by Feng Yingqiu
NAY PYI TAW, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar's 21st Century Panglong Conference will kick off on Aug. 31 in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi announced on Monday.
The state counselor made the announcement at a meeting of the Central Committee for Holding the Panglong Conference.
Aung San Suu Kyi, who is also chairperson of the committee, called for continued coordination and cooperation on preparatory work by the government in order to successfully hold the conference, saying that the Panglong Conference is the first step towards a robust union.
The announcement came more than a week after the end of a five-day Ethnic Armed Organizations'(EAOs) Plenary Meeting in Maijayang in Kachin state, controlled by the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO).
The meeting was aimed at laying down a common stance in preparation for the 21st Century Panglong Conference as well as to establish a federal union in the future.
The Maijayang meeting, held from July 26 to 30, was attended by 17 organizations from 21 ethnic armed groups with the absence of four non-ceasefire signatories including the United Wa State Army (UWSA), Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) and National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Khaplang) - NSCN (K).
However, those non-ceasefire signatory armed groups, represented by a delegation of the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC) for Political Negotiation (DPN), led by its chairman U N'Ban La, have not made clear yet if they will join the Panglong Conference or not.
But they said negotiation on the peace process will continue with the government especially on the termination of the government's military offensive against ethnic nationalities in northern part of Myanmar.
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