Aung San Suu Kyi spoke publicly for the first time yesterday about the recent conflict in Shan State involving the combined forces of the KIA, TNLA and the MNDAA that has killed at least nine people since Sunday and has resulted in scores of injuries, many of them innocent civilians, state media reported on 24 November.
The State Counsellor’s remarks came in a statement to the National Reconciliation and Peace Centreand urged ethnic groups to join the government’s ongoing peace negotiations.
“At a time when the people of Myanmar are in the process of striving for national reconciliation … it is extremely disappointing and saddening that these incidents are instigated” Aung San Suu Kyi said in the prepared statement.
According to the statement, ‘The reason we have not been able to put an end to protracted armed conflicts that had emerged with our independence is because we had failed throughout our post-independence history to find common solutions to fundamental political issues through dialogues with a flexible open mind and mutual accommodation. Resolute to find common solutions through dialogues, our new Government makes it a priority to hold the 21st Century Panglong Conference with a view to find political solutions to political problems.’
She reiterated calls for all groups to sign the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement stating, ‘In order to immediately end the armed conflicts in the northeast Shan State I strongly urged the armed groups to join the Government’s peace process, by signing the NCA, working together with the civil society to find ways and means to strengthen the monitoring towards peace goals that are aspired by the people and to join hand with all relevant stakeholders to take part on equal terms in the 21st Century Panglong Conference that is to be held in February of 2017.’
