Starting Point
Thinzar Aung works at the Centre for Peace and Reconciliation (CPR), Myanmar. As a citizen who desires peace, her participation was driven by a willingness to collaborate with organisations involved in peace processes and to work together towards that goal. In the first phase, she worked at the Myanmar Peace Centre and later joined the Centre for Peace and Reconciliation Group (CPR) as a Program Manager. Understanding the importance of peace and recognising it as a fundamental necessity for the country, she wanted to contribute however she could, so she decided to get involved.
In 2013, she attended a disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration-security sector reform (DDR-SSR) training in Barcelona and participated in training sessions conducted by Myanmar Egress domestically. Due to the increasing difficulty in achieving peace in the country, she wants to consistently contribute from a specific role to help Myanmar achieve peace. Currently, she aims to expand from a facilitator to a negotiator. Her role model is Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who never supports violent approaches.
Peace Journey
As an individual, her responsibilities included serving as a facilitator, handling media relations, and preparing research papers. Her knowledge about the peace process is as follows. The groups that signed the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) had negotiations until October 2023. After Operation 1027, all activities ceased. Despite various efforts by the state using different methods, the military actions have escalated, leading to the suspension of the NCA. According to the SAC government's five-point plan, if a new election is held and the PR system is adopted, a civilian government that includes ethnic groups and various parties could emerge. This would help achieve ethnic rights and equality, moving towards a federal democratic system, beyond the 2008 constitution. Under President U Thein Sein’s administration, peace negotiations were held, and on October 15, 2015, the NCA was signed, marking the first peace conference. Under the NLD, the peace conferences continued under "21st Century Panglong (peace conference)," with four conferences held. There has been no success. The ongoing peace efforts stood still due to conflicts that have started since 2021, and have become a process that needs to be restarted from the beginning. Before 2021, peace negotiations and peace conferences were held. She does not think that the programs for women, peace, security, and development are included under peace processes within the country.
In her opinion, the peace process should be carried out in the following way: First, the central government must strengthen its control over opposing groups. The central government should also make efforts to renew invitations for peace negotiations. Due to the increasing difficulty in achieving peace in the country, she desires to consistently contribute from a specific role to help Myanmar achieve peace.
Success Stories
Her research papers related to women’s participation in peace processes were published. Through her research, she also learned that discussions can become unproductive without prior preparation and negotiation. Thus, planning and preparatory discussions are crucial. She participated in drafting the outputs of coordination meetings that were later implemented as policies.
As a challenge, in her research interviews, women often express heightened security concerns about participating in interviews. Additionally, women's participation in peace process activities has decreased. In Myanmar, as the conflict intensifies, women’s participation as facilitators in informal meetings can help reduce tensions. Creating a safe and supportive environment for women is essential. This can help women participate more in peace processes.