A Karen
community-based organization says the Norway Peace Initiative process to help
achieve a long-lasting peace in Burma may be fueling added tensions in the
region. A fundamental issue, he said, is the lack of trust between the ethnic
groups and the government.
Saw Paul Sein Twa, the director of the grassroots
Karen Environmental and Social Action Network (Kesan), told Karen News, “There
is no transparency, they don’t disclose information, or their agreements with
the government, or with the cease-fire groups.”
Saw Paul said some people continue to question how a
top-down approach will benefit the poor and powerless in Burma.
“They approach only the government and the parties
involved in the conflict,” he said.
“It is a lack of parallel discussion and
participation…they exclude the involvement of civil society – their aid money
and program is top down, and goes to the military-linked elite,” he was quoted
as saying.
He said information about the Norwegian plan for peace
was only obtained from a leaked document.
On May 30 in Chaing Mai, the Norwegian government
defended its plan and efforts, saying its peace initiative would channel aid
into conflict-affected regions in Burma despite criticism that it risks coercing
ethnic and civil society groups into joining the plan.
Norway’s Deputy Foreign Secretary Torgeir Larsen tried
to counter activists and NGO concerns that the multi-million dollar plan could
upset the fragile peace process in eastern Burma.
“Moving from a cease-fire to real peace is what we are
aiming at,” said Larsen. “It’s a delicate and long-term process and this is the
first phase. It’s about testing out the way.”
Sources close to the Karen National Union (KNU) also
said the Norwegian-led peace initiative had only approached a few KNU leaders
about their plan.
Saw Htoo Klee of The Karen Office of Relief and
Development (Kord) told Karen News, “They [KNU leaders] told us that the issue
is political so they cannot carry out consultations with related community
groups.”
Saw Htoo Klee said his organization does not know the
whole process of the internally displaced people resettlement program supported
by the Norwegians.
“The process should not go like this. The related
groups need to know the process, all related sectors need to be included,” he
said.
Saw Paul said he was worried that the Norwegian
group’s plan might parallel the group’s experience in Sri Lanka, where, he
said, “They used humanitarian aid to support the peace process but because of a
lack of transparency, their program became politicized. When the government
carried out programs in the Tamil Tiger areas, the Tamil leaders became
suspicious that the government was using aid to extend their power…both sides
lost trust and the conflict restarted again.”
“In the Sri Lanka lesson, they start development
programs after the cease-fire without solving the core political issues. It did
not lead to peace but incited further war,” he said.
“We need the peace building process to have transparency,
with formal consultations [with] community based organizations, KNU leaders and
other ethnic groups to reach a common decision for the peace building process,”
he said. “It is important for the local sectors to design their own peace
process and then be supported.”
Community-based organizations agree that the political
peacemaking process must go forward, but he said humanitarian aid should not be
allowed to become a block to the political process.
Mizzima News
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