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Former UN chief to visit Myanmar's western Rakhine state

Xinhua, September 4, 2016 Adjust font size:

Former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan will visit Myanmar's western Rakhine state and the capital of Nay Pyi Taw during his week-long trip, official report said on Sunday.

Annan's delegation is expected to meet Myanmar State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi at the National Reconciliation and Peace Center (NRPC) in Yangon on Monday before traveling to the Rakhine state.

Annan's visit came more than a week after the State Counselor's Office announced on Aug. 24 that an advisory commission on Rakhine state will be formed and chaired by Annan to resolve the protracted and complex regional issue.

The office will sign a memorandum of understanding with the Kofi Annan Foundation for the establishment of the nine-member commission comprising three foreign and six national experts.

The commission will hear the views of all relevant stakeholders, international experts and foreign dignitaries to find the best possible solution to prevailing problems, the office said.

It will also undertake assessments and make recommendations by focusing on conflict prevention, humanitarian assistance, rights and reconciliation, institution building and promotion of development of Rakhine state.

After wide consultations, the commission will submit its findings and recommendations to the Myanmar government through the state counselor and publish its report within 12 months.

Meanwhile, an urgent proposal calling for the formation of an advisory commission on Rakhine state with local experts only instead of foreign ones was submitted to the House of Representatives (Lower House), which has reportedly agreed to debate it.

The proposal is said to aim at preventing the country's internal affairs from becoming an international issue, calling for abolition of the planned formation of the commission involving foreigners.

Rakhine state was hit by a deadly communal riot in 2012, and a state of emergency imposed on the state was lifted on March 28, days before the new government took office as the local security situation improved. Endit