News & Articles on Burma-Friday, 29 June 20120-uzl

News & Articles on Burma Friday, 29 June 2012 ----------------------------------------- SSA sends protest letter after 24th clash Burma signs pact with UN to ban child soldiers Burma begins media reform, warns journalists to obey the law In Burma, civil war grinds on far from capital it is not Burma, Suu Kyi told High Kyat Killing Business, Say Burmas Exporters Burma tells Aung San Suu Kyi 'call us Myanmar' Myanmar Warns Aung San Suu Kyi: Stop Calling the Country Burma ISIS To Organise Myanmar Roundtable 2012 UN says Myanmar has detained 12 aid workers on unclear charges Myanmar tells Suu Kyi to stop calling nation Burma Myanmar reprimands Suu Kyi for calling country 'Burma' Minister calls for Panglong type conference -------------------------------------------- SSA sends protest letter after 24th clash Friday, 29 June 2012 14:07 S.H.A.N. The Shan State Army (SSA) South sent a letter of protest to Gen Soe Win, Deputy Supreme Commander and Commander of the Burma Army, yesterday following a clash which took place in Laikha, Shan State South, on Wednesday, 27 June. An SSA patrol was attacked by Burma Army patrol from Infantry Battalion 64, based in Laikha, near Mark Khi Nu mountain, Wan Yerng tract, Laikha township, according to the letter. This latest clash marks the 24th military confrontations between the two sides since the ceasefire agreement was signed on 2 December 2011, and the 7th since Gen Soe Win first attended the negotiations on 19 May. Lt. Gen. Yawdserk, left, leader of Shan State Army (SSA), and Gen. Soe Win, chief of Myanmar government negotiation group, shake hands during their meeting in Kengtung, eastern Shan State, Myanmar, Saturday, May 19, 2012. It was second round of peace talks between the government and Shan rebels. Photo: Khin Maung Win / AP The letter, dated 28 June 2012, and signed by the SSAs chief liaison officer Brig-Gen Sai Lu, said. The clashes are taking a terrible toll on the trust-building process. So far, there is no response from Gen Soe Win. The 6 previous clashes, as reported by SHAN, were: 23 May 2012 Pongpakhem, Mongton township, where the Burma Army was in search of a deserter 2 June 2012 SSA unit assigned to jointly conduct survey with the Burma Army in Monghta shelled by the Burma Army 16 June 2012 Infantry Battalions (IBs) 225 and 65 attack SSA base in Pongpakhem, Mongton township 17 June 2012 Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 515 attacks SSA base in Ook Look, Namhsan township 19 June 2012 IB 249 patrol ran into SSA patrol near Na Lawn village, Pang Poi tract, Mongkeung township, due to non-advance notification as agreed earlier 19 June 2012 LIB 575 column attacking SSA at Hsaikhao, Kunhing township On the other hand, the Restoration Council of Shan State / Shan State Army (RCSS/SSA), as the SSA South is officially known, has been allowed to hold public consultations on current political, military, social and economic situation by Naypyitaw. It was also been discussing with state level Central Committee for Drug Abuse Control (CCDAC), Burmas answer to the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Thailands Office of Narcotics Control Board (ONCB). Both sides so far have agreed that cooperation from all state agencies, especially the military, is necessary, if a meaningful result is to be achieved on the drug front. http://www.english.panglong.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4761:ssa-sends-protest-letter-after-24th-clash&catid=86:war&Itemid=284 --------------------------------------------- Burma signs pact with UN to ban child soldiers By AP News Jun 29, 2012 10:49AM UTC YANGON, Burma (AP) Burma has signed an agreement with the United Nations to ban the recruitment of child soldiers and demobilize those already serving. Burma child soldiers A young female recruit of the Kachin Independence Army in Burma. Pic: AP. The Southeast Asian nation is one of about two dozen countries worldwide found by the U.N. to violate international law on the rights of children in armed conflicts. The U.N. office in Yangon said in a press release Thursday that the agreement was the result of years of negotiations with a task force on child soldiers comprising U.N. agencies along with the private groups World Vision and Save the Children. Task force co-chairman Ramesh Shrestha of UNICEF said at Wednesdays signing that supporting the demobilized youth with education and jobs is a key task. The U.N. says seven ethnic guerrilla armies in Burma also use child soldiers. http://asiancorrespondent.com/85081/burma-signs-pact-with-un-to-ban-child-soldiers/ ------------------------------------------ Asian Correspondent Burma begins media reform, warns journalists to obey the law By Zin Linn Jun 29, 2012 2:09AM UTC A paper-reading session on form and content reform of State-owned newspapers was organized by News and Periodicals Enterprise of the Ministry of Information in Naypyitaw on Wednesday, the state-run New Light of Myanmar said Thursday. The Minister for Information and Culture Kyaw Hsan delivered a speech at the opening session. In his speech, Kyaw Hsan said the new government is committed to democracy based on the constitution. The Information Ministry has been working towards reform of the media sector in line with the constitution since 2008, when the constitution