• Burmese
Saturday, December 2, 2023
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Irrawaddy
24 °c
Yangon
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • Features
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • Features
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
No Result
View All Result
The Irrawaddy
No Result
View All Result
Home Opinion Commentary

Parliament Proves Conflict-Averse, to Ethnic MPs’ Dismay

by Lawi Weng
May 13, 2016
in Commentary
Reading Time: 4 mins read
A A
Parliament Proves Conflict-Averse

Civilians purportedly displaced by conflict in Arakan State’s Buthidaung Township. (Photo: Myat Moe Kyaw / Facebook)

4k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

It was not a fight, per se, but at the same time, it was not a peaceful week in Parliament. It’s not what was said, but rather what wasn’t.

Lower House Speaker Win Myint on Wednesday rejected a proposal by a lawmaker from the Arakan National Party that sought to bring up for discussion recent hostilities in Arakan State, where some 2,000 civilians have been displaced by a conflict pitting the Arakan Army against government troops. At its core, it was a proposal that was about consideration of a humanitarian aid package for the displaced.

RelatedPosts

Myanmar’s Junta Faces an Increase in Resistance Attacks in Yangon, Reports Say

Myanmar’s Junta Faces an Increase in Resistance Attacks in Yangon, Reports Say

December 1, 2023
2.8k
Pro-Junta Party Leader Assassinated in Myanmar

Pro-Junta Party Leader Assassinated in Myanmar

December 1, 2023
2.9k
Clashes, Fires Rage in Loikaw as Resistance Continues Push to Oust Myanmar Junta Forces

Clashes, Fires Rage in Loikaw as Resistance Continues Push to Oust Myanmar Junta Forces

December 1, 2023
917

The speaker objected, at least in part, because he saw the proposal as having been politicized by an addendum to the aid pitch that sought to bring the Arakan Army into talks with the government and military to end the fighting.

lawei
Lawi Weng is a Senior Reporter for The Irrawaddy English edition.

The Arakan Army was formed in 2009 in northern Kachin State’s Laiza, the headquarters of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA). Far from their declared homeland, troops from the Arakan Army eventually returned to western Arakan State, an unsettling development for the Burma Army, which for years did not face any kind of formidable ethnic armed opposition in the region.

They have just such a foe now.

In the Upper House a week earlier, the ANP fared only slightly better: A proposal brought by the party was opened to discussion by the upper chamber’s speaker, but the outcome was hardly more encouraging, with the proposal “documented” but stronger action deferred.

No aid package considered, and no word from lawmakers on whether a majority agreed with the proposal’s contention that a Burma Army-initiated cessation of hostilities was in order, and that the Arakan Army should be brought into the peace process.

In merely putting the proposal on record, Upper House Speaker Mahn Win Khaing Than told lawmakers that the National League for Democracy (NLD) administration had made clear that it would spearhead an inclusive peace process in the months to come, apparently rendering any further parliamentary input unnecessary.

The Arakanese are just one ethnic minority group in Burma, though they are numerically the largest represented in Parliament, and still their legislative initiatives this month were largely failures. How then might smaller ethnic political parties, perhaps the Ta’ang National Party or the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD), feel about prospects for conflict in their respective constituencies (no hypothetical; a present day reality) getting attention in the legislature?

At this juncture in Burma, with no civilian control of the military, ultimately whether there is peace or war in Arakan State will be determined by the men with guns. But that does not mean the men and women with a voice and a vote in Parliament should not have the opportunity to debate the matter—in particular when it includes consideration of government-funded humanitarian aid for people displaced by the conflict.

In short, this week was not a good week for national reconciliation, that broad and somewhat abstract concept that, fundamentally, is about overcoming decades of mistrust between the Burman majority and the country’s ethnic minorities.

The new government, which worked hard to dispel notions that it was a “Burman party” during the election campaign season, made a point to field ethnic minority candidates and pledged to make national reconciliation among Burma’s many diverse peoples, and peace, top priorities.

“Only if you have faith in us and give us a chance to do it,” she told a voter in war-torn Kachin State, when asked about the party’s plans for peace. “Without being the government, we aren’t able to bring peace. That’s the reality.”

Another reality: You are now “the government” and call the shots in Parliament with commanding majorities in both houses, and as such have an obligation to make good on that pledge.

ANP lawmakers were not the only ethnic parliamentarians put off by the Lower House speaker’s conduct this week.

“It is sad for her,” said Lower House lawmaker Mai Win Htoo of the Ta’ang National Party, referring to ANP lawmaker Khin Saw Wai’s failed proposal. “Of course, this issue should be discussed as soon as possible.”

Mai Win Htoo represents Namhsan Township in northern Shan State, an area predominantly inhabited by the ethnic Palaung, or Ta’ang, that has also been wracked by conflict in recent years. He said his party was of the opinion that it was “not yet the right time” to bring up that conflict in Parliament, citing two fears: that any discussion in Naypyidaw might trigger renewed hostilities, and that a failure to achieve a parliamentary resolution of the conflict would discourage the party’s lawmakers and their constituents.

