Myanmar govt plans political dialogue after ceasefire

Representatives of seven ethnic armed groups and a handful of political parties including the Union Solidarity and Development Party and the National League for Democracy attended the morning meeting to discuss the structure of political dialogue that would follow the signing of a nationwide ceasefire agreement (NCA).

Government, ethnic and parliamentary representatives have been meeting informally to discuss the issue since last year, with the general view that some headway should be made before a prospective peace pact is concluded.

In the NCA text, it is stipulated that political dialogue must take place within 60-90 days of signing the accord.

Aung Min told interlocutors at the meeting that a nationwide ceasefire signing ceremony would be held in the first week of October, with political dialogue expected to take place in January next year.

In the afternoon, he briefed some 150 representatives from 78 political parties on the process to follow the NCA signing.

The minister said that a meeting of the Joint Implementation Coordination (JIC) team would be held 14 days after the NCA signing, with a so-called Union Peace Dialogue Joint Committee to be formed within 15 days.

-- Thai PBS 2015-09-15