was ratified, the minister said. The reforms started in 2011 and now private media has the right to publish, he said. Previously, the state media under the control of the ministry of information mainly informed the policies and stances, implementation and limited information of the government to the public. It barely published public-based news and information, wishes, feedback and arguments of the people, Kyaw Hsan said. The paper-reading session is aimed at further reforming the State media, in other words, seeking ways and means to transform the form and content of State media to that of public service media. According to Kyaw Hsan, public media must be transformed to meet three objectives to inform of the policies, stances and implementation of the government; to publish the opinions, wishes, aspirations and feedback of the people in response to the actions of the government and departments; and to make constructive criticism with regard to actions of the government and departments. In building the future democratic nation, the press, the Fourth Estate of the State must monitor the legislative, executive and judicial pillars in order that the very essence of democracy can be practiced correctly. In addition, it must inform and educate the people, the fifth pillar of the State. To accomplish these duties, the Fourth Estate must be proficient and genuine, he emphasized. The minister also added that after having freedom of expression, journalists must stick to journalistic codes of ethics, and existing laws. Freedom must be practiced with observance of the codes of ethics, rationality and awareness, he advised the journalists. It is true that there have been some positive changes recently i.e. journals can publish Aung San Suu Kyi and her fathers pictures; some former restricted topics are now allowed; and some journals are allowed to publish prior to censorship. However, the Press Scrutiny and Registration Division (PSRD) and Burmas Censorship Office are still powerful and active. Corruption, civil war, sectarian riots, government mismanagement and several political topics cannot be reported on. Such reform does not represent a policy change. To initiate a real change in the media field, the government should totally get rid of the laws that suppress freedom of expression. However, the quasi-civilian government is reluctant to amend the laws such as the 1996 Television and Video Act, the 1996 Computer Science Development Act, the 2002 Wide Area Network Order and the 2004 Electronics Transactions Law. Journalists are under close scrutiny and often work undercover. The chief editor of Snap Shot News Journal has been charged under Section 505 (b) (c) of the Penal Code at Pazundaung Township Court, as reported by the Weekly Eleven News Journal. The Snap Shot News Journal carried a news report titled Who will take responsibility for the errant news reporting of State-owned newspapers or media? The most serious question is that the proposed draft media law, which will be discussed in July parliament sessions, merely focuses on the print media and therefore it is not enough. In the age of the Internet, it is necessary to amend the 1933 Burma Wireless Telegraphy Act, the 1996 Television and Video Act, the 1996 Computer Science Development Law, 2002 Wide Area Network Order and the 2004 Electronics Transactions Law that threaten the journalists as ever. Unless the government abandons those oppressive laws, current reforms in media sector will be regarded as window dressing. http://asiancorrespondent.com/85071/burma-begins-media-reform-warning-journalists-to-obey-existing-laws/ ---------------------------------------- In Burma, civil war grinds on far from capital By Jason Motlagh, Updated: Friday, June 29, 6:00 PM LAIZA, Burma When Burmese mortar rounds crashed into his village last July, Magawng La Hkam hobbled into the bush with nothing but his wooden crutches. Confined to a displaced persons camp near the Chinese border ever since, the 68-year-old ethnic Kachin farmer said he yearns to return home but cant shake the memory of what he saw on that day: the mangled remains of a boy he passed as he fled. Voters in Tampico have their lives on the line in Mexicos presidential election. The vote, many citizens say, is the worst kind of choice, between candidates and parties they dont especially like or trust. Throughout history, some handshakes have become a symbol of peace and hope. Deep in the resource-rich hills of northern Burmas Kachin State, a civil war grinds on between government forces and Kachin rebels, calling into question the more conciliatory signals emanating from the country. Over the past year an estimated 75,000 civilians have been driven from their homes. Shifting front lines have pushed thousands more refugees into China, where aid is scarcely able to reach them. International rights groups accuse the Burmese army of deliberate attacks against civilians, torture, rape, forced conscription and summary executions. Both sides employ child soldiers and continue to seed the ground with land mines that have claimed combatants and civilians alike. The conflict, which reignited when a 17-year cease-fire collapsed last June, persists despite a political thaw in lowland southern Burma that has taken hardened observers by surprise. Since coming to power last year, the nominally civilian