MYANMAR: pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi campaigns in war-weary Kachin state

Record ID: 346504

  • Title: MYANMAR: pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi campaigns in war-weary Kachin state
  • Date: 25th February 2012
  • Summary: MYITKYINA, KACHIN STATE, MYANMAR (FEBRUARY 24, 2012) (REUTERS) PEOPLE GOING TO THE STAGE FROM MAIN GATE OF KACHIN NATIONAL MANU PARK SUU KYI'S VEHICLE DRIVING IN VARIOUS OF SUPPORTERS WAVING NLD FLAGS (SOUNDBITE) (Burmese) NATIONAL LEAGUE FOR DEMOCRACY LEADER AUNG SAN SUU KYI, SAYING: "The reason why peace has not been achieved in Kachin State is due to lack of mutual confidence and mutual respect. And that is caused by the lack of openness and honesty." SUPPORTERS CLAPPING YOUNG LADY LISTENING MEDIA FILMING PEOPLE LISTENING (SOUNDBITE) (Burmese) NATIONAL LEAGUE FOR DEMOCRACY LEADER AUNG SAN SUU KYI, SAYING: "We are trying for the emergence of a system under which all nationalities will be entitled an equal share of the common wealth owned by our country." SUPPORTERS WAIVING NLD FLAGS SUU KYI WALKING OFF STAGE (SOUNDBITE) (Burmese) 70- YEAR-OLD KACHIN RESIDENT JOSEPH BRANSI YAW, SAYING: "If mother Suu is a leader of our country, there will be great peace and development not only in Kachin State but also the entire country, I trust." PEOPLE HOLDING POSTER (SOUNDBITE) (Burmese) 45- YEAR-OLD WIN NYUNT SHEIN, SAYING: "We trust Aunty Suu. She is accepted by the international community, and also by Bamar and all nationalities. She has said that she will work for the education, health and social security. Then, we can rely on her." BANNER READING: "PLEASE HELP US! TO BRING PEACE TO OUR KACHIN LAND!!"
  • Embargoed: 11th March 2012 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Myanmar, Myanmar
  • Country: Myanmar
  • Topics: Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA7ADT2GUHEWMMD99V4EEANEZIB
  • Story Text: Developing Myanmar will be impossible without peace in restive areas of the country, opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi said on Friday (February 24) in a region where fighting has raged since June between the army and ethnic Kachin rebels.
    Suu Kyi, the 66-year-old Nobel Peace laureate, is seen as pivotal to Myanmar's nascent transition to democracy after five decades of military rule, and some believe she is the only figure who can unify one of Asia's most ethnically diverse countries and resolve the conflict in Kachin state.
    Cheering supporters gathered in the state capital, Myitkyina, where she is seeking to build support for her National League for Democracy (NLD) party ahead of April 1 parliamentary by-elections.
    The symbolism of the Nobel Peace laureate's visit to Kachin state goes well beyond the election.
    The conflict in the Kachin hills near the Chinese border represents one of the last hurdles between Myanmar and a largely sanctions-free relationship with the West.
    Suu Kyi, in her speech, called for a more government and a fairer society.
    "The reason why peace has not been achieved in Kachin State is due to lack of mutual confidence and mutual respect. And that is caused by the lack of openness and honesty," she said.
    "We are trying for the emergence of a system under which all nationalities will be entitled an equal share of the common wealth owned by our country," Suu Kyi added.
    In Kachin state, many were hopeful about the change Suu Kyi will be able to bring.
    "If mother Suu is a leader of our country, there will be great peace and development not only in Kachin State but also the entire country, I trust," said Joseph Bransiyaw, a 70-year-old Kachin resident.
    Others said she bridged the gap between the dominant ethnicity of Myanmar (Bamar) the rest of the world.
    "We trust Aunty Suu. She is accepted by the international community, and also by Bamar and all nationalities. She has said that she will work for the education, health and social security. Then, we can rely on her," 45-year-old Win Nyunt Shein said.
    The Kachin rebels, many of whom are Christian, are the last of Myanmar's many ethnic minority factions battling the army.
    Eight months of fighting have forced as many as 60,000 people into nearly 80 camps.
    The new civilian government has reached ceasefires with other armed groups including Karen rebels based near the border with Thailand, and the Shan in the northeast.
    But the Kachin are holding out for more than a ceasefire. They say they gained little in the way of autonomy from a 1994 ceasefire deal that collapsed in June.
    And this is where some pin their hopes on Suu Kyi.
    Sixty-five years ago this month, when she was not yet two years old, her father, independence leader General Aung San, signed a deal with the Kachin and two other ethnic groups that granted "full autonomy" in internal administration.
    But the deal, known as the Panglong Agreement, died when Aung San was assassinated in Yangon five months later.
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