Statesmen's group meet Myanmar women's rights activists in Chiang Mai

Statesmen's group meet Myanmar women’s rights activists in Chiang Mai



CHIANG MAI: -- Myanmar women’s rights activists have raised concerns over human rights abuses and the slowdown of Myanmar’s peace programme to The Elders, a group of internationally renowned former world leaders and rights advocates.

Representatives from the Women’s League of Burma (WLB) met with members of The Elders on Saturday in Chiang Mai, where they argued that Myanmar’s much-touted reforms were only being felt in urban areas, and not war-torn ethnic regions in the countryside.

“We told them that the situation on the ground in ethnic regions is not much changed,” said Naw Wah Ku Shee of the WLB “You will hear good news in big cities like Yangon, but not in ethnic states. And as we represent ethnic minorities, we will keep exposing human rights abuses, murder and rape of women in ethnic areas.”

Members of The Elders present at the summit included ex-Norwegian Premier Gro Harlem Brundtland, former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari, and former Algerian Foreign Minister Lakhdar Brahimi.

The Elders flew to Myanmar on Sunday and were to meet with President Thein Sein, Army chief Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing as well as a raft of civil society organizations, according to the WLB.

The Elders organization includes Nobel Laureate and former US President Jimmy Carter and figures such as Kofi Annan, the former UN secretary general.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/statesmens-group-meet-myanmar-womens-rights-activists-chiang-mai


-- Thai PBS 2014-12-16