by Hla Hla Htay
NAYPYIDAW, July 25, 2012 (AFP) - Myanmar opposition leader Aung San
Suu Kyi on Wednesday called for laws to protect the rights of the
strife-torn nation's myriad ethnic minorities in her inaugural address
to the fledgling parliament.
The Nobel Peace Prize winner won her first seat in the legislature in
landmark April by-elections, marking a dramatic transformation from a
longtime political prisoner to a key political figure in the budding
reform process.
The veteran activist used her first speech to lawmakers to support a
motion by a ruling-party lawmaker on upholding ethnic minority rights.
"To become a truly democratic union with a spirit of the union, equal
rights and mutual respect, I urge all members of parliament to discuss
the enactment of the laws needed to protect equal rights of
ethnicities," she said.
Protecting ethnic rights required more than just maintaining ethnic
languages and culture, she added, noting that ethnic minority groups
suffer above-average poverty rates.
"Furthermore, the flames of war are not completely extinguished," she said.
The 67-year-old's entry into mainstream politics is one of the most
visible signs of change under a new reformist government which took
power last year under President Thein Sein, a former general.
Thein Sein has overseen a series of dramatic reforms, including the
release of hundreds of political prisoners, currency market
liberalisation and ceasefire deals with several armed rebel groups.
Civil war has plagued parts of the country formerly known as Burma
since it won independence from Britain in 1948, and many members of
ethnic minority groups are suspicious of the majority Burmans including
Suu Kyi.
An end to the conflicts and alleged rights abuses involving
government troops is a key demand of Western nations, which are starting
to roll back sanctions imposed during military rule over Myanmar's
human rights record.
Ongoing fighting in northern Kachin state has displaced tens of
thousands of people and cast a shadow over the nationwide peace efforts.
In western Rakhine state meanwhile, recent clashes between ethnic
Buddhist Rakhine and Muslim Rohingya have left dozens dead and tens of
thousands homeless.
Myanmar's government considers the Rohingya to be foreigners, while
many citizens see them as illegal immigrants from neighbouring
Bangladesh and view them with hostility.
Suu Kyi has disappointed some rights campaigners by not offering
stronger support to Myanmar's estimated 800,000 Rohingya, described by
the United Nations as one of the world's most persecuted minorities.
Delivering a Nobel prize acceptance speech two decades in the making
in Oslo last month, Suu Kyi said she and her party "stand ready and
willing to play any role in the process of national reconciliation".
Source: here
No comments:
Post a Comment