I was in Burma/Myanmar, 8-12 April, the first time there for a very personal reason: reunion with my relatives, far and near, known and unknown.

But as usual for a person like me who can’t live without some work, and who likes to mix play with work (rarely the other way round), there were meetings that took place which I believe are worth reporting enough.

Day One. Thursday, 8 April 2016

Peace too is a living thing

And like all life, it must wax and wane,

Accommodate, withstand trial and undergo changes.

Hermann Hesse (1877-1962),

Nobel laureate on Literature

The first thing I want to do on arrival at Mingladon is to check in at the hotel, and not the Myanmar Peace Center (MPC). But the latter is nearer and if I choose to go to the hotel first, I might miss the appointment.

If turns out I took the right decision. Takes me one and a quarter of an hour even to get there. But I’m right on time, 13:30.

The following is the rundown of what I’ve learned from U Aung Min, who, after serving for 5 years as government peace negotiator, is waiting for the new government appointee to take over:

• Everything is in order for the handover. The former MPC premises will be halved, one half going to the new peace commission, and the other for the CPR (Center for Peace and Reconciliation) set up by U Hla Maung Shwe and PDF (Peace and Development Foundation) set up by U Aung Min. Both will work together to support the new peace commission.
• He doesn’t say exactly whether the Union Peacemaking Central Committee (UPCC), which had served as a decision-making body of the U Thein Sein government, and/or the Union Peacemaking Work Committee (UPWC), which was the implementing body, will still be retained by the new government. “But good relations between the government and the military will assure the success of the peace process.”
• As for the Wa’s recent offer of itself as the new leader of the non-signatory EAOs, he thinks having more money and more men will not be sufficient. “The first thing their leaders should do is to polish on their Burmese. At present, I know of no Wa leaders except U Aung Myint (aka Li Julie) who are proficient in the language.”
• Since 2012, we have received Euro 7.1 million (US $ 8.1

  

  million) from EU to run the peace operations. The EU, to our knowledge, is happy with our financial reports.

The evening is spent meeting with my childhood friends from Lashio: Tom Wu, his sister Mary Wu, Hla Myint, Michael Ni aka Myint Oo, Kenneth aka Thein Naing, Ivan Lee, and myself. Most of them have also brought their wives.

Naturally we talk about old days. Never knew almost all of them could remember all the naughty things I had said and done when I was a kid.

Maybe that’s the reason why some famous people don’t want to meet friends of their schooldays. They seem to be scared of those who can rattle the skeletons in their long closed closet.

It’s a relief to find out that I’m not one of them.