Myanmar’s Suu Kyisays any peace bid ‘up to government’

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Myanmar democracy campaigner Aung San Suu Kyi on Sunday said she would not step in to help end worsening conflict between the army and ethnic Kachin rebels without government approval. “It is up to the government. This case is being handled by the government at the moment,” Suu Kyi told AFP when asked if she would get involved in efforts to resolve the fighting, after the army’s use of air strikes drew international concern. The Nobel laureate said she would need an official invitation to join peace negotiations aimed at quelling the raging civil war, which has overshadowed Myanmar’s widely-praised political reforms. Tens of thousands of people have been displaced by the conflict in the far north since June 2011, when a 17-year ceasefire between the government and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) broke down.