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| Some present and some absent at peace institute opening Posted: 28 Feb 2014 04:57 AM PST No roll was taken but there were some very prominent people who were rather conspicuous either by their success or failure to show up at the "grand" opening of the Pyidaungsu Institute (PI) for Peace and Dialogue last night. The absentees included Harn Yawnghwe, Director of the Brussels-based Euro Burma Office (EBO) that has been serving as the banker for the PI since its founding last August. He had cited prior engagements in Burma.  Khuensai Jaiyen, making opening remarks, together with co-directors of Pyidaungsu Institute (PI) for Peace and Dialogue, Padoh Htoo Htoo Lay and Dr. Lian H.Sakhong, 27 February 2014. (Photo: PI) Equally conspicuous was the presence of several distinguished personalities, such as:
The party, though scheduled 1800-2000 began at 17:30 and ended at 21:00. About 90 guests had come to grace the opening. The PI, with a vision for "A just, equitable, democratic and pluralistic Pyidaungsu (Union of States)," has stated its mission as "To provide impartial and independent spaces (or as Khuensai puts it, "a bridge over troubled waters"), resources and assistance to communities in building the Pyidaungsu." The text of Khuensai Jaiyen's opening/closing remarks is as follows: Opening remarks First of all, allow me to start the opening remarks by saying thank you, a deep thank you, for doing us the honor of joining our little party. Back in the good old days, we used to settle our disputes with guns. In my mind, I'm still riding into a town being treed down by a bunch of hard cases. My nature is not to beat around the bush but to bull right into the middle. I challenge the hard cases one by one and gun them down one by one. Meanwhile I also find time to fall in love with a local lady. At last I come face to face with Hard case #1 for the final showdown. Naturally, he draws first, I let him do it. Then while he is lying face down and breathing his last, I ride away into the sunset (about the same time as it is now) with the lady looking after me wistfully and calling, "Come back, Shane". How I wish things were that way in Burma. But as you know they haven't been, forcing us to spend the best years of our lives fighting. Today, thanks to President Thein Sein and his advisers as well as leaders of the ethnic armed resistance, times are indeed changing. To be sure, the days of gunfighters are far from over. We are still shooting at each other. But on the other hand, we have also started talking to each other, something we have rarely done before. As a result, although Peace is something we have always wished for, peaceful ways are not ways that we are used to. We still have a lot to learn about peaceful ways to achieve our goals. Yawning gaps still exist on both sides between those who want to resolve differences by peaceful means, and those who believe guns talk louder. Between those who are ready to take the challenge of peaceful resolutions and those who refuse to do anything until sufficient trust has been built. Besides, a lot of issues are there for both sides to tackle: constitution, security, reconciliation, land issue, human rights, you name it. But there is one wish all of us have in common: And that is Peace. The Pyidaungsu Institute for Peace and Dialogue (PI) has been set up in the hope that it will become one of the bridges (or should I say a bridge over troubled waters?) for those who want it, be they hardliners or softliners, old generation or new generation, liberal or conservative. Above all, for the people of Burma. And if we can serve them well and there is peace and dialogue among them, that'll be our deepest satisfaction. To make war, you only need one side to do it. But to make peace, you will need several sides. So we hope you will all open your doors for us as we open ours for you. To make it short, PI is your center, your institute. That is the reason for our opening today. But, as my Chinese teacher Lao Zi says, a long winded speech is exhausting, I will stop here so the MCs can introduce to you my colleagues without whom I will be like a gunfighter left in a desert without his horse. Closing remarks Just a few words before we go back to our drinks. If there is a question we should ask ourselves when we talk about peace: It's 'Can there be peace between people who hate each other?'
Thank you again for joining us! |
| SSA to open 6th liaison office Posted: 28 Feb 2014 04:53 AM PST The Restoration Council of Shan State/Shan State Army (RCSS/SSA) will be opening its latest liaison office on 5 March, according to RCSS/SSA sources. The new office will be in Mongpan, just west of the Salween, on the Mongnai-Mongton Road. A Maj Ken Mong has been appointed as the liaison officer. Brig Gen Sai Lu, Chief Liaison Offices, will be there to preside over the ceremony for the RCSS/SSA side. It is not known who will represent the Burma Army's side.  Brig-Gen Sai Lu, holding a blue folder, after the signing of the ceasefire agreement, 2 December 2011, in Taunggyi. (Photo: Mizzima) Since its ceasefire agreement with Naypyitaw on 2 December 2011, the RCSS/SSA has established 6 liaison offices. The 5 others are in Taunggyi (Eastern Region Command), Kholam (Central Eastern Region Command), Keng Tung (Triangle Region Command), Tachilek (Eastern Shan State) and Monghsat (Eastern Shan State). It has also requested that another liaison office be permitted to open in Kyaukme, where frequent clashes have taken place despite the ceasefire. "We hope it will serve to prevent further unwanted clashes," said Sao Yawd Serk, the RCSS/SSA leader. According to the 4year report submitted at the RCSS/SSA conference on 13 February, the two sides have fought 323 times, from November 2009 to October 2013. |
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