“Our ethnic political parties have little power in Parliament, but we need to figure out how we could unify and have greater power,” he said.

Sai Thiha Kyaw, Lower House parliamentarian for the SNLD, acknowledged that Win Myint was exercising the power vested in the speakership, but said this week’s rejection of the ANP proposal might lead ethnic political parties to look beyond the walls of Parliament to address concerns facing their constituents.

“If ethnic issues cannot be discussed in Parliament, then there will be many questions to come over this, or we even have to think a lot about whether we are able to rely on Parliament to solve problems in our constituencies,” he said.

Many ethnic minorities on Nov. 8 voted with the expectation that the NLD would be the best-positioned party to bring peace to war-torn frontier regions. After the events of this week in Parliament, they may well be rethinking that supposition.

Lawi Weng is The Irrawaddy’s senior conflict reporter.

Your Thoughts …
Tags: A_FactivaConflictParliament
Previous Post

South Asian Nations Unite Over Anti-Child Trafficking Drive

Next Post

Burma’s Ex-VP Hopes New Government Will Bring Peace

Lawi Weng

Lawi Weng

The Irrawaddy

Similar Picks:

Myanmar’s Northern Alliance ‘Not Interested’ in Empty Peace Talks With Junta

Myanmar’s Northern Alliance ‘Not Interested’ in Empty Peace Talks With Junta

July 27, 2023
2.1k
Foreign Investment in Myanmar Plunges 60% on-Year in First Quarter

Foreign Investment in Myanmar Plunges 60% on-Year in First Quarter

June 8, 2023
6.7k
Thai Parliament Elects Srettha Thavisin as PM: Unofficial Count

Thai Parliament Elects Srettha Thavisin as PM: Unofficial Count

August 22, 2023
594
Thai Govt Calls for Calm After Reformist’s PM Bid Fails

Thai Govt Calls for Calm After Reformist’s PM Bid Fails

July 20, 2023
475
Thai Reformist Suspended From Parliament in Fresh Blow to PM Bid

Thai Reformist Suspended From Parliament in Fresh Blow to PM Bid

July 19, 2023
385
A silhouetted solider from one of Myanmar's ethnic armed group. / The Irrawaddy

Timeline: 70 Years of Ethnic Armed Resistance Movements in Myanmar

February 1, 2019
15.3k
Load More
Next Post
Burma’s Ex-VP Hopes New Government Will Bring Peace

Burma’s Ex-VP Hopes New Government Will Bring Peace

Mandalay Nationalists Demand Govt Condemn Term ‘Rohingya’

Mandalay Nationalists Demand Govt Condemn Term ‘Rohingya’

No Result
View All Result

Recommended

Myanmar’s Civilian Government Takes Control of Seized Funds

Myanmar’s Civilian Government Takes Control of Seized Funds

16 hours ago
11.2k
Illusion of Myanmar Military’s Indispensability Has Been Shattered

Illusion of Myanmar Military’s Indispensability Has Been Shattered

4 days ago
5.2k

Most Read

  • Myanmar’s Civilian Government Takes Control of Seized Funds

    Myanmar’s Civilian Government Takes Control of Seized Funds

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar IDPs Stranded by Junta Troops in Northern Shan State Face a Long Walk Home

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Another Entire Junta Battalion Raises the White Flag in Myanmar’s Northern Shan State

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta Plays Up ‘Strong’ China Ties a Week After Anti-Beijing Protests

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Junta Bombardments in Myanmar’s Rakhine State Spark Mass Exodus

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Newsletter

Get The Irrawaddy’s latest news, analyses and opinion pieces on Myanmar in your inbox.

Subscribe here for daily updates.

Contents

  • News
  • Politics
  • War Against the Junta
  • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
  • Conflicts In Numbers
  • Junta Crony
  • Ethnic Issues
  • Asia
  • World
  • Business
  • Economy
  • Election 2020
  • Elections in History
  • Cartoons
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Commentary
  • Guest Column
  • Analysis
  • Letters
  • In Person
  • Interview
  • Profile
  • Dateline
  • Specials
  • Myanmar Diary
  • Women & Gender
  • Places in History
  • On This Day
  • From the Archive
  • Myanmar & COVID-19
  • Intelligence
  • Myanmar-China Watch
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Food
  • Fashion & Design
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • Photo Essay
  • Donation

About The Irrawaddy

Founded in 1993 by a group of Myanmar journalists living in exile in Thailand, The Irrawaddy is a leading source of reliable news, information, and analysis on Burma/Myanmar and the Southeast Asian region. From its inception, The Irrawaddy has been an independent news media group, unaffiliated with any political party, organization or government. We believe that media must be free and independent and we strive to preserve press freedom.

  • Copyright
  • Code of Ethics
  • Privacy Policy
  • Team
  • About Us
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Burmese

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Letters
  • Ethnic Issues
  • Features
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Business Roundup
  • Donation

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.