government has freed hundreds of prisoners, eased media censorship and reached agreements with other ethnic minority rebel groups in a wide-ranging push to open up the country. In remote Kachin, however, the fate of ancestral lands has been a sticking point for the mostly Christian Kachin rebels, who have a reputation for fearsome hit-and-run guerrilla tactics that date from World War II. The Kachins are one of more than 100 ethnic minorities in Burma, a strategic crossroads among China, India and Thailand. Western governments that for decades kept their distance from Burma have responded favorably to the general thaw. Following by-elections in April in which democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi was elected to parliament, the European Union suspended most of its sanctions. The United States, for its part, has removed barriers to investment and appointed its first ambassador in 22 years. Having traveled to Burma on an official visit in November, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton in May urged American businesses to invest in Burma, and do it responsibly, with the caveat that broader sanctions would remain in place for the time being to prevent backsliding. Foreign analysts say that enduring U.S. concerns over human rights abuses and ethnic conflicts are not lost on Burmese President Thein Sein, a former general, but that his calls for a military cease-fire in Kachin State are being ignored by current military leaders. Indeed, Burmese government forces have ramped up their offensive against the Kachin Independence Army, underscoring the limits of civilian authority and the vast wealth at stake in the hinterlands. Valuable turf Known as the Land of Blue and Gold, Kachins mountain jungles and river valleys abound with minerals, jade and timber. Kachin State also has massive hydropower projects that stand to benefit energy-starved China, which has invested billions in the region, at the expense of ethnic Kachin natives. http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/in-burma-civil-war-grinds-on-far-from-capital/2012/06/28/gJQAxBV7AW_story.html?wprss=rss_world ------------------------------------------ SA Time: Friday, June 29, 2012 3:53:05 PM it is not Burma, Suu Kyi told June 29 2012 at 11:50am AP Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is seen as she takes part in a debate with French students at the Sorbonne University, in Paris. Myanmar's authorities have ordered opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi to stop calling the country Burma, state media reported on Friday, its colonial-era name widely used to defy the former junta. The old regime changed the country's official name two decades ago to Myanmar, saying the term Burma was a legacy of British colonialism and implied the ethnically diverse land belonged only to the Burman majority. Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy (NLD) party vigorously opposed the change, decrying it as a symbolic step by the generals towards creating a new country. Berating her for using the name Burma during landmark recent visits to Thailand and Europe, the Election Commission accused Suu Kyi and party members of flouting a constitution they have vowed to uphold. As it is prescribed in the constitution that 'The state shall be known as The Republic of the Union of Myanmar', no one has the right to call (the country) Burma, it said in a statement, published in state mouthpiece The New Light of Myanmar. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi called Myanmar 'Burma' in her speech to the World Economic Forum in Thailand on 1 June, 2012, it noted. Again, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi called Myanmar 'Burma' in her speeches during her Europe tour. Daw is a term of respect in Myanmar. Global leaders also face a dilemma of what to call the country, which is emerging from decades of army rule under the guidance of reform-minded Prime Minister Thein Sein. Britain's David Cameron calls it Burma while recent speeches by US President Barack Obama also referred to its colonial name. But his Secretary of State Hillary Clinton chose a more diplomatic path on a trip to the nation in December, employing the term Burma but saying it sparingly, generally preferring to dodge controversy by saying this country. - AFP http://www.iol.co.za/news/world/it-is-not-burma-suu-kyi-told-1.1330825#.T-2zQZG1kVA ------------------------------------------- High Kyat Killing Business, Say Burmas Exporters By MAY LAY / THE IRRAWADDY| June 29, 2012 | Burmese businesspeople exporting agricultural products and garments say that they cannot sell their goods at the current rate of exchange, even though it has increased recently from the float-rate of 818 kyat, which was introduced by the Burmese government on April 1 in an attempt to abolish the multiple exchange rate system that had existed in Burma for decades. According to Soe Tun, a central executive member of the Myanmar Rice Industry Association, in first week of June a group of leading businesspeople and exporters held a meeting in Rangoon, following which they released an open letter to President Thein Sein requesting government assistance in raising the exchange rate to 1,100 kyat to the dollar. We have sent a statement to our president, said Soe Tun. We requested that the exchange rate be fixed at 1,100 kyat to the dollar. If that is not possible, we would like to see it at around 1,000 kyat. That would be better than nothing. We cannot survive at this rate any longer. He said that Burma could not compete with other rice-exporting nations unless the rate was adjusted. Burma is the third largest rice exporter in Asia after Thailand and Vietnam. Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Friday, a garment factory owner who employs nearly 2,000 workers in Hlaing Tharyar in Rangoon Division, said, Following the mass strikes and protests earlier this year, we have had to raise laborers wages. If the exchange rate remains the same, we will not be in business in three months time. There are 293 factories in the garment industry alone in Burma, employing no less than 100,000 workers, mostly women. Several Rangoon businessmen have blamed the inflated exchange rate on the Central Banks decision to issue 10,000-kyat bank notes, saying their introduction had caused immediate inflation. Consequently, the impact of inflation caused panic-buying of the US dollar on the black market. The exchange rate peaked at 890 kyat on June 27, its highest value this year. It began the month of June at 835 to the dollar. http://www.irrawaddy.org/archives/8041 ------------------------------------------- 29 June 2012 Last updated at 12:13 GMT Burma tells Aung San Suu Kyi 'call us Myanmar' Burmese officials have told opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi to call the country by its official name, Myanmar. The country was renamed Myanmar in 1989 by its then military rulers and the change has been widely adopted since. But opposition groups have continued to use the old name as a sign of defiance, along with some Western governments and media organisations. Ms Suu Kyi was freed from arrest in 2010 and elected to parliament this year amid continuing political reforms. She is set to return from a high-profile trip to Europe, during which she referred to her country as Burma. She also used the term Burma during a speech to the World Economic Forum in Thailand on 1 June, apparently annoying her country's military-backed civilian government. Correspondents say the authorities may be trying assert themselves after Ms Suu Kyi, who leads the National League for Democracy (NLD), was feted throughout her European tour. In a statement published in The New Light of Myanmar newspaper, the electoral commission said: "As it is prescribed in the constitution that 'the state shall be known as The Republic of the Union of Myanmar', no one has the right to call [the country] Burma. "It is announced that the commission... has again informed the NLD to write/address the name of the state as prescribed in the constitution... and respect the constitution." NLD party spokesman Nyan Win responded by saying that referring to the country as Burma "does not amount to disrespecting the constitution". The then ruling military chose to rename Burma two decades ago, arguing that the old name was a hangover from colonialism and only represented the dominant Burman ethnic group. Etymologists and others suggest that this argument is false, as both Myanmar and Burma come from the same root - referring to the Burman ethnic group - and have been used interchangeably for centuries. The US and UK governments still use Burma to refer to the country, as do some media organisations, including the BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-18643715 ------------------------------------------ Myanmar Warns Aung San Suu Kyi: Stop Calling the Country Burma Myanmar delivers strong warning to opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi to refrain from name seen as legacy of British colonial rule By Anissa Haddadi: June 29, 2012 11:52 AM GMT Nobel Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi continues to be as controversial as ever despite recently embracing reforms announced by the government of Myanmar. After years of being unable to leave the country, the pro-democracy leader has just ended a European tour, which has led the Myanmar election commission to warn her to stop referring to the country as Burma, according to the state-run newspaper New Light of Myanmar. The commission, which supervises the electoral process and laws dealing with political parties, is insisting that Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy Party must "respect the constitution" and use the country's proper name, instead of a term that is a legacy of British colonialism. The country's former military rulers changed the Southeast Asian nation's official name Burma to Mynamar in 1989, but activists and exile groups persist in referring to it as Burma as a sign of defiance. The Burmese language uses both terms in different contexts. Myanmar is reserved for formal occasions, while Bamar is used colloquially. English and other languages, such as French, German and Japanese, continue to refer to the country as Burma, which connotes Burman, the dominant ethnic group in the country, to the exclusion of its numerous ethnic minorities. Suu Kyi, 67, became a member of Burma's parliament after her party won dozens of seats in a sweeping victory in the country's by-elections in April. She spent 15 of the last 24 years under house arrest and is the country's most prominent and popular opposition figure. The country's