The 21st Century Panglong Conference, also known as the Union Peace Conference, does not need to be held if the Burma Army continues launching its military offensives in ethnic areas, the protestors who staged a protest in front of the Burmese Embassy in Japan claimed.
Ko Thaw Zin Phyo, one of the protest leaders, made the comments when he was interviewed by Narinjara News.
“The Panglong Conference does not need to be held if the Burma Army continues its military offensives. The ethnic people will not believe in this conference if the Panglong Conference is to be held without stopping the wars and they will see it as a fake conference,” said Ko Thaw Zin Phyo.
Around 50 Arakan people staged the protest in front of the Burmese embassy in Tokyo, Japan at 1 PM yesterday (25 January).
Photo: Narinjara News
“We demand [the Burma Army] to stop the offensives in ethnic areas. We oppose the ones that support the wars. I want to question the existing government on whether or not it supports the wars because it is unable to stop them. We demand the wars to be halted and peace to be implemented as soon as possible,” he said to Narinjara News.
Each protestor held posters and shouted slogans calling to end the military offensives in ethnic area, also calling to stop arrests and tortures in ethnic areas, and to release Arakan political prisoners immediately.
Translated by Thida Linn