Representatives from Burmese ethnic groups and opposition parties asked the United Nations (UN) to help resolve the country’s ethnic issues, during discussions this week at UN headquarters in New York.
The meeting, between the UN and the representatives of Burma opposition groups was held on Tuesday November 9, at the UN Correspondents Association, in New York. It was attended by General Secretary Gum San Nsang, from the Kachin National Organization (KNO-USA), Ms. Zipporrah Sein, General Secretary of the Karen National Union (KNU), Dr. Thaung Htun, Executive Director of the Burma Fund-UN Office, and U Tin Win, Executive Member of the National League for Democracy (NLD) party.
“We want a genuine dialogue with the junta, with us on equal terms, with the UN and our neighbors as facilitators,” according to Gum San, of the KNO-USA.
The Beijing Bureau of the Xinhua News Agency, of China’s state-run media, also attended the meeting, Gum San said.
About 20 UN Correspondents from major news agencies including AFP, and Kyodo News, were also in attendance.
Gum San said he raised the issue about escalating preparations for war in the ethnic areas.
He said Kachins have exhausted all their efforts to establish a dialogue with the regime, the real wish of the recently formed ethnic armed group’s Committee for Emergence of A Federal Union, made up of the Chin National Front (CNF), Kachin Independence Army (KIA), Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP), KNU, New Mon State Party (NMSP), and the Shan State Army-North (SSA-N).
More++Kachinnews.com
