Yangon (AsiaNews / Agencies) - A plan for "national reconciliation" in Myanmar in which pro-democracy parties and ethnic groups are key players, to be developed in a summit to be held in Jakarta on August 12 and 13, the day after the ruling in the trial of Aung San Suu Kyi. It was announced by the Movement for Democracy and Rights for Ethnic Nationalities, which includes members of the Burmese opposition party National League for Democracy (NLD) and ethnic minorities in the country.
The project, if successful, is the first case of joint struggle, shared by the Burmese people - divided into ethnic groups and religious faiths – since the war of independence against British colonial rule before and against the Japanese invaders afterwards. The protagonist of the independence struggle was General Aung San, revered as the nation’s founding father, and father of Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel Peace Prize Winner who the ruling military junta has detained in Insein Prison in Yangon, since May last. The Jakarta summit aims to foster dialogue with the dictatorship in power in Myanmar, offering "a sustainable exit strategy for the military." The organizers, hoping for a broad involvement in a society characterized by division and internal conflict, to promote "a future of democracy based on civil power, not military... Myanmar can initiate a process of democratic reforms without mass uprisings and recrimination".
The project, while born of good intentions, is faced with the reality of Burma, which is characterized by a dictatorship of generals who do not intend to recognize the 1990 elections - won by the NLD by a large majority- and cede power. The junta does not even seem to give in to pressure from the United Nations and Western governments, relying on support from China, India and other Asian countries who trade with the government in defiance of sanctions. On 11 August, the ruling in the trial against Aung San Suu Kyi is due and the opposition leader is "ready for the worst." The Nobel Peace Prize Winner, imprisoned by the dictatorship for hosting an American citizen in her home, said that the decision of the court is "painfully obvious". For the Lady, who has spent 14 of the last 20 years in custody, a conviction of up to five years is anticipated, to prevent her from participating in elections organized by the junta for 2010.