President's response to six-party meeting proposal welcomed

 

“When I read the message of the President, it reflected his goodwill, but it took two months for him to issue it. I found his words on the six-party meeting to be a good sign. He wrote that the parliament was the most responsible body to deal with this matter. There are different opinions within parliament on the proposal for a six-party meeting. Some say we must rely on these six figures, while others say a meeting including only these six figures would silence the different voices of the parliament,” Myint Tun said.

The proposal for a six-party meeting was submitted to the Union parliament in November by MP Myint Tun to the Union parliament and was later approved.

Aung San Suu Kyi, the chairperson of the National League for Democracy (NLD), said on January 20 that she will later officially respond to the president’s message.

In his response to the proposal to hold a six-party talk, President Thein Sein said the meeting must be acceptable to civic organisations, to political forces and to the public. 

Some interpret the president's message as evidence that he will continue to delay the six-party meeting.

Myint Tun considered it differently. 

“I suppose the president wants to lay down detailed principles the people and political forces long for. The MPs must gather these points. If these six figures meet, the right answer will appear," the MP said. 

"The parliament and the people want the six-party talk to go ahead. The 14-party and 48-party talks were heavily criticised. The parliament already approved the six-party talks, so it should happen soon. Truth be told, six-party meetings should be held from time to time, always with the same six figures. If they do this, they can win much support from the people,” Myint Tun said.

The six-party talks were proposed after President initiated political talks on October 31. Some called it a “show business” given that each of the 14 participants were given only 10 minutes to speak their mind.

Suu Kyi herself proposed four-party to involve the president, parliament, the commander-in-chief of Defence Services. The six-party talks will involve the President, the Lower Houseparliament speaker, the Upper House speaker, the chairperson of the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD), the MP representing all ethnic groups and the Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Services.

Aye Maung was chosen by ethnic parties to represent them at the six-party meeting. 

“Fourteen ethnic parties held discussions about tasks to be done in the future. The outcomes of these discussions will be submitted to the speaker of the Union parliament,” said Aye Maung.