Civil society 'groups should help peace process'
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Thein Sein says he did not order attack on Laiza
Myanmar President Thein Sein called upon civil society to take part in peace talks with ethnic Kachin and other groups, while noting that he did not order the attack on the Kachin headquarters in Laiza.
In his first public meeting with representatives of civil society, President Thein Sein on Sunday called for all people to join the peace process and said civil society groups could play a key role in ensuring lasting peace.
“The peace process will not work if only leaders shake hands and sign agreements. All people need to be involved for the process to succeed,” the president said, calling on civil society to keep the public informed about the process.
“Civil organisations can play a crucial role by communicating the agreements between the [two sides’] leaders to the public,” Thein Sein said during the meeting at the parliament in Yangon that drew members of about 90 groups.
Achieving peace would take time, comparing the situation to what other countries had gone through. The process of reaching peace was usually one in which conflict and tension flared and subsided, he said.
The UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon yesterday welcomed the announcement by Nay Pyi Taw on Friday of a ceasefire in Kachin and has been following reports from the ground on its implementation.
Ban called on both sides to make serious effort to create conditions for sustained peace in Kachin State through enhanced confidence building measures and political dialogue. He also called for renewed access to vulnerable civilian populations in the area to enable the supply of humanitarian assistance to them.
Thein Sein stressed that talks were the key to solving conflict and said that his government had been increasing its peace talks with armed ethnic groups this year.
Inviting the Kachin Independence Organisation and Kachin Independence Army to ceasefire talks was a step towards ending violence in the entire country, he said, adding that the invitation showed the government was open to ensuring the peace ethnic groups were demanding.
He said he had not ordered the army to attack the Kachin headquarters in Laiza in the far northern state, saying that while government troops were nearby they had not been told “to eliminate the Laiza headquarters”.
Thein Sein said his government faced numerous challenges simultaneously and did not have the luxury of working on one at a time. It had to work for national development so that the country could catch up to others, while at the same time ensuring national solidarity and peace.
To create an open society, transparency and freedom should be practised by individuals and organisations as well as the government, he said, adding that it was necessary to take the challenges the country faced into consideration.
As the process of building a modern society and economy had encountered several domestic hurdles, Thein Sein said national unity was necessary. He invoked General Aung San, the father of Myanmar’s national independence, in his call for greater unity, and said he was optimistic that political freedom and transparency would enhance unity.
Representatives of civil society groups raised numerous issues, including restoring peace in Kachin State as well as problems they face. The president pledged to schedule meetings so they could discuss their issues in detail with relevant ministries.
