President Thein Sein has sent a New Year message to the current session
of the parliament in Nay Pyi Taw, the state-run media said Friday.
The president emphasized that the
new political culture has taken place, in company with other political
developments in 2012. This new political culture is no other than the practice
of seeking a way-out through negotiation in the society. He also said that his
government has decided to work with the parliament finding the middle ground
generally in undertaking political, economic and social reforms.
The Union Parliament Speaker Khin
Aung Myint read out the New Year message sent by the President of the Republic
of the Union of Myanmar (Burma) Thein Sein to the Union Parliament at the
Thursday’s Union Parliament session, The New Light of Myanmar newspaper said
today.
In his message, President Thein
Sein expressed the important role of the parliament in the ongoing reform
process. While going through democratic transition, he said the nation has
tried to get better relations with the international community which has
significantly facilitated the reform process.
Improvement of the peace talks is
also a key political success of the country in 2012, he said in the
message. He explained that peace talks
were initiated with the 11 main ethnic armed groups and some ceasefire
agreements were reached with 10 armed groups. According to his message, the
government firmly believes to proceed from ceasefire agreements to political
dialogue with the aim of resolving ethnic conflicts in the country permanently.
At one point, Thein Sein clearly
mentioned concerning the fierce war against the Kachin rebels. He expressed his
view in his message: “I would also like to say that the door is always open for
the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO)/the Kachin Independence Army (KIA)
to discuss ceasefire terms and to have meaningful political dialogue with the
government. While the Government is striving to achieve peace in the country
with our utmost efforts, the Tatmadaw (Army) has not only made sacrifices in
blood and sweat for the security of the State but also done everything they
possibly can to make positive contributions to the peace process.”
He also said that the various
peace committees have tried to do their best to set up genuine trust between
the government and ethnic armed groups. Additionally, he said that in order to
achieve durable peace and to design and implement the plans for rehabilitation
and development works after the achievement of peace, the government has
recently established the Myanmar Peace Center.
Moreover, he gave details about
the government’s economic reforms such as the introduction of a floating
exchange rate, financial sector reforms, the creation of an investor friendly
business environment, the resuscitation of the tourism sector and the creation
of safeguards to ensure that business practices do not damage the environment.
Despite the consequences of
political, economic and social reforms, the country has learned from the facts
and the troubles associated with the Letpadaung Taung project, land rights,
riots in Rakhine State and the breakdown of peace in Kachin state, he said.
He also promised his government
has to seek advice from the parliament regularly to carry out political,
economic and social reforms. The government will try to function more
effectively and efficiently in the future by means of the legislative
experience, he guaranteed via his message.
President Thein Sein expressed
his strong will to improve the state of the rule of law and eradicate
corruption in the country. He and the members of parliament will also carry on
difficult task to create good governance and clean government, he added in his
message.
However, people may consider the
president’s message as rhetorical expression since it is far away from the
real-life situation. While President Then Sein is sending his message to the
Union Parliament, the fierce offensive against the KIO has been constantly
going on amid air-strikes.
On Thursday, the eleven-member
alliance group, the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC) has concluded
its four-day meeting, according to Shan Herald Agency for News (S.H.A.N.).
General Secretary of the alliance organization, Nai Hongsa reiterated Friday
morning that there would be nothing to talk about at the next round of peace
talks with government point man U Aung Min, as long as the offensive against
Laiza, the headquarters of its leading member Kachin Independence Organization
(KIO/KIA) continues.
Besides, a group of ethnic
Kachins protested outside the Myanmar embassy in Bangkok Friday against
government bombardments in country’s northern Kachin state, a day after a group
of Kachin people attempted a demonstration in China, according to The Nation’s
news in Thailand.
It is intolerable since the
government has used not only heavy artillery but also enforced
gunship-helicopters and jet-fighters in this military operation against the
ethnic Kachin rebels. The news concerning government airstrikes is hitting the
headlines through the news media.
During today’s parliamentary
session, MP Thein Zaw submitted a proposal to resume the peace talks between
the KIO and the government by using the information technology via the Internet
with public transparency which could help lessen people’s misery.
Many analysts believe the ongoing
war in Kachin territories is quite a hostile offensive rather than a defensive
battle as the government says. If this is the case then people would be able to
label the president’s third message this January as a deliberate falsification.
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