A House of Representatives MP from Rakhine State introduced an urgent motion on August 30 requesting that non-Myanmar experts on the Arakan State Advisory Commission be replaced by local academics. The commission currently includes three foreigners including former UN Secretary-General Mr Kofi Anan.
Lower house Pauktaw constituency MP, Aung Kyaw Zan, who asked for the motion, said, “Though they said that this commission has only an advisory role and we could either accept their advice or reject it, the advice given by influential person such as the former UN Secretary-General might influence the UN and other international organizations.”
He also criticised the appointment of Mr Anan as the chairman of the Commission which was formed by the State Counsellor’s Office on August 24. He said the inclusion of foreigners in the commission was letting foreigners blatantly intervene in internal affairs.
Aung Kyaw Zan said, “I see that the commission will give them the opportunity to turn an internal issue into an international issue and that it could jeopardise state security and law and order.”
All MPs in the house accepted the motion for deliberation in parliament. The MPs who want to deliberate the motion must send their names to the parliament office not later than September 1, parliament speaker Win Myint announced.
State Counsellor Office spokesman Zaw Htay explained that the inclusion of Mr Kofi Anan and two other foreign experts in the Rakhine State Affairs commission was in consideration of international pressure placed upon the country and to ease it.
Zaw Htay explained at a press conference at the State Counsellor’s Office on its first 100-day performance that the role of the commission was only advisory and that the government did not need to abide by all of their recommendations.