Q: At this busy and critical time, you must be exhausted both in
body and in mind from having to answer all these questions. Please look
after yourself, since your well-being is so important to the people of
our country.
A: I am very grateful for your kind concern,
and I will be very careful with myself because of the respect I have
for the kindness shown by everyone who is concerned for me. I am very
encouraged by the support that all of you have shown. I think I need
not emphasize to you that we will achieve quick success because of the
support that all of you have given to me.
Q: I would like to
know, are the persons who are responsible for your safety providing you
with air-tight security, both day and night? I would also like to ask
whether they are taking good care of your health. As a loyal citizen
of our country, I am willing to perform whatever duties you wish me to
carry out. Lastly, please pass on to the people of Burma some words of
encouragement—that they should not despair, as we will always be here
to support them.
A: I am very happy to know that you will
always be supporting us. I enjoy listening to your songs on the radio
every now and then [the questioner is a well-known Burmese singer]. I
would like to say that those who look after my safety are providing me
with a very tight security system. Please do not worry. As for my
health, Dr. Tin Myo Win and Dr. Pyone Maw Ei, who have taken care of me
for many years, will continue to do so. Please don’t worry about that
either.
As for us, we would like to give not just you, but
everyone, duties to carry out. Everyone should combine their efforts
for the development of our country. Please believe that everyone has
the ability to work. And with that in mind, please help and support us
in our work. Let me say that if we are indeed encouraged just by words
of support, imagine how much more encouragement we will feel if you
support us through your actions. That by itself will enable us to work
much harder for the development of our country.
Q: All of us
ethnic nationalities welcome and support the 21st century Panglong
conference that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has been talking about. What are
the problems you face as make plans for the conference? How can all the
media groups, including the SHAN [Shan Herald Agency for News], support
and help with your plans? Also, I would like to know what role the
various armed cease-fire groups in many of the country’s states will
play, and how all this will be coordinated.
A: I am very
encouraged by the fact that the ethnic nationalities welcome and
support and will work together to help with the 21st century, or
“second,” Panglong conference. The most difficult aspect of planning
this conference is that its purpose is misunderstood. There are some
who think that the aim of this second conference is confrontation, and
that it will be dangerous. But our objective is to bring about national
reconciliation and an end to internal conflicts, to arrive at a proper
understanding of the concept of Union, and to inculcate a strong sense
of the Union spirit.
It will be a big help to us if the media
groups, including the SHAN, will explain all this to the people so that
they understand the true meaning of the conference. This will help us
to overcome the misunderstanding that seems to exist. As we would like
all of the ethnic nationalities to be steadfast members of the Union, I
would like to request the armed cease-fire groups to help by
participating with trust in the 21st century Panglong conference so
that it may be convened successfully.
Q: Are efforts
continuing to convene the tri-party negotiations [among the junta, the
democratic opposition, and the ethnic groups] to resolve Burma’s
political problems? And will those efforts include everyone?
A:
We are always happy to hear that the ethnic nationals welcome and
support us. As we continue to believe that the participation of the
ethnic nationalities in these negotiations is essential for our
country, we will continue to work toward that end. We will never
proceed by leaving the ethnic nationalities behind. In a Union, it will
not be possible to find a political solution without the ethnic
nationalities. We want you to believe that we are working as quickly as
possible toward a scenario where everyone participates as much as
possible. I would like to request here that everyone work together to
help us bring this about.
Q: I am happy to hear that you are
working toward reconvening the Panglong conference in Burma. I was
wondering if you could create a work plan for this so that the ethnic
nationality groups and those working on Burma affairs abroad, as well
as all of the people in Burma, can work together on this.
A:
As I mentioned earlier, the best hope for the success of the second
Panglong conference will be for everyone to work together to overcome
misunderstandings about the conference. We want everyone to help so
that everyone understands clearly that the second, or 21st century,
Panglong conference is not being convened with a view to confrontation,
but rather to assist in national reconciliation efforts.
Let me
say here that it will be a really great help to us if the Burmese
people and the ethnic nationalities living abroad can put their efforts
together so that our people understand what it means to have a federal
system, so that they will not be afraid of it, and so that they will
understand the meaning of Union and give rise to the spirit of Union.
