In her speech at the celebration of Kachin State Day, State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi emphasized the need for inclusive participation in peace building in Burma.
The 72nd Kachin State Day was commemorated at the manau grounds in Sitapu ward in the state capital of Myitkyina on Friday.
She told attendees, that the citizens need to take responsibility for creating the future that they envision for the country, and that the often-discussed value of self-determination was about “creating their own destination.”
“The restoration of peace is very important for an independent country. The objective of independence is to have the right to self-determination and the safety of our citizens,” Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said in her speech. “We want to create our own destination because we want to be safe. We cannot be safe in the hands of others, like water in the hands of people.”
She added that Burma’s past independence icons including her father General Aung San, embodied this by “wanting to take responsibility for the safety of their citizens and their nations, including both mental and physical security.”
Aung San Suu Kyi said that the current public would need to be responsible for resolving Burma’s many political issues.
“We don’t want to leave any problems for the next generation. We want to leave peace for our next generation. Therefore, all-inclusive participation is really important for the current peace process,” the State Counsellor said.
President Win Myint sent a statement to be read at the Kachin State Day commemoration also encouraging public participation in Burma’s government-led peace process.
“I want to urge all citizens living in this Union to work together to build a democratic federal Union with the values of unity, justice, freedom, equal rights and self-determination,” the President’s statement read.
Thousands of people joined the Kachin State Day celebration including the State Counsellor, Union ministers, the Kachin State chief minister, state ministers, government officials, local elders and people from various ethnic groups in Kachin State.
