The Kayah State government has formed a new committee that will arrange the erection of a statue of General Aung San, the founder of the Burmese military, in the state capital of Loikaw. The new committee will comprise several local NGOs and receive assistance from the state government. It replaces the original committee, which included only government officials.
The formation of the new committee follows the failure of Kayah State chief minister L Phaung Sho to win over local opposition to the statue, which many Karenni people see as a sharp reminder of the forced Burmanization that their land has undergone under successive Burmese regimes, including that of Aung San Suu Kyi. Earlier this month, police violently crushed a peaceful protest against the planned erection of the statue, culminating in the arrest of 23 youth activists.
The state government subsequently invited opponents of the statue to negotiate, and the erection of the statue was postponed. It was originally meant to go up on on July 19, the anniversary of General Aung San’s death, known in Myanmar as Martyrs’ Day. But despite the postponement, the negotiations quickly deteriorated.
During a meeting with opponents on July 16, the chief minister threatened to call in the military if the unrest continued. He was heavily criticized on social media. On July 20, opponents walked out of a meeting, saying they would no longer work with the state government because it would not drop the charges against protesters and because it only tried to persuade opponents to support the statue rather than earnestly negotiating.
In response, the chief minister announced that a new committee would be formed by the community-based organizations that did not walk out on July 20. The new committee will continue planning for the erection of the statue, while Karenni groups, including the separatist Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP) and diaspora organizations, say the Myanmar government should focus on building trust with the Karenni community, preserving Karenni culture, and improving the lives of Karenni people.
