State/Nationalities Councils' Joint Statement on the Establishment of the Federal Union
On September 19, eight state-based ethnic resistance organizations and state/ethnic representative councils, together with the Women's League of Burma (WLB), issued a position on building a future federal democratic union through strong states building a strong union (bottom-up federalism).
The statement says they will build the union together using a bottom-up federalism approach, starting from the revolutionary/interim period, in line with three basic principles: the original owners of sovereignty are the states/federal units and the people within them; the states/federal units are based on equality and self-determination; and powers will be divided according to the principles of sovereignty, solidarity, subsidiarity and proportionality.
The signatories of the position statement are the Karen National Union (KNU), the Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP), the Chin National Front (CNF), the Karenni State Consultative Council (KSCC), the Pa-O National Federal Council (PNFC), the New Mon State Party (Anti-Dictatorship) (NMSP-AD), the Mon State Federal Council (MSFC), the Ta'ang Political Consultative Committee (TPCC) and the WLB.
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