State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi has said she will call for a meeting between senior government officials and activists who oppose a recently built statue of her father in Loikaw, Kayah state.
Suu Kyi made the pledge during a 20-minute meeting that she granted to Karenni youths this week at a ceremony to celebrate Kayah State Day.
“She told us to find a way to negotiate peacefully as soon as possible,” said Khu Ree Reh of Kayah Liphu Youth Center Committee.
But, he added, the government has yet to confirm a date for the meeting.
Karenni activists object to plans to erect the statue of independence hero Aung San because they see it as a symbol of the Bamar-led political establishment’s disregard for ethnic minority groups.
At the meeting with Suu Kyi, the youth activists asked her to move the bronze statue of her father riding on horseback to a different location. It was erected at the Gandha Hay Wun Park near Kayah State Hall in early February 2018.
Suu Kyi responded that she would ask state government officials and deputy minister of ethnic affairs Hla Maw Oo to hold a tripartite discussion with the Karenni youths, Kureral said.
In early February 2019, tensions erupted into violence as police fired rubber bullets into crowds of hundreds of protestors marching against the statue in Loikaw.
The statue’s supporters say Aung San is a symbol of national unity. But activists counter that they are protesting because the government has neglected the promises Aung San made to ethnic groups before his assassination.
The Karenni youths also asked Suu Kyi to acquit over 40 Karenni farmers sued by Tatmadaw in a land dispute case, Kureral said.
She replied that she would assign agriculture minister Dr Aung Thu to address the situation and meet with military leaders once she is back in Naypyidaw.
