.
“General Saw Kyaw Than Htay from the JMC (Joint Ceasefire Monitoring Committee) and General Saw Sein Win from the UPDJC (Union Peace Dialogue Joint Committee) are the key players among the representatives,” DKBA Commander-in-Chief General Saw Mo Shay told KIC News after the DKBA’s May 3 commander conference.
But it’s unclear how many other ethnic armed groups will be attending the upcoming peace talks, slated to begin on May 24.
According to the Irrawaddy, government peace negotiators have asked the United Nationalities Federal Council – a power bloc of ethnic armed groups – to commit to attending the upcoming Panglong meeting. But the UNFC has repeatedly said it will not attend if it is only given observer status.
The second 21st-Century Panglong Conference was initially slated for February. It was delayed among contentions about who could attend, and whether the conference would involve debates, or only paper presentations, as occurred at the largely symbolic first conference. In the intervening months, the peace process has seen a swelling crisis of faith. In April, seven ethnic armed organizations led by the United Wa State Army announced their rejection of the NCA, and called for the document to be redrafted.
The government has been pressing all ethnic armed groups to swiftly sign the NCA.
According to General Saw Mo Shay, at the May 3 meeting the DKBA, one of the eight NCA signatory groups, confirmed its intent to continue engaging in peace discussions with the government.
The DKBA plans meet with the Karen National Union (KNU) and the Karen National Union/Karen National Liberation Army’s Peace Council (KNU/KNLA-PC) before the 21st-Century Panglong Conference in order to ensure consistency but no overlap in the papers they submit.
Translated by Thida Linn
Edited by Laignee Barron
