Ex-Rakhine State Security Minister Appointed Peace Adviser to Myanmar President

By The Irrawaddy 2 April 2020

YANGON—Myanmar President U Win Myint has appointed former Rakhine State Minister for Security and Border Affairs Colonel Htein Lin as an adviser to the President’s Office on peace issues.

“The appointment is to give advice [to the President] on the peace process conducted by the National Reconciliation and Peace Center,” according to a copy of the appointment letter seen by The Irrawaddy and confirmed with a source. The appointment will take effect from May 20.

Led by State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the Peace Center oversees the government’s peace negotiations with various ethnic armed groups that are fighting for equality and self-determination.

Peace talks have been postponed until the end of this month as Myanmar has restricted all mass gatherings in line with global measures to fight the spread of the coronavirus

Col. Htein Lin became restive Rakhine State’s minister for security and border affairs—a military-appointed position—under the U Thein Sein administration. In July 2017, one year after the National League for Democracy assumed power, he returned to his military duties. He is also a former military-appointed Upper House lawmaker.

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