A Conversation with Al Haj U Aye Lwin

On 11 June 2021, Religions for Peace welcomed Al Haj U Aye Lwin (Co-Founder, Religions for Peace Myanmar; Chair, Islamic Center of Myanmar; Member, Kofi Annan Advisory Commission on Rakhine State) to its Headquarters in New York for a conversation entitled “The Struggle for Federal Democracy & Inclusive Governance in Myanmar.”

Since the military coup on 1 February 2021, more than 800 lives have been lost, nearly 5,000 people have been detained, and over 100,000 people have fled military offensives in ethnic minority areas. While the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) and the National Unity Government (NUG) were designated as “terrorist groups” by the State Administration Council (SAC), the Peoples Defense Forces (PDF) were formed by the members of the CDM who have received self-defense and resistance training from ethnic armed groups, which would deepen the security crisis and bring the country into the state of civil war.

Responses from the international community have been slow and not fully unified to produce concrete impacts on the ground. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) heads of state adopted the five-point consensus on 24 April 2021, but it failed to implement critical steps needed for its mediation and dialogue processes. The members of the UN Security Council have also failed to take unified and coordinated action.

Religions for Peace-Myanmar, led by senior leaders from major religions in the country, and with the support from and solidarity with Religions for Peace World Council, has called for the cessation of violence, the release of elected leaders and other detainees, and the return to the democratic governance. Religions for Peace International has been engaged in multi-layered and multi-religious advocacy and action, including its engagement with the UN Security Council and ASEAN member states.

Under the civilian-military government before the coup, Religions for Peace Myanmar and International convened the Religions for Peace Advisory Forum on Peace and Reconciliation, creating a space for dialogue among the civilian government, the military, ethnic armed organizations, and civil society to nurture the Myanmar’s multi-religious identity and advance multi-stakeholder dialogue and cooperation.

U Aye Lwin, in dialogue with Rev. Kyoichi Sugino (Deputy Secretary General, Religions for Peace) discussed the history of Myanmar, the key distinguishing features of the current situation, some of the challenges the people now face, and the hope for peace, reconciliation, federal democracy and inclusive governance.