Shan Herald Agency for News |
- First draft for nationwide ceasefire ready for perusal
- The responsibility of non-disintegration
- Conveners await official greenlight for 3-state dialogue
- Shan leader: Business a name without the game
| First draft for nationwide ceasefire ready for perusal Posted: 13 Sep 2013 02:22 AM PDT The team is expected to return to the border today. Though the details of the draft are yet to be made public, he said it included:
It is expected to do the rounds among the armed movements as well as the all powerful National Defense and Security Council (NDSC), which is dominated by the Burmese military, for review before the two sides meet again to prepare a second draft.  Meeting with Vice President Sai Mawk Kham on 31 August following consultation between joint KNU-RCSS technical team and MPC. (Photo: RCSS/SSA) "I already have a lot of things to say, though I haven't seen the draft," said Yawdserk. He did not elaborate. According to the time table proposed by the MPC on 24 August:
The Nationwide Ceasefire Accord should also have 5 signatories on the government side, instead of 4 as proposed by the WGEC: Not only the President, Upper House Speaker, Lower House Speaker, and the Commander-in-Chief but also the Attorney General. Among the witnesses, the MPC proposed, there should be national leaders such as Aung San Suu Kyi, Hkun Htun Oo and those from groups such as 8888 Generation Students. Among the world leaders, UN chief Ban Ki-Moon has already assured he would be at the signing ceremony. Naypyitaw has signed ceasefire with 14 movements:
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| The responsibility of non-disintegration Posted: 13 Sep 2013 02:23 AM PDT Thursday, 12 September 2013  Sai Wansai The only problem is the country we all know as Burma or Myanmar is a newly created political entity, which comes into being only in 1948. The 1947 Panglong Treaty or Agreement is a cornerstone that should construct the Federal Union of Burma as agreed upon, complete with common "national identity". But with the death of General Aung San and his cabinet members in July 1947, the constitution drawn later was only federal in name but unitary in essence. To correct this constitutional flaw, a federal proposal was tabled in 1962. But a military coup, claiming to safe the union from disintegration, while parliament was debating the constitutional amendment, the same year in March, killed the only hope of peaceful reconciliation once and for all. To cut the story short, the following next five decades were the implementation of ethnocentrism based on Burmanization and military suppression and occupation of all the ethnic homelands. And thus, the relation between the Burman and the non-Burman ethnic nationalities, even to this very day, could be termed as a colonial master and colonized relationship. And as such, no nation-building has ever taken place, much less the formation or an acceptance of a common national identity, which all could live with and agree upon. Having said that, the co-responsibility for the unity of the territory called Burma falls wholly on the laps of the Burman political class and military top brass. As for the non-Burman ethnic nationalities, they could theoretically either opt for separation or agree to stay within the forced-union, given the agony they have to go through all these years under military suppression. The key word is that the forced-union should become a voluntary-union, where all have equal rights in all aspects, either as individual citizen or as state unit. But first, the people in power must have the political will to do it. And that is to convince the ethnic nationalities by words and deeds that staying together will benefit all than going it alone and separately. (Note: Commentary on "Self-determination and constitutional reform in Burma", by Saw Kapi, DVB - 11 September 2013) The contributor is the General Secretary of Shan Democratic Union (SDU) - Editor | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Conveners await official greenlight for 3-state dialogue Posted: 13 Sep 2013 02:21 AM PDT The application was submitted to Sao Aung Myat, Shan State Chief Minister, on 24 August. According to the directive issued in early August, permission for any political gathering must be applied for at least 10 days beforehand.  Leaders posing for group photo at Trustbuilding for Peace forum in Lashio, 20 March 2013. (Photo: SNLD) Spearheaded by the SNLD, the upcoming forum follows the two previous Trustbuilding for Peace forums that have taken place: among the Shans in November 2012 and between Shan and Kayah last March. The first and second forums were graced by U Aung Min, Minister for President's Office and Vice Chairman #2 of the Union Peacemaking Work Committee (UPWC). Expected attendees, besides parties from Kayah, Mon and Shan states, include the UPWC, chief ministers of the 3 said states, Kachin State Facilitators for Peace, National League for Democracy (NLD), National Democratic Force (NDF), 88 Generation Students, All Burma Students Democratic Front (ABSDF) and Democratic Party for New Society (DPNS). "The UNFC (United Nationalities Federal Council) and the WGEC (Working Group for Ethnic Coordination) will also be invited," said a young organizer. Main discussion topics are Democracy, Peace, Federal Union and the Amendment of the 2008 constitution. "The aim is to seek answers for these 4 pressing issues," he added. The Shan State Chief Minister, in turn, has referred to the Union government as the forum does not concern just one state, but three, explained Sai Lake, SNLD spokesman. It is not officially explained why the new requirement has been imposed. In Rangoon, the regional government also issued a directive last month for Bahan township requiring all residents, organizations and business owners to provide officials with 20 days notice if they plan to host an event, reported The Irrawaddy and Democratic Voice of Burma. Bahan is home to NLD headquarters and Royal Rose Hall, where several political meetings and press conferences have been held. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Shan leader: Business a name without the game Posted: 13 Sep 2013 02:19 AM PDT The group, as suggested by U Aung Min, had set up a business firm, Shan Taungdan Cherry, and applied for concessions on several projects: agriculture, mining, tourism, road construction and power distribution, among others.  U Aung Min and Sao Yawdserk at dinner party in Chiangmai, 7 September 2013. (Photo: Nyo Ohn Myint) "Despite permits issued by the government, we have been facing official red tape in the regional level," he was reported as saying by a source who had accompanied him to the meeting at Larn Kham Village, near the well known tourist haunt, the Night Bazaar. The minister, in response, informed him that security concerns had caused some delay. "The 5,000 acre land on the bank of the Mekong, for instance, is right in the middle of the Triangle area crisscrossed by drug traffickers," he was quoted as saying. "But the decision that came out before I left is that since you are a citizen of Shan State, you also bear the responsibility to fight against drug trafficking. So I suggest you resume your agricultural project there." Yawdserk, 54, insists the business projects are for the people and members of his movement and that no personal interest is involved. "I know there are a lot of unfounded speculations going around," he told SHAN. "But despite the adverse publicity circulating, little progress has been made on this front." One source commended, "It's like the Burmese saying Na Mey Gyi, Htamin ngad (Famous but going hungry)." Larry Jagan, former BBC correspondent, reported last week that "Yawdserk believes part of the problem is the military's economic interests in the areas where they are fighting" despite the ceasefire being signed. "The President's office issues licenses and the military doesn't allow them to be implemented," he told Jagan. "This has to change, if there is to be genuine reconciliation. Only then can there be progress toward a political settlement." According to the draft Comprehensive Union Peace and Ceasefire Agreement presented to the government on 13 May, the ethnic armed groups (EAGs) had proposed that during the transitional period of the peace process, they should be "granted access to resources, either through: i. Tax collection ii. Engaging in business activity iii. Receiving aid from the Government or international donors, or iv. Receive sharing from mega-projects in the territory of EAGs" The joint Karen-Shan technical team is currently in Rangoon to work out a draft Nationwide Ceasefire Accord together with the Government's Myanmar Peace Center (MPC). Among the armed groups that have concluded ceasefire with the Burmese government since 1989, the United Wa State Army (UWSA), National Democratic Alliance Army (NDAA), Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) and the PaO National Organization (PNO) are reported to be the most self-sufficient. |
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