တတိယအကြိမ် ပြည်သူ့ညီလာခံမှာ ဘာတွေမျှော်လင့်လို့ ရနိုင်မလဲ
About the People's Assembly
The People's Assembly (ပြည်သူ့ညီလာခံ) is a constitutional document of the revolutionary period, convened by the National Unity Consultative Council (NUCC) under the Federal Democracy Charter. It serves as a platform for discussing and deciding on key political and governance issues during Myanmar's revolution.
History and Convening
The People's Assembly has been held twice. The first session took place from January 27 to 29, 2022, while the second session was held from April 4 to 9, 2024. Though the Charter mandates convening the Assembly every six months, the second session was delayed over two years due to political developments and necessary revisions.
The NUCC was initially formed on March 8, 2021. It released parts (1) and (2) of the Federal Democracy Charter on March 31, 2021, and subsequently formed the National Unity Government (NUG) on April 16, 2021. To better reflect the revolutionary goals of the people, the NUCC began revising the Charter on May 24, 2021, with plans to ratify changes at the People's Assembly.
First People's Assembly (2022)
The first session was attended by 388 delegates and resulted in eight key resolutions, including:
- Ratification of the revised Federal Democracy Charter (parts 1 and 2);
- Approval of the NUCC's structure with 33 member organizations;
- Reaffirmation of the NUG;
- Approval of reports from the NUCC and NUG;
- Directives to revise operational guidelines and procedures between the NUCC and NUG.
The second session, originally planned for July 2022, was postponed due to the need for further revisions to strengthen the Spring Revolution. The NUCC announced in October 2022 that the delay was necessary to assess political developments. The status of drafting operational guidelines between the NUCC and NUG, a key resolution from the first session, was not publicly updated.
Second People's Assembly (2024)
The second session was held from April 4 to 9, 2024, with 204 delegates, 104 special invitees, and 128 observers in attendance. Key discussions and resolutions included:
- Local governance and rule of law;
- Addressing the military junta's illegal conscription law;
- Abolition of the 1982 Citizenship Law;
- Reaffirmation of the mandate to convene the Assembly every six months.
The Assembly also recorded 21 proposals and recommendations. However, the absence of the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH) and NUG at the closing session, along with tensions among NUCC members during a post-Assembly press conference on April 11, drew public criticism.
In September 2024, the NUCC issued an apology for failing to hold a planned Town Hall Meeting in July or August, intended as a precursor to the third session of the People's Assembly.
Third People's Assembly (Upcoming)
As of October 2024, the third session of the People's Assembly is due under the six-month mandate but has not yet been scheduled. If convened soon, it is expected to review the implementation of resolutions from previous sessions, particularly those from the second Assembly. Key topics may include:
- Ground-level governance, defense, and security (the "three cuts" strategy);
- Revisiting the abolition of the 1982 Citizenship Law;
- Zero-tolerance policies for discrimination and gender-based violence;
- Taxation and financial accountability during the revolutionary period;
- Policy development and implementation for the Rohingya community;
- Federalism and decentralization ("bottom-up federal flow");
- Transitional justice and constitutional frameworks;
- Efforts to achieve a common political agreement;
- New proposals addressing military successes, external pressures, and junta preparations for sham elections and a fraudulent census.
While no date has been announced, the timing aligns with the six-month mandate, making the third People's Assembly a critical development to monitor in the near term.