president, Thein Sein, recently pledged to introduce a second phase of reforms, following decades of rule by an authoritarian military junta. Hopes for change were bolstered in May when Suu Kyi and her opposition colleagues were sworn into office. Suu Kyi's party spokesman Nyan Win dismissed the election commission's complaint. "Referring to the country as Burma does not amount to disrespecting the constitution," he told AP. To report problems or to leave feedback about this article, e-mail: a.haddadi@ibtimes.co.uk To contact the editor, e-mail: editor@ibtimes.co.uk Read more: http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/articles/357849/20120629/myanmar-warns-aung-san-suu-kyi-stop.htm#ixzz1zBovbmeq ----------------------------------------- June 29, 2012 19:26 PM ISIS To Organise Myanmar Roundtable 2012 KUALA LUMPUR, June 29 (Bernama) -- The Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS) Malaysia will organise the Myanmar Roundtable 2012 on July 9 here. The event, under the theme, "Understanding the Changes, Realising the Opportunities", aims to highlight recent political, economic and business developments in the "Golden Land", said ISIS. It will discuss the current trends and future directions as well as challenges in Myanmar, the Institute said in a statement today. A total of 150 participants, comprising corporate executives, government officials and Myanmar watchers, are expected to join the roundtable. "We believe the roundtable can offer excellent networking opportunities and engagement due to its high-level speakers and participants," said ISIS. -- BERNAMA http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v6/newsbusiness.php?id=676948 ---------------------------------------- UN says Myanmar has detained 12 aid workers on unclear charges Published Friday, Jun. 29, 2012 8:33AM EDT GENEVA -- Myanmar has detained a dozen aid workers working for international organizations in the past month, with just one of them being released, a spokesman for the U.N. refugee agency said Friday. Adrian Edwards said four Myanmar nationals working for the agency were arrested in June in areas of the country where there has been civil unrest, and three are still being held. Two workers from the World Food Program and six from a non-U.N. group, Doctors Without Borders, had also been detained in several locations around Myanmar, and were still to be released, he added. Edwards said that some of the detentions occurred in Rakhine state, an area of western Myanmar where a state of emergency was declared in June after ethnic clashes took place between Rohingyas and Rakhine Buddhists. The workers had been providing food, medical assistance and other help to displaced people. He said the exact grounds on which they are being held remains unclear, and U.N. officials are seeking access to them. Edwards told reporters in Geneva on Friday that discussions to free the staff are in "a delicate situation." World Food Program spokeswoman Elisabeth Byrs said the U.N. resident co-ordinator Ashok Nigam, the top U.N. official in Myanmar, has reported to the Myanmar government that some U.N. staff members were detained for questioning by authorities in Rakhine state, and the U.N. is still trying to get access to these staff members. She said the U.N. has decided not to release more information about the situation "out of concern for the privacy of its staff." The refugee agency, meanwhile, says it has sent additional staff to Rakhine, where Myanmar authorities say more than 52,000 people have been displaced during riots. In a statement Friday, the agency says it has been assessing the needs of people in 30 different places, and handed out blankets, temporary shelter, cooking sets and mosquito nets to 5,000 people. Read more: http://www.ctvnews.ca/world/un-says-myanmar-has-detained-12-aid-workers-on-unclear-charges-1.859055#ixzz1zBmueNm8 ---------------------------------------------- Myanmar tells Suu Kyi to stop calling nation Burma June 29, 2012 12:10 PM Agence France Presse YANGON: Myanmar's authorities have ordered opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi to stop calling the country "Burma", state media reported Friday, its colonial-era name widely used to defy the former junta. The old regime changed the country's official name two decades ago to Myanmar, saying the term Burma was a legacy of British colonialism and implied the ethnically diverse land belonged only to the Burman majority. Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy (NLD) party vigorously opposed the change, decrying it as a symbolic step by the generals towards creating a new country. Berating her for using the name "Burma" during landmark recent visits to Thailand and Europe, the Election Commission accused Suu Kyi and party members of flouting a constitution they have vowed to uphold. "As it is prescribed in the constitution that 'The state shall be known as The Republic of the Union of Myanmar', no one has the right to call (the country) Burma," it said in a statement, published in state mouthpiece The New Light of Myanmar. "Daw Aung San Suu Kyi called Myanmar 'Burma' in her speech to the World Economic Forum in Thailand on 1 June, 2012," it noted. "Again, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi called Myanmar 'Burma' in her speeches during her Europe tour." "Daw" is a term of respect