By NYAN HLAING LYNN | FRONTIER
MYAY DAING KAN, Mandalay Region — State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has told an audience in rural Mandalay that she would not assign blame for the country’s myriad civil conflicts while her government’s policy of “national reconciliation” was in effect.
Appearing at a forum in a Wundwin Township village, Aung San Suu Kyi was asked by one of the residents whether the national reconciliation had failed as a result of the Tatmadaw’s lack of cooperation in the peace process, or the lack of confidence ethnic armed groups had in the armed forces.
“I don’t want to point my finger at anybody and put blame on anybody,” she replied. “Everyone is responsible. I have said this repeatedly.”
Monday’s organised to promote the government’s efforts to negotiate an end to decades of bloody internal conflict through its so-called 21st Century Panglong peace conferences.
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Aung San Suu Kyi added that she never thought the peace process would succeed easily, citing her own struggles since she rose to national prominence during the ill-fated 1988 Uprising, the 29th anniversary of which passed without official recognition on Tuesday.
She urged those present to consider how they could support and collaborate with the government’s national reconciliation efforts.
“You can’t succeed by pointing your finger at others,” she said. “We need to think from multiple sides. You can’t see it from an individual angle.”
Aung San Suu Kyi did not respond to questions from reporters.
