ASIA/MYANMAR - National Human Rights Commission wants to mediate in the civil war

Yangon (Agenzia Fides) - "The process of dialogue and mediation in the civil conflict in Myanmar is important and urgent for many reasons: to stop the violence against the civilian population, which is before everyone's eyes; to enable the nation to resume a social life with education, health and development, otherwise it is heading towards the abyss," says Joseph Kung Za Hmung, a Catholic from Yangon, educator and founder of the country's first private Catholic university, "St. Joseph University" in Yangon, to Fides. Joseph Kung Za Hmung has been involved for years in public relations (with the Catholic news portal 'Gloria news Journal') and in rural development programs, and has headed the NGO "Community Agency for Rural Development" since 2004. Joseph Kung has now been appointed as a Christian representative to the Burmese government's Myanmar National Human Rights Commission (members are appointed by the current government according to the Constitution), which is to play the role of an "independent observer" who monitors the human rights situation in the country and makes recommendations to the executive.
In September, the military junta reappointed the eleven members of the commission (with a five-year term), choosing academics and people who belong to civil society and not the military or government apparatus. "The members of the commission come from society, they know the fighting people's defense forces and have contacts with them, so that the commission can now take on a bridging function and be a body that can help to initiate a dialogue and mediation process.
Opening a channel is crucial for the entire nation today. Dialogue must also be held with the junta. There are also attempts at mediation from outside the country, for example within ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) with the participation of countries such as Indonesia and Thailand," said the Catholic.
Looking realistically at the situation on the ground, Kung notes that "everyone must agree to a ceasefire because the whole country would benefit from it, primarily the suffering civilian population and the internally displaced persons, whose numbers continue to grow. The nation is in a state of exhaustion. If the popular forces come to the negotiating table, they can reiterate their demand for civilian rule. The popular forces and ethnic militias now control an estimated 75% of the country, while the central areas and major cities are defended by the army, which remains very strong and has heavy weapons. Dialogue and the search for common ground is in everyone's interest," he notes.
The call for dialogue between the warring parties also came from the last ASEAN meeting, where the organization of a peace conference was proposed. The President of the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences and Archbishop of Yangon, Cardinal Charles Maung Bo, who is currently in the Vatican for the World Synod of Bishops, recalled the dramatic conflict in his country and expressed his heartfelt hope that "a path of reconciliation will be found", calling for "a dialogue table for peace". Meanwhile, the head of Myanmar's military junta, General Min Aung Hlaing, called on ethnic rebel militias to participate in peace talks and reiterated this call on the ninth anniversary of the signing of the 2015 national ceasefire agreement. (PA) (Agenzia Fides, 23/10/2024)

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