Latest Update

ေကၜာန္ဍာံဒးဒွ္၊ ေကတ္ဍာံဒးဂြံ၊ အာဍာံဒးစိုပ္

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Japan’s Nippon Foundation offers assistance to Myanmar’s ethnic minorities



Post Date: December 14, 2012
Post By: PNA

In an effort to assist with the emergency aid response of Myanmar’s remote regions, the Japanese operated The Nippon Foundation (TNF) has donated nearly USD 30,000 in supplies to The New Mon State Party (NMSP). The initial delivery of supplies to areas under the NMSP, is the first in a wave of shipments totaling USD 3 million, which are aimed at improving relations between the Myanmar government and the country’s various ethnic groups.

The  donation will be presented as a provision  of the humanitarian assistance programme for war victims in a ceremony at Mawlamyine’s  State Hall in Mon state.  In attendance will be Vice-Chairman of Union level Peace-making (Work Committee Union Minister at the President Office) U Aung Min; Union Ministers U Win Tun and U Zeyar Aung; Mon State Chief Minister U Ohn Myint; Charge d’ Affaires of Japanese Embassy Mr Ichiro Maruyama; (Friendship Ambassador of Japan for Social Security of Myanmar National Races) Chairman of The Nippon Foundation Mr Yohei Sasakawa.

During the gift-giving ceremony, which will be held on December 22, The Nippon Foundation will contribute 1,000 bags of Burmese-grown rice as well as over 200 boxes of traditional Japanese and non-traditional Thai medicine.

The Nippon Foundation Chairman Yohei Sasakawa, who is also the Japanese government’s Goodwill Ambassador for the Welfare of the National Races in Myanmar, commented on the upcoming ceremony by saying, “I would like to make the relief efforts a catalyst for realizing peace.”

Mr. U Aung Min, a chief Minister of U Thein Sein’s presidential office and principal peace negotiator, has expressed gratitude towards Mr. Sasakawa and has cited the ceremony as a start to improved relations between the Myanmar government and ethnic minorities. The chief Minister hopes the donation will help alleviate tensions within the country’s worn-torn areas.

The civil war between Myanmar’s ethnic groups and the country’s government has lasted for more than 60 years, propelling many of the country’s minorities into neighboring countries or Myanmar’s mountainous regions for refuge.

The emergency aid program was realized in an effort to bring two memorandums to fruition. The agreement orchestrated between The Nippon Foundation and the government of Myanmar, as well as the accord between The Nippon Foundation and the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC) - a federation of 11 armed minority groups, is the first private organization aid agreement with Myanmar’s government and minority groups.

According to the NMSP officer in charge Nai Hong Sar Pong Khine, the first shipment of donated goods will be organized by The Myanmar Peace Center and will use secure routes from the town of Mae Sot, in Thailand’s Tak province, to the Mon state capital city of Mawlamyine. 

The chairman of the NMSP had visited areas under the NMSP in October to determine sections in which the need  for assistance was most dire; Dawei District and Ye-Stream area were designated as first priority in servicing aid.

Future aid deliveries will be made to areas in Mon, Karen, and Karenni State. The humanitarian assistance programme of The Nippon Foundation will provide foodstuffs to ethnic groups  phase by phase, once transport routes are secured in these regions.

0 comments:

Facebook Fan Page