To Hopeland and Back: The bare bones for peace talks—Day 3
Day 3: Tuesday,
December 15, 2015
 |
| UPDJC meeting. Photo: Nyo Ohn Myint / Facebook |
In war, we join hands with
friends to fight against enemies
In peace, we join hands with
friends to talk with friends
Anonymous
Yesterday’s UPDJC
session found the NLD siding with the military’s call for a bloc separate from
the soon-to-be NLD-dominated government and parliament, against its own former
demand for a tripartite arrangement, which would have appeared as follows:
·
Government,
Parliament and the Tatmadaw together forming a bloc
·
The
eight EAOs forming another group
·
The
political parties in yet another bloc
One EAO
representative is still teeming with what he regards as its backtracking.
“I recall the
agreement made between the ruling party AFPFL (Anti-Fascist People’s Freedom League) and the SPFL (Shan
State People’s Freedom League) before Independence,” he said at the meeting. “It
was that the two would work together to overthrow feudalism in Shan State. However,
the AFPFL government went back on its own pledge, and instead joined hands with
the Shan State’s ruling princes to suppress the SPFL. I hope we won’t have to
worry about the NLD and the military working together to crush the EAOs.”
What in heaven? I ask myself.
On the one hand, the military thinks the eight EAOs are working with the
NLD against it. But on the other hand, the eight EAOs think it’s the other way
round.
The EAOs then
present their counter proposal on the composition:
Government 75
representatives
Parliament 75
representatives
Military 150 representatives
EAOs 150 representatives
Political parties 150 representatives
The military
representatives are quick to object it. “It won’t look good for the military to
have more representatives than either the government or the parliament,” one
says.
I won’t go into
details, but by lunch break the two sides are at loggerheads over the question.
It looks like the Union Peace Conference (UPC) in January—while so near—is still
out of reach.
At 13:00, when the
meeting resumes, U Nyan Win, the NLD’s chief delegate, requests that he be
allowed to speak first. The emcee responds he goes ahead. He then breaks the
suspense by saying, “In order that the peace process may proceed smoothly, the
NLD has decided to withdraw its opposition to the EAOs’ proposal. On the
contrary, I wish to announce that it is accepted.”
The rest of the
day is like a walk in the park after this.
Two more significant resolutions are passed:
16 December 2015 JICM in the morning to approve the FPD. Formal presentation
of the FPD to the president in the afternoon
17 December 2015 The
UPDJC meets again to plan for the UPC
The EAOs then meet
again in the evening to review the day’s work. Some are worried that the Tripartite
Dialogue design, which the UN has adopted since 1994, is going down the drain
and with it the non-Burmans’ chance of winning their full rights. However,
others say three-way or five-way, not to lose sight of the goal for federal
democracy.
But Tripartite
Dialogue and Federal Democracy both have long been deemed interrelated.
Are they?
Or are they
not?
By SAI KHUENSAI / Director of
Pyidaungsu Institute and Founder of Shan Herald Agency for News (S.H.A.N)
All views expressed are the author’s own.
Tags: Opinion