in Myanmar. Global leaders also face a dilemma of what to call the country, which is emerging from decades of army rule under the guidance of reform-minded Prime Minister Thein Sein. Britain's David Cameron calls it "Burma" while recent speeches by US President Barack Obama also referred to its colonial name. But his Secretary of State Hillary Clinton chose a more diplomatic path on a trip to the nation in December, employing the term Burma but saying it sparingly, generally preferring to dodge controversy by saying "this country." Read more: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/International/2012/Jun-29/178715-myanmar-tells-suu-kyi-to-stop-calling-nation-burma.ashx#ixzz1zBm5G3cC (The Daily Star :: Lebanon News :: http://www.dailystar.com.lb) ------------------------------------------- Myanmar reprimands Suu Kyi for calling country 'Burma' By ANI | ANI 2 hours 41 minutes ago Naypyidaw, June 29 (ANI): Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been warned to stop calling her country 'Burma'. According to the Daily Express, authorities in Myanmar told Suu Kyi to refer to the Southeast Asian nation by its official name 'Republic of the Union of Myanmar'. The country's former military rulers changed the name in English from Burma to Myanmar in 1989, as they said it better reflected the country's ethnic diversity. However, opponents and exile groups have continued calling the country as Burma as a sign of protest and defiance. Myanmar's election commission, which supervises laws dealing with political parties, issued the complaint in the state-run newspaper. The statement cited Suu Kyi's repeated reference to the country as Burma during her landmark trips in recent weeks to Thailand and Europe, and said she and her National League for Democracy Party must 'respect the constitution' and use the proper name.Suu Kyi's party spokesman Nyan Win said that the election commission's complaint was a non-issue. "Referring to the country as Burma does not amount to disrespecting the constitution," he said. In the official state language, the country and its people are both pronounced as Myanmar. (ANI) http://in.news.yahoo.com/myanmar-reprimands-suu-kyi-calling-country-burma-104557042.html -------------------------------------------- Minister calls for Panglong type conference Friday, 29 June 2012 18:12 Hinthani Sangkhlaburi (Mizzima) Aung Min, the vicechairman of the Union Peacemaking Working Committee, said the Burmese government would convene a conference similar to the Panglong Conference sometime before 2014. The minister mentioned the plan in a meeting with Burmese exiled groups in Mae Sot earlier this week. Burmese peacemaking team leader Minister Aung Min Photo: Mizzima Burmese peacemaking team leader Minister Aung Min Photo: Mizzima He said the government would try to start it before December 2012. The latest deadline would be 2014, said Dr. Naing Aung of the Forum for Democracy in Burma (FDB). In the conference, [the parties concerned] would discuss the issues where no agreement has not been reached in the second-level peace talks. He said Aung Min said the government would decide on issues where it exercised authority, and on other issues, the Parliament would decide. The Panglong Conference, held in February 1947, was an historic meeting that took place at Panglong in the Shan States in Burma between the Shan, Kachin and Chin ethnic minority leaders and Aung San, head of the interim Burmese government. The leaders unanimously decided to join the Union of Burma. The legacy of the conference represents issues of ethnic autonomy in self-government, respect for their cultures and other issues. On Tuesday, Burmese pro-democracy groups including the FDB met with the government peace delegation. The Minister said that the organizations representing Burmas 135 indigenous ethnic people, political parties, NGOs and representatives of all stratum of the society might be invited to attend the conference. He provide no details, and the concept of who would be represented was sketchy, according to people who attended the meeting. In the first stage, Aung Min said the conference would focus on cease-fire and peace issues, and after that take up other issues. They have not clearly answered our questions regarding the process. It needs to be all-inclusive in the political sense. To rebuild the country, all [parties] need to actively participate. In that way, a genuine country can be built, Naing Aung told Mizzima. A peace mediator, Nyo Ohn Myint, told Mizzima that that if both sides had mutual trust, the objective of such a conference could be achieved. Now, its still in a state in which both sides are discussing their basic viewpoints and attitudes establishing mutual trust is very important. The procedures can be set by negotiating before the talks. But, if they dont have mutual trust, negotiations will not be fruitful, he said. Both sides acknowledged that preliminary discussions could present formidable obstacles even before calling such a conference. During their four-day visit to Thailand, the Burmese governments seven-member peace delegation met with 18 groups including pro-democracy groups, social organizations and womens organizations. On Thursday, the delegation returned to Burma. http://www.mizzima.com/news/regional/7424-minister-calls-for-panglong-type-conference.html