Suu Foundation's mission off ground

Suu Foundation was opened last weekend in Yangon, as a non-profit and humanitarian organisation dedicated to advancing the health and education of the people of Myanmar. Its vision and goals are established by Suu Kyi.

On the foundation’s website, Suu Foundation’s immediate goal is the restoration of the University of Yangon and Yangon General Hospital, which will serve as the symbol of Myanmar’s development in education and healthcare. The foundation is designed to be an intermediary linking supporters in the international community with the people of Myanmar. 

“Daw Suu believes that a healthy and well educated society is essential to continued progress and development in Myanmar,” the website said.

Speaking at a meeting on regional development in Yangon on Saturday - focused on the provision of basic services such as the construction of schools, improvement of transport and electricity supply, Suu Kyi highlighted the importance of collaboration.

“To provide job employment is vital to the whole country, including Kawhmu Township, as the unemployment rate is rising so rapidly. It is also required to conduct work proficiency courses. Collaboration effort is a good habit in an effort to undertake regional development tasks,” she said.

She added that cooperation is as important as building roads and bridges. 

“”In undertaking regional development tasks, we need cooperation and compromise. There may be different opinions, but it must be wise to solve these differences through a negotiation process. We should negotiate how to improve regional development. Cooperation is the prime state for the development,” Suu Kyi said.

She was asked about services such as drinking water, transportation, electric power, education and health. Such services have been vastly neglected during the decades of military dictatorship. 

She pledged to use development funds to supply power to the township in the coming year, but highlighted the importance of development being for long-term gain.  

“Any matters including regional development should be considered for the long run not for the short run,” Suu Kyi said.

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Swiss envoy decries lack of women in peace process 

Zarli Myint Oo

Myanmar Eleven 

The Swiss Ambassador to Myanmar has criticised the lack of women involved in peace talks between ethnic armed groups and the government, saying that their exclusion could ultimately weaken the peace process. 

Ambassador Christoph Burgener was speaking at a seminar on women’s participation in the peace process held at the Myanmar Peace Center (MPC) in Yangon on March 8.

“The number of women who participated in the process of making peace is not great. Only a few women are seen in the peace talks between the State government and ethnic armed groups,”said Burgener.

“The main peace-making groups and political parties lack interest in organising women to participate in the peace process. If women are ignored, the peace process will gradually be weaker and less effective,” he added.

The seminar was jointly organised by the Embassy of Switzerland, the Myanmar Women and Children Development Federation (MWCDF) and Gender & Development Initiative, and attended by about 200 people from various associations. 

“Unless the voices of women are listened to in the peace process, half the population of the country won’t be heard. President Thein Sein said that the government would continue pushing reforms to meet with genuine democracy. As fifty per cent of the country’s population are women, they should not be ignored in the implementation of peace process,” said Burgener.

Those present at the seminar pointed out that the government did encourage women to participate in the peace process despite not being invited.