Shan Herald Agency for News |
- IDP hangs himself in Mong Hsu Township camp
- To Hopeland and Back: The bare bones for peace talks—Day 4
- To Hopeland and Back: The bare bones for peace talks—Day 3
| IDP hangs himself in Mong Hsu Township camp Posted: 25 Dec 2015 01:07 AM PST An internally displaced man in Hai Pa IDP camp hanged himself on Saturday, according to a local aid worker in Mong Hsu Township.  Aik Nub, also known as Yi Mon, was 48 years old and came from Koong Nim village. He was found dead at about 12 p.m. on December 19 on a tree in the camp compound. "He looked depressed every day…Aik Nub was stressed because he had to flee from his home and was unable to go back," said Nang Jing, an assistant to the IDPs in Mong Hsu and one of the local witnesses who discovered Aik Nub's body. "He didn't have job and couldn't feed his family." She speculated that this situation could have contributed to his suicide. "He has one son and now his wife is also pregnant," Nang Jing added. An ethnic Ta'ang (Palaung), Aik Nub was one of 10,000 people who fled their homes during the conflict between the government military and the Shan State Progress Party/Shan State Army-North (SSPP/SSA-N), which began on October 6. On December 15, SHAN reported that some of villagers from Koong Nim village returned to their homes on December 13, where they were forced by the Burma Army to go back to IDP camps in Hai Pa village. On Wednesday, a coalition of Shan community-based organizations (CBOs) released a statement demanding the Burma government withdraw their troops and allow over 3,000 displaced civilians in central Shan State to return to their villages. BY SAI AW / Shan Herald Agency for News (S.H.A.N) | ||
| To Hopeland and Back: The bare bones for peace talks—Day 4 Posted: 25 Dec 2015 12:49 AM PST Day Four: Wednesday, December 16, 2015 All wars represent a failure of diplomacy. Tony Benn The third Joint Implementation Coordinating Meeting (JICM) begins earlier than usual at 8:00 a.m. instead of 9:00 a.m. as some of the ministers are needed at a ministerial level meeting later in the day.
The main purpose of the day is to approve or dismiss the final draft of the Framework for Political Dialogue (FPD) submitted by the UPDJC. It is of course approved with a few recommendations from the JICM participants, made up of eight from each side. One thing memorable from the JICM is the speech made by U Aung Min in which he talks about the NCA which was passed by the Union Legislature on December 8. He tells us how he and U Thein Zaw had spent ten days lobbying the lawmakers. Concerning the NCA being a law, he puts it this way: "There are three degrees of law: The first degree law requires more than 75 percent of votes and a referendum to amend it. The second degree law requires more than 75 percent of votes but not a referendum to amend it. The third degree law on the other hand requires only a simple majority to amend it. The NCA is a third degree law." Listening to him, one may be persuaded to start worrying about the feebleness of the NCA. But there is no question from anybody. Some of the participants also want to discuss the deterioration of the Tripartite Dialogue into a Pentapartite Dialogue. But others advise to leave it until the fourth JICM. Closing speeches are then delivered. When his turn comes, U Aung Min says, "We have so far made the impossible possible. We have also managed to break several deadlocks despite a lot of stresses while undergoing them. For myself, there is only one more thing left to do: the first Union Peace Conference." What's next for him, afterward? He says nothing about it. But friends hope that having started on the long road to peace, he should want to come to the end of it. The ceremony held at the MICC II to present the FPD to the President lasts 20 minutes, 14:00 – 14:20. There is not much to report except the announcement made by him that the UPC will be convened in January as is required by the terms of the NCA. The rest of the day is spent talking to friends and comparing notes with them. Then back to the Shan Legends (not Shan Folk Tales, apologies). Do you know that Shans also have their own Robin Hood—two of them, in fact—who steals from the rich and give it to the poor? By SAI KHUENSAI / Director of Pyidaungsu Institute and Founder of Shan Herald Agency for News (S.H.A.N) All views expressed are the author's own. | ||
| To Hopeland and Back: The bare bones for peace talks—Day 3 Posted: 24 Dec 2015 11:14 PM PST Day 3: Tuesday, December 15, 2015
In war, we join hands with friends to fight against enemies In peace, we join hands with friends to talk with friends Anonymous Yesterday's UPDJC session found the NLD siding with the military's call for a bloc separate from the soon-to-be NLD-dominated government and parliament, against its own former demand for a tripartite arrangement, which would have appeared as follows: · Government, Parliament and the Tatmadaw together forming a bloc · The eight EAOs forming another group · The political parties in yet another bloc One EAO representative is still teeming with what he regards as its backtracking. "I recall the agreement made between the ruling party AFPFL (Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League) and the SPFL (Shan State People's Freedom League) before Independence," he said at the meeting. "It was that the two would work together to overthrow feudalism in Shan State. However, the AFPFL government went back on its own pledge, and instead joined hands with the Shan State's ruling princes to suppress the SPFL. I hope we won't have to worry about the NLD and the military working together to crush the EAOs." What in heaven? I ask myself. On the one hand, the military thinks the eight EAOs are working with the NLD against it. But on the other hand, the eight EAOs think it's the other way round. The EAOs then present their counter proposal on the composition: Government 75 representatives Parliament 75 representatives Military 150 representatives EAOs 150 representatives Political parties 150 representatives The military representatives are quick to object it. "It won't look good for the military to have more representatives than either the government or the parliament," one says. I won't go into details, but by lunch break the two sides are at loggerheads over the question. It looks like the Union Peace Conference (UPC) in January—while so near—is still out of reach. At 13:00, when the meeting resumes, U Nyan Win, the NLD's chief delegate, requests that he be allowed to speak first. The emcee responds he goes ahead. He then breaks the suspense by saying, "In order that the peace process may proceed smoothly, the NLD has decided to withdraw its opposition to the EAOs' proposal. On the contrary, I wish to announce that it is accepted." The rest of the day is like a walk in the park after this. Two more significant resolutions are passed: 16 December 2015 JICM in the morning to approve the FPD. Formal presentation of the FPD to the president in the afternoon 17 December 2015 The UPDJC meets again to plan for the UPC The EAOs then meet again in the evening to review the day's work. Some are worried that the Tripartite Dialogue design, which the UN has adopted since 1994, is going down the drain and with it the non-Burmans' chance of winning their full rights. However, others say three-way or five-way, not to lose sight of the goal for federal democracy. But Tripartite Dialogue and Federal Democracy both have long been deemed interrelated. Are they? Or are they not? By SAI KHUENSAI / Director of Pyidaungsu Institute and Founder of Shan Herald Agency for News (S.H.A.N) All views expressed are the author's own. |
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