Naypyidaw, 28 Dzulqa’dah 1437/31 August 2016 (MINA) – Hundreds of representatives of Myanmar’s ethnic tribes have gathered in the country’s capital for peace talks with the government aimed at ending decades of separatist insurgencies that have claimed thousands of lives, A Jazeera reported.
The delegates, dressed in traditional garb and headgear, entered the conference hall in Naypyidaw on Wednesday for the five-day talks called by the new government of Aung San Suu Kyi.
Although her title is state counsellor, she is seen as the country’s real leader.
Aung San Suu Kyi, UN chief Ban Ki-moon and General Min Aung Hlaing, the head of Myanmar’s armed forces, are scheduled to give speeches at the opening of the talks to determine the fate of the country’s various ethnic minorities, who make up about 40 percent of the population.
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“All our people around the country want peace. So I do believe we will be successful in getting it at the conference,” said Khun Than Myint, the facilitator of the meeting, which is titled Union Peace Conference – 21st-Century Panglong.
The title is is a reference to the Panglong Agreement brokered in 1947 by Aung San Suu Kyi’s late father, independence hero General Aung San, in a town called Panglong. (T/R07/R01)
Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)
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