Members of the 88 Generation Students group met ethnic political leaders
in Karen and Mon states during a recent visit and agreed to work together
towards developing peace and a strong democracy in Burma.
Speaking to The Irrawaddy on
Friday, Mya Aye, a leader of 88 Generation, said that his group agreed that an
ethnic conference should be held in the near future during discussions with
senior Karen National Union (KNU) representatives.
“We found from our trip that
ethnic people have the capacity to work for the development of their states,”
he said. “And now there can be an even larger number of well-educated people
there as they have a chance to study abroad.”
Several 88 Generation members
attended the 62rd anniversary of Karen Martyrs’ Day in Kawkareik Township,
Karen State, on Aug. 12 after being invited by the rebel group.
The KNU is one of the highest
profile ethnic armed groups in Burma and has fought for autonomy and Karen
rights for 63 years—the longest running armed revolution in the country.
The 88 Generation is currently
working on open community projects with the aim of developing a strong
democracy. Group leaders stress that Burma must have nationwide ceasefire in
order to forge a permanent peace in the country.
Without peace there will be no
democracy or protection of human rights, said Mya Aye, adding that abuses occur
most in ethnic areas where there is fighting between rebel armies and the
government.
“There must be equal rights for
ethnic people in order to be able to achieve nationwide peace and stop the
fighting,” he added.
Similarly, the 88 Generation
Students discussed safeguarding civilian rights during a meeting with ethnic
leaders in the Mon State capital Moulmein on Aug. 13.
Min Zay Ya, an ethnic Mon leader
of the 88 Generation from Kamarwat Village in Mudon Township, discussed labor
rights and protection against illegal land confiscations with representatives
of the Mon Democracy Party (MDP) and All Mon Regions Democracy Party (AMDP).
Around 15,000 acres of land used
for rubber plantations have been confiscated by government troops locally.
Nai Ngwe Thein, the chairman of
the AMDP, said, “I emphasized the issue of land confiscations at the meeting.
[The 88 Generation Students] also agreed to help with this. So we will meet again
soon to discuss more about how to work towards this goal.”
Nai Soe Myint, an executive
committee member for the MDP, said that all relevant groups agreed that
tackling the issue of land grabs was a priority.
“We are going to collect lists of
the people in Kyaikmayaw Township who have had their lands confiscated by the
Zay Kabar Company,” he said. “From our two-day trip, we found a lot people in
Yebyu Township have had land confiscated.”
Under the previous military
junta, the ethnic states of Burma have faced poverty and stunted development as
well as human rights abuses due to five decades of civil war.
“The time is to let [ethnic
people] create their fate and their own rights—the right for freedom. So there
will no longer be poverty in ethnic states,” said Mya Aye.
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