With the completion of the 21 Century Panglong Conference and the appointment of the Members of the Rakine State Advisory Commission, the Club de Madrid Members are pleased to see the progress that is being made on the process of reconciliation and peace building in Myanmar. Its Shared Societies Project encourages and promotes process that resolve inter-community conflict and includes on its website a collection of good practices from around the world. We are confidentat that examples from Myanmar will soon be included.
The establishment of the Rakine State Advisory Commission shows the commitment of the Government to resolve the situation and its willingness to seek impartial advice. In this context the Club de Madrid welcomes the appointment of its Honorary Member, Kofi Annan, as Chair. His experience and skills will expedite the process and we are confident that, together with the other commissioners, the Commission will reach out to all interested groups and produce a thoughtful report with ideas on the way forward that will be acceptable to all concerned.
The Members are also pleased to congratulate all parties on the successful completion of the first stage of the 21st Century Panglong Process and welcome the fact that it is seen as an ongoing process and that it had involvement of all key stakeholders within government and in the Ethnic Armed Organisations. Experience from other peace processes, including the Members´ own experience, referred to by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in her speech to the Conference, show that inclusion is a key determinant of a sustainable and durable outcome and the Members hope that the Process will continue to be inclusive and will include even more interested parties in the country during the future stages.
The conference ended successfully Saturday in Nay Pyi Taw with participants agreeing to find solutions under the guideline of Nationwide Cease fire Accord (NCA) agreed last year. At the closing ceremony, Myanmar’s leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, expressed optimism about the peace process. The Club de Madrid Honorary Member and State Counselor highlighted that “the peace of the Union is concerned with the world’s peace, which is why the whole world was watching the conference with interest”. She also made a clear reference on other countries peace processes examples that “keep us cheerful”.
The Club de Madrid has been involved in Myanmar for some years in the framework of the “High Level Support for Effective Dialogue in Myanmar: Towards Democratic Transition and Shared Societies” Project, funded by The Charitable Foundation since 2015. The Members have been sharing and will continue to share their experience of peace process and transition to democracy so that those involved in the Myanmar processes can draw ideas and approaches that can guide their own actions and activities.
