UNFC Conference to be held in Thailand

A national conference organized by United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC) will be held in Thailand from July 28th to 31st, Joint Secretary Col. Khun Okkar from UNFC told to Eleven Media Group on July 24.

He  said the aim of the conference is to nail out the desire and demands of various nationalities.

The four objectives of the conference includes: strengthening of national unity, achieve common peace and political agreement, cooperate with the ongoing peace process with ethnic forces, civil society organizations and political party forces, and to discuss the construction of the Federal Union Building and its activities.

Local and foreign national organizations, political parties, political organizations and public based civil society organizations likely will attend the conference and the UNFC will announce those attendees list on July 28, the first day conference, Col. Khun Okkar added that.

After saying that a ceasefire agreement between ethnic armed groups will be signed in Nay Pyi Taw in coming soon by President Thein Sein, the UNFC called to hold a national conference.

The conference will be second time that these representatives meet in a large scale. The first meeting was held in September, last year after forming Union Peace Making Work Committee.

The first national conference of the UNFC had released the six issues on peace of political process and designated as a peace road map.

Although, the UNFC has already drawn frameworks for political dialogue, the agreement has not been accepted yet with the government’s peace team.

The UNFC was founded on February 16, 2011 and it re-organized with 11 ethnic armed groups in December who aim to consolidate a comprehensive ceasefire and peace talks with the government to end decades of civil conflict.

The 11-group is Karen National Union-KNC, Kachin Independence Organization-KIO, New Mon State Party-NMSP, Karenni National Progressive Party –KNPP, Chin National Front-CNF, Shan State Progressive Party-SSPP, Pa-O National Liberation Organization-PNLO, Palaung State Liberation Front-PSLF, National United Party of Arakan-NUPA, Lahu Democratic Union-LDU and Wa National Organization.