Webinar Series: Listening to Voices from Myanmar
Session 7: From Crisis to Hope: Building a Federal Future in Myanmar
12 December 2024 (Thursday) 19:00-20:30 JST

Since the military attempted a coup in Myanmar on February 1, 2021, the country has been thrown into chaos with over 2 million internally displaced persons as the military’s oppression and escalating conflicts with ethnic revolutionary organizations intensifies. The death toll from the military crackdown has already reached nearly 6,000 people. While Japan is the largest aid donor to Myanmar, it has not exerted its influence in the correct manner, while continuing its Official Development Assistance (ODA) after the coup attempt and supplying public funds to businesses related to the military. Moreover, the situation in regions inhabited by ethnic minorities who have long sought autonomy and the voices of people with diverse backgrounds have not been well understood in Japan.

This webinar seminars is co-hosted by the #NoMoreBusinessWithJunta campaign organizers (Mekong Watch, ayus:Network of Buddhists Volunteers on International Cooperation, Friends of the Earth Japan, Japan International Volunteer Center (JVC), and Network Against Japan Arms Trade (NAJAT)) with Progressive Voice. The webinar series intends to amplify voices of the people of Myanmar to Japan. We will discuss and hear ground updates, historical background of conflicts, situation in ethnic minority areas, and what the civil society from Myanmar expects from the Japanese government and society, featuring Myanmar activists and NGO staff as guest speakers.

Session 7: From Crisis to Hope: Building a Federal Future in Myanmar

Nearly four years since the military junta’s illegal coup attempt, the people of Myanmar are continuing to suffer a worsening human rights and humanitarian crisis caused and exacerbated by the junta. Over the past year, the junta’s extreme violence against civilians has only escalated, with more than 1,639 airstrikes launched from January to August 2024 alone. More than 3 million people have been displaced by the military’s violence—likely a gross underestimation by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs compared to the true magnitude of displacement. And yet, the international community, including Japan, continues to defer to ASEAN and its failed Five-Point Consensus instead of taking concrete action in addressing the crisis. Nevertheless, today, the Myanmar people’s revolution for inclusive federal democracy is winning on the ground, with people-led governance structures emerging across the country’s liberated areas to build bottom-up federalism and provide much-needed public services.

During this final session of the webinar series “Listening to Voices from Myanmar,” we will hear from Khin Ohmar, Chairperson of Progressive Voice, and Banya Khung Aung, Secretary – 2 of the Karenni State Interim Executive Council, regarding the ongoing crisis in Myanmar and the people’s tireless efforts to build federal democracy from the ground up. To conclude the webinar series, the speakers will offer recommendations for the Government of Japan, as the largest humanitarian donor to Myanmar, to address the crisis and support the Myanmar people effectively and constructively.

Date and Time
Thursday, 12 December 2024; 19:00 – 20.30 JST

Where
Online Event (Zoom Webinar)

Language
English (with simultaneous Japanese interpretation)

Participation Fee
Free

Registration Form: https://x.gd/71MP71

Speakers:

• Khin Ohmar; Chairperson, Progressive Voice
• Banya Khung Aung; Secretary – 2, Karenni State Interim Executive Council

Speaker Profiles

Khin Ohmar
Democracy and human rights activist, Founder and Chairperson of Progressive Voice.
Khin Ohmar has been involved in Myanmar’s pro-democracy movement since her university days in 1988 as Myanmar students spearheaded a nationwide pro-democracy uprising. Since then, she has been working towards human rights, democracy, justice, and peace in Myanmar from abroad. She is the founder and chairperson of Progressive Voice, an advocacy and research group working towards federal democracy in Myanmar. It was born out of the work of Burma Partnership, a coalition of groups seeking democracy and human rights in Myanmar.

Banya Khung Aung
Banya Khung Aung is a former Karenni refugee and human rights activist. He had served several positions in the exile democracy movement and civil society movement. After his social science studies, he worked at Equality Myanmar, formerly known as Human Rights Education Institute of Burma (HREIB) and Foundation for Education and Development (FED). He is the founder of Karenni Human Rights Group (KnHRG) and had served as its director until last June. After the failed coup attempt, he represented civil society as the Karenni State Consultative Council’s (KSCC) Humanitarian Focal person. He currently serves as Secretary 2 of the Interim Executive Council of Karenni State (IEC).

Co-organized by
#NoMoreBusinessWithJunta campaign organizers (Mekong Watch, ayus:Network of Buddhists Volunteers on International Cooperation, Friends of the Earth Japan, Japan International Volunteer Center (JVC), and Network Against Japan Arms Trade (NAJAT)) with Progressive Voice

Contact
Mekong Watch [email protected]

Relevant resources
Federalism from the Group Up: The Karenni Model of Nation-State Building, Progressive Voice, https://progressivevoicemyanmar.org/2024/10/09/federalism-from-the-ground-up-the-karenni-model-of-nation-state-building/