Six-party talks scheduled for April 10
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Leaders of 18 political parties are told to prepare for the six-party talks on Friday, said Union Parliament Speaker Thura Shwe Mann.
"The Union Parliament speaker said the six-party meeting will take place in the afternoon on April 10. He also said sessions of the Union Parliament will go into recess on that day," said Aye Maung, who has been chosen as a representative of various ethnic groups.
The leaders met Thura Shwe Mann on Monday in Nay Pyi Taw.
Interested groups and individuals have lobbied government for talks focused mainly on constitutional amendments to include the president, the Lower House speaker, the Upper House speaker, the commander-in-chief of the defence services, Opposition Leader Aung San Suu Kyi and Aye Maung.
Aye Maung highlighted four points he will discuss in the meeting: the emergence of a genuine federal union, the amendment of the constitution in accordance with the current generation and circumstances, a commitment to national unity and an end to civil war.
His comments during the session will also be based on points submitted by ethnic MPs in the report of the 31-member Constitutional Amendment Committee, he said.
Shwe Mann had already said a national referendum for charter change would be held in May. The Constitutional Review Committee was established in 2013, and the Constitutional Amendment Committee emerged after a report of the review committee on January 31, 2014.
The Constitutional Amendment Committee submitted a report last October, suggesting that 210 out of 457 sections of the constitution should be amended, including section 59 (f), which prohibits Aung San Suu Kyi from running for president.
MPs say a constitutional reform bill could be submitted to Parliament only after the six-party talks.
