Shan unity meeting ends early after officials intervene
The third
annual meeting of the Committee of Shan State Unity (CSSU) ended abruptly
yesterday after only the first day of a planned three day conference.
The meeting was
halted following the intervention of local government officials in Yangon.
Sai Leik, a
spokesperson for the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD), explained
that officials wanted to sit in and monitor the proceedings.
“They asked us to let them
in to the meeting room to listen to the proceedings,” he said. “We told them
that we would report to them after the meeting. They then told us if we did not
have permission from local authorities, we would have to stop.”
Sai Leik, who
was also an organizer for the meeting, said he went to the Yangon western
district office lateThursday afternoon to request permission for the
meeting. However, the officer requested that they get a recommendation letter
from the police and village tract office. As it was too late in the day to do
this they were unable to proceed.
Sai Leik then
asked the chief of the office to sign a letter either ordering the meeting to
end or allowing the meeting to continue, but he refused to do either.
“Because we did not have the
permission paper, the hotel refused to host our meeting,” he added.
Puen Kham, the
Secretary of the CSSU, said that the annual meeting was being held to discuss
some key issues including collaboration and
unity within Shan State’s nationalities and future cooperation with the
incoming government.
The annual meeting was attended by a
number of high profile Shan leaders who are involved in the national peace
process including Lt. Gen. Yawd Serk, the chairman of the RCSS/SSA. Khun Tun
Oo, the chairman of the SNLD also attended the meeting as did Hso Ten, the
leader of the SSPP/SSA and Khuensai, managing director of the Pyidaungsu
Institute for Peace and Dialogue.
“We will have to wait and see how far this country
will have to go to reach democracy,” Sai Leik said. “There are so many
challenges we will be facing.”
The committee for Shan State Unity
(CSSU) was formed in October 2013. It comprises Shan armed groups, political
parties and civil society organizations.
BY SAI AW / Shan Herald Agency for News (SHAN)
Tags: News, Politics
