An urgent proposal put forward by Arakanese National Party (ANP) lawmaker Aung Kyaw San—calling for international members of the Arakan State Advisory Commission to be replaced with local academics—failed to earn parliamentary approval on Tuesday.
All military appointees to the legislature and the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) MPs, as well as many of the ethnic political parties’ representatives—totalling 148 parliamentarians—voted in support of the ANP’s proposal, but 250 lawmakers from the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) objected to it. One MP abstained from the vote.
The nine-member Arakan State Advisory Commission—whose formation was announced on Aug. 24—aims to explore the roots of Buddhist-Muslim tension in Arakan State, and to make recommendations toward “lasting solutions” to conflict. Since the outbreak of anti-Muslim violence in 2012, leading to the displacement of 140,000, the region has received international attention.
Formed by State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the commission has three representatives from the international community, including chair and former UN chief Kofi Annan, two government representatives, two Buddhist Arakanese members, and two Muslim members. (Courtesy of irrawaddy.com)
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