The Kayah State Government and Karenni State Youth Force Protest Camp Committee met in Loikaw, the capital of Karenni (Kayah) State, on Wednesday to discuss the statue of Bogyoke Aung San that sparked protests from Karenni youth earlier this year.
While the National League for Democracy (NLD) erected the statue of Bogyoke Aung San in an attempt to build unity, local Karenni youth protested the statue given the current state of ethnic minority rights.
At the meeting, The Karenni State Youth Force Protest Camp Committee met with the Kayah State Government representatives led by Chief Minister U L Paung Sho. Representatives from the National Reconciliation and Peace Center (NRPC), the Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP), and the Statue Installing Committee were also in attendance. The NRPC representatives were led by U Zaw Htay and the KNPP representatives were led by vice-chair Khu Oo Reh.
Pyithu Hluttaw Representative Dr. Khin Sithu and Hluttaw Representative U Khu The Reh also attended the talks. Despite solutions proposed by both sides, a decision regarding the statue has yet to be reached.
“The state government won’t remove the statue. They propose to have Bogyoke Aung San’s promises written at the bottom of the statue. But we proposed to take the statue outside of the state or at least remove it from public space. Since it was made by the NLD, the statue can be installed at the NLD office. We have made that request before, but the agreement that both sides reached is that we will find solutions for this statue matter in peaceful way,” said Khun Thomas, spokesperson of Karenni State Youth Force Protest Camp Committee.
The Karenni State Youth Force informed the public in a statement released on March 20 that a decision regarding the statue had not been finalized at the meeting. The committee also apologized to the public and requested that the public wait with patience to ensure the stability of the state. The next meeting, which will exclude the Statue Installing Committee, will be held before April ends.
The government’s proposed solution involves adding an inscription of the 1947 Panglong Agreement. The Agreement, signed by Gen. Aung San and ethnic leaders, promised a federation with equal rights for ethnic nationalities.
“From the government side, we want to continue to have the statue here [in the park]… after negotiating [in April], we would install a stone inscription with the Panglong Agreement. That is what we proposed. Since neither proposal has been agreed upon, both sides have to review and will have a meeting in late April,” said U Nyi Nyi Min, secretary of Kayah State Government Group.
“We want to have a solution for this problem. But regarding both sides, the government side wants to have the statue in that [public] space. For this camp group, they want the statue to be installed far from public spaces. So, we have to listen to them at the upcoming meeting. We are the mediator group,” said Khu Nye Reh, an official of KNPP (Loikaw) liaison office.
Although the public protested the installation of the Bogyoke Aung San Statue at the Kanta Hay Won Garden in Loikaw Capital, the state government went through with the statue’s installation. The grand reveal of the statue was held on February 2. Protests only escalated following the statues installation. On February 12, the police security force fired rubber bullets at youth protesters, causing numerous injuries.
The Karenni State Youth Force had previously released a statement urging the state government to transfer the Bogyoke statue by March 17. However, U Zaw Htay, Director of the President Office called for a meeting on March 20 to discuss a solution.
The controversy surrounding the statue stems from a larger national debate over ethnic minority rights and perceived attempts by the government to forcefully assimilate ethnic minorities.
