Day Twelve. Friday, 2
September 2016
The
best way to build trust is to be trustworthy.
The
Global Negotiator
Today I miss several
presentations, especially those for the pre-noon session, particularly by the
UNFC team that is presenting its combined paper in 5 ten-minute parts by 5 of
their leaders well acquainted with the local media: Nai Hong Sa, Khu Oo Reh,
Col Sinwa, Maj Gen Hkun Hseng, and U Twan Zaw.
Nai Hong Sa’s proposal that
the country adopts a new moniker, not Burma or Myanmar, that represents only
the majority Bamar/Burmans had created quite a stir, I’m told when I get back during
the lunch break. (I also missed two presentations yesterday: one by PaO
National Liberation Organization and the other by PaO National Organization. My
notes were empty about PNLO and PNO proposals. Maybe I was among those caught
asleep by the media?)
I have been visiting a friend, whom I regard as a brother in the cause
for peace: the controversial U Aung Min. We first met on 19 November 2011,
almost 5 years ago, when he came to hold talks with leaders from 5 armed
movements: Chin National Front (CNF), Karen National Union (KNU), Karenni
National Progressive Party (KNPP), Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) and
Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS), all of whom have since signed bilateral agreements, if not the NCA.
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Aung San Suu
Kyi and U Aung Min
(Photo: llsbnews.blogspot.com)
|
But since the new government was established in March this year, he has
been mostly out of the picture. He parted ways with many of his close
sidekicks, especially U Hla Maung Shwe, who chose to work with the new peace
process led by Ms Suu Kyi. Now each of them has set up separate NGOs: Center
for Peace and Reconciliation (CPR) by U Hla Maung Shwe
and Peace and Development Foundation (PDF) by himself. He told Sao Yawd Serk,
leader of the RCSS on a visit to Rangoon in May he wanted a free hand as during
U Thein Sein’s tenure and didn’t fancy someone standing behind him and breathing
down his neck while he worked. “That’s why I have declined their offer to join
them,” he said at that time.
I ask him how he is feeling now after nearly 5
months. After all, don’t they say time is a great healer?
He is forthright with an English quote as the
answer to my question:
The first to apologize is the bravest
The first to forgive is the strongest
The first to forget is the happiest
(Unknown)
William Shein, as he is known to his former schoolmates, also has some
advice for the people working in the government’s peace apparatus:
·
One US presidential candidate seeks
advice from an elderly statesman what he should do to win the elections. And
the latter asks him, “Do you have somebody in mind as your national security
advisor?”
Candidate: Yes.
Statesman: How
close is he to you?
Candidate: Well, he can knock at my door and wake me
up anytime he thinks it’s important enough.
Statesman: Then, the job is already as good as being
yours. (Guess who he’s giving the unsought for advice)
·
To another who has been threatening to
quit because he can’t do his job if he’s being “pounded not only in front but
also from behind,” he says,
“Please tell him not
to give up until he’s on the verge of committing suicide like I was during my
term.”
·
For the RCSS and all the signatories, his suggestion is three-fold:
Maintain good relations with the military. Get as much as you can from the
present government. Forge relations with the USDP’s new leadership.
I have a danpawk (what Shans/Thais call Khao
Mokkai, rice with chicken planted) lunch with him and his most gracious
wife Daw Way Way Tha. Then I’m back the MICCⅡ,
where the conference has just taken a break for lunch.
The afternoon session is okay, though I find
nothing special to report, except for the tremendous applause given to U Thu
Way, Today’s chair, for his closing remarks, one of which recalls the late
Prime Minister U Nu’s solemn oath to the remains of Aung San and other martyrs
in July 1947: If I ever become rich during my tenure, may I burn in hell
forever.
The day ends with a dinner party at Tai Kitchen,
owned by a young Shan from Kengtung. There, we are treated to an improvised song
sung by another young Shan, who’s an MP. He draws an applause when he croons:
“News about non-Shans taking over Shan State
don’t bother me
Because my mother’s son is set to take over
Naypyitaw”
Day Thirteen. Saturday, 3 September 2016
The absence causes a breakdown in the
trust.
Make regular trips.
The Global Negotiator
The morning, being the last day, all of us get
packed, to be ready to depart after lunch, when the conference is expected to
conclude.
Today
only 10 speakers remain. The following are excerpts from some of them:
U Aung Kyi
Introduction of
“Business for Peace” concept, which is a new one for many in the audience
Ngai Sak, Chin
Democratic Party
(In response to U Win
Htein’s suggestion on the first day:
We
should consider more about what we can give rather than what we want) We have
nothing left to give. Only to ask for.
(Clapping of hands
follows)
Col Kyaw Soe Oo,
Tatmadaw
On 22 July 2015, fiscal
decentralization to states and regions was announced.
Col Nay Lin Tun, Tatmadaw
We
will need to complete the DDR/SSR program as soon as possible, and complete the
political dialogues and peace conferences within 3-5 years.
 |
Myanmar State counselor
Aung
San Suu Kyi (Photo: mizzima)
|
(Earlier, another
officer had read out a paper- which I missed-
that says in essence that “in Burma, DDR must come before SSR, because good
governance, the essential ingredient, has been gradually improved, unlike
countries where good governance lacks far behind.” He also warned that
“everything must be done in accordance with the 2008 constitution and amended
in accordance with the provisions in its Chapter Twelve.”)
Now,
does something ring a bell to you, as it has done to me?
Hket Htein Nan, Ethnic Invitee
It was through Panglong that our Union came into being. Panglong is
our parent(s). Ignoring Panglong therefore amounts to disowning our parents.
There
is a Kachin saying, “The new mushroom grows where the old mushroom leaves off.”
How true it is! Now we have the daughter of the leader whom we trusted to take
care of things. The hand that rocks the cradle is now the hand that rules our
country. Our country is now in good hand.
A huge applause follows. The speaker certainly
has timed his speech with the arrival of the Lady who’s joining the conference
to deliver her closing address.
A
short report is submitted prior to it:
·
1,400 people attended the opening ceremony
·
950 attended the daily presentations
·
72 papers were read out
·
The conference will resume within 6 months
State Counselor
Instead
of dwelling in the past and nurturing our hearts with vengefulness, we should
look to the future and find ways to overcome them.
By
11:30, the show’s over.
I
lunch with some of the Shan MPs who tells me “Peace” is a taboo word in the
Parliament. The explanation is that the whole assembly becomes unruly once the
discussion about peace starts.
Well,
I never thought of that. Maybe the parliamentary whips are right to fear more
about the breakdown of discipline, right?
I
have a pleasant journey by car to Rangoon, where I arrive at 200:00.
Tags: Opinion
