taly appeals for reconciliation in Myanmar

Yangon, Jan 9 (IANS/AKI) As Italy took on the six-month chairmanship of a multi-donor peace fund, its Ambassador to Myanmar urged an international diplomatic push for peace in the southeast Asian nation, the foreign ministry said on Monday.

"I believe that pressing ahead with the peace process is of the essence for the future of Myanmar," Pier Giorgio Aliberti said after Italy became chairman of the Joint Peace Fund Board (JFP).

"I also believe the resolution of ethnic conflicts, which have been going on for too long, will be a key step to ensure the development of the country.

"In this respect the people of Myanmar will have to face important challenges, but the international community is ready to support the government and all those involved in laying the ground for national reconciliation by constructive dialogue," he said.

Aliberti's comments came as over 650,000 Rohingya Muslims fled from Myanmar to neigbouring Bangladesh amid a military crackdown that the United Nations has called a "textbook example" of ethnic cleansing.

The crisis is threatening Myanmar's hard-won democratic transition, its stability, and that of Bangladesh and the region as a whole, according to analysts.

Italy has contributed $3 million dollars to the JFP, which was set up in 2015 with contributions by Australia, Canada, Denmark, European Union, Finland, Italy, Norway, Switzerland, Britain, the US and Japan and was then opened to more donors.

During its mandate, Italy is determined to encourage dialogue, enhance JPF visibility at local and international level, and assess the results in terms of individual projects and the fund's overall contribution to the Myanmar peace process, the foreign ministry said.

--IANS/AKI

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