If Suu Kyi wants peace, she must release ethnic census results
Last December, the Myanmar Ministry of Labour, Immigration and Population announced that data from the census of ethnic groups would be released within in the first four months of 2017.
It is now April, the official deadline to release the last results of a census that was undertaken three full years ago.
Meanwhile the ministry has just published population forecasts for 2050, of all things. No mention of the ethnic count, though.
What is Aung San Suu Kyi’s government afraid of? How can it expect the ethnic nationalities to trust it in the peace process when it won’t reveal the most basic of information – the country’s actual ethnic makeup? Given this conduct, how can they possibly trust you on anything?
The ethnic nationalities of Myanmar are not the enemy, although you are acting as if they are. Your administration and Myanmar’s real power – and your partner – the military, refuse to meet any of their demands, even though they are all eminently reasonable in the context of a genuine democracy.
Of course there can never be peace if you and the Tatmadaw behave like this. It is becoming apparent to some that you and the generals don’t want peace, but instead prefer a fig-leaf process to trick the people of the country and the world.
The ethnic armed organisations should trust nothing the government says or pledges, and refuse to sign the nationwide ceasefire agreement. They should also boycott the 21st-century Panglong peace conference until the Tatmadaw halts its aggression for an extended period. It’s time to reveal the ethnic census results, as a first step to prove your good faith and that you are not in fact their enemy.
Roland Watson
(www.dictatorwatch.org)
