The Ethnic Nationalities Council (ENC) warmly welcomes Daw
Aung San Suu Kyi's statement, which was released by Mr. Gambari, the UN
Secretary-General's Special Advisor for Burma on 8 November 2007.
The ENC Chairman Saw Ba Thin said, “Her statement reflects the Panglong
Spirit---the spirit and principle on which the Union of Burma was founded in
1947 by her father, General Aung San, and ethnic leaders”.
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi clearly pointed out “the need for solidarity and national
unity”, and highlighted her willingness to work with “as broad a range of
political organizations and forces as possible, in particular those of our ethnic
nationality races.”
The ENC Chairman echoes her statement, saying, “From the very beginning,
the ENC expressed our willingness to work with all the stakeholders in Burma, for the
sake of solving the political crisis through a negotiated-settlement and end
more than five long decades of civil war, in which we, the ethnic
nationalities, are the main victims”.
The ENC also welcomes the meeting between Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and General Aung
Kyi, and expects along with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi that “this phase of
preliminary consultations will conclude soon so that a meaningful and time
bound dialogue with the SPDC leadership can start as early as possible”.
The ENC strongly believes that the best means to solve political crisis in
Burma is through a “tripartite dialogue” amongst the SPDC, the 1990 election
winning party led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and ethnic nationalities, as called
for by the United Nations General Assembly's resolutions since 1994 and
reaffirmed also by the United Nation Security Council's Presidential Statement
on 11 October 2007.
The ENC congratulates Mr. Gambari, the UN Secretary-General's Special Advisor,
for undertaking this difficult mission but regrets that the SPDC Chairman
Senior General Than Shwe did not meet with him during his latest visit to Burma.
The ENC is disappointed that the SPDC rejected Mr. Gambari's proposal for the
establishment of “a broad-based constitutional review commission and a
broad-based poverty alleviation commission”. However, as the talks between Daw
Aung San Suu Kyi and General Aung Kyi progress, the ENC hopes that the SPDC
will change its position.
Contact persons:
Dr. Lian H. Sakhong
Joint General Secretary
E-mail: liansakhong@peacebuilding.se
Tel: +46-18-26 03 95
David Taw
General Secretary
E-mail: tawdavid2002@yahoo.com
Tel: +66-(0)81-30 64 351