KYAUKPHYU, ARAKAN, MYANMAR – Buddhists and Muslims gave a show of unity in a five-day national conference from April 27 to May 01 2014, to discuss ways to improve security, peace and tranquility in the conflicted region.
Violence is a constant concern for religious minorities in countries like Thailand and Myanmar. Assaults and even murders against people of the Rohingya ethnicity (who mostly live in the Arakan state) have become a painful reality, and the mutual reprisals are spilling over into neighboring countries like Bangladesh.
The representatives of Arakanese Buddhist monks, the Buddhist community, militias, civil society groups, national and local government officials, representatives from the Myanmar Peace Center, and foreign ambassadors gathered amid concerns of the growing violence over the past two years in the state. The delegates of the conference agreed to allow for returning some philanthropic teams to assist the state’s humanitarian crisis.
During a panel discussion in the conference, Aung Min, the government's chief peace negotiator, called upon ethnic Arakanese to collaborate together with other ethnic groups in the country's political reforms.
Zaw Aye Maung, Minister of Ethnic Rakhine Affairs, said: This conference is to lay down policies that can control the future of Rakhine State. We must avoid lawless acts and live within the frame of law. The capacity of Rakhine people must be enhanced.
At the end at a press conference in Chiang Mai, Thar Ban, the chairman of the Arakan League for Democracy (ALD), noted: “We aim to finalize discussions from our previous talks regarding three objectives; to promote solidarity among the Arakanese people; to bring about ethnic equality and justice; and build a secure, peaceful and progressive Arakanese society.
The conference also managed to form a committee to organize the fourth Arakanese National Convention. This committee comprises: ALD Chairman Thar Ban; RNDP President and Rangoon Division Arakanese Affairs Minister Zaw Aye Maung; Arakan Liberation Party Secretary Khine Thukha; and Arakan Army’s Kyaw Han. The committee is scheduled to meet in the near future with a Myanmar government delegation headed by Minister Aung Min at the Myanmar Peace Centre in Rangoon to discuss details.
Panel discussions at the conference also addressed democracy in Myanmar, federalism and the sharing of natural resources and environmental preservation. They also shared concerns about health and educational needs, farmland issues and electricity shortages.