He’s back for round two!
Kofi Annan, former Secretary General of the UN and chair of the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State, will be holding meetings in Yangon tomorrow before heading off to Rakhine State.
U Aye Lwin, a member of the commission, told The Voice, “I think it [the trip] will last about three days. He may also go to Naypyidaw. We don’t know the details yet, but he is planning on meeting with officials in Naypyidaw.”
Annan will also visit the areas in northern Rakhine, including Maungdaw, where border guard posts were attacked last month. The commission will observe the region and talk to residents.
“The commission will submit an interim report in January or February next year … Before we do that, we need to observe, listen and analyse as much as we can,” another member of the commission, Daw San Khin Tint, told The Myanmar Times.
The commission was first established by Aung San Suu Kyi in August in an effort to reduce tension and support developments within the region. However, several Buddhist nationalist groups voiced their disapproval of foreign officials being involved in national affairs.
This will be the Commission’s second trip to Rakhine State since their last visit in September.
Access to northern Rakhine has been severely restricted ever since the attacks. Although UN representatives and foreign diplomats visited the area on November 4, they were escorted by security forces. Independent travel, including by journalists and media outlets, has been prohibited.
