Mizzima was able to speak with EU Ambassador to Myanmar Roland Kobia who has just been appointed as the "EU Special Envoy to Afghanistan" and discuss his working on peace, reforms and transition after four years in Myanmar on the same topics.
What would you say is your biggest takeaway from your tenure in Myanmar?
At a personal level, my four years in Myanmar have confirmed that respecting each other’s differences, and keeping an open mind towards other cultures, religions and ways of thinking are the only way forward towards a better world.
We are bound to live together in diversity, going back to "the good old days" is utopia. Myanmar illustrates two seemingly opposing things: first, that one needs to have trust and faith in the people, in their strong determination to take their fate into their own hands and strive for political change. The resilience of the local “agents of change”, their resistance when the journey gets rough, has deeply touched me over the years of my posting, and it is these people who give me full faith that Myanmar will have a better future. By contrast, it also shows that at times, leaders need the political courage to be right against their people instead of being wrong with them. I feel that Myanmar has yet to reveal its biggest surprise.
My main professional takeaway is that if one wants to have a structural impact and meaningfully support a country, one should not shy away from bold decisions, and one needs the political courage to engage in difficult, high-impact and transformational initiatives. We must get out of our comfort zone and engage off the beaten track, even if it requires defending opinions contrary to those of the mainstream. Obviously, when you shake the tree, you disturb some constituencies, and it can provoke uninformed or misguided criticism, a widespread disease in modern times. I remember two illustrative examples thereof:
First, the EU’s decision to support the Myanmar Peace Centre (MPC). In spite of criticism from some circles, I still stand fully behind this decision, and history seems to prove it was indeed the right thing to do. Indeed, the National Reconciliation and Peace Centre (NRPC) has been set up in clear lineage with the MPC, and the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) is now recognised as the fundamental basis for an accord. The MPC had a crucial role in bridging gaps and facilitating the NCA, which was of course not perfect, but is an unprecedented step forward in the peace process. Too many thought that the NCA should have been the end when it was actually the beginning of a wider process. To see the European Union being invited by the Government, the Army and the ethnic armed organisations (EAOs) to sign the NCA as a formal witness just over two years after having established itself in Myanmar was certainly one of these moments where you feel you are recognised for your contribution.
The second example is the EU’s leading role in supporting the reform of the Myanmar Police Force (MPF). At the beginning of this process, the EU responded positively to a joint call by President Thein Sein and the then leader of the opposition, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, to engage in a difficult but necessary reform of the MPF – another highly sensitive area of the overall transition. We knew it would be sensitive and complex, but we did it. Then the tragic events of Letpadan in 2015 happened, which made clear our commitment to supporting the reform of the MPF in meeting international standards was all the more necessary. The EU was harshly – and I feel quite unfairly – criticised to the extent that some accused us of carrying responsibility for Letpadan. Of course, we did not train police officers to beat up protesters, to the contrary! Many uninformed people did not understand that making systematic changes to a long-established system takes more than a few months of training. It is a lesson people have to learn: deep structural reforms and improving democratic governance take time. Reforming the MPF is the right thing to do, and indeed, in spite of all odds, we have launched the next and more ambitious phase of this programme.
Thus, exerting political influence and effectively supporting fundamental reforms require political courage and unconventional actions. It disturbs, but again, I firmly believe that this is the way to have a meaningful impact to help a country turn a page and move on.
I also think the people of Myanmar will not forget that the EU and its member states also contributed to a major democratic step in the democratic transition: the landmark national elections in November 2015. Again, there was a huge amount of scepticism that the elections would be organised in a free and fair manner, let alone that an eventual change in government would be allowed to proceed peacefully. The European Union sent out teams across the country conducting voter education programmes and deployed hundreds of election observers on E-Day. Results were accepted, and I am convinced that the Observation contributed to this. But the main credit goes to the people of Myanmar who once more proved the sceptics wrong: the elections were peaceful and credible and brought about a political earthquake with the landslide victory of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy.
Aung San Suu Kyi and her government have made the peace process a priority, with a second 21st Century Panglong meeting. Where do you think the peace process stands at this juncture? Are you confident or pessimistic about the process?
State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's message, prioritising the peace process early on in her tenure, was a necessary and important decision. Any effort to build democracy and boost economic development is pointless without a solid, lasting peace agreement. While we still await a major breakthrough, we should have confidence in the dedication of the Government, the Tatmadaw and ethnic armed organisations in putting behind them decades of conflict and striving towards a lasting political settlement. But I personally believe that what is needed now is a genuine spirit of compromise on all sides. A negotiation cannot take place amongst a list of "red-lines" or "non-negotiable items". What is needed is to meaningfully and honestly reinstall trust and build a real commitment to look at this country as a nation in which all groups deserve to be treated with respect and as equals. Only this can bring alasting settlement.
Peace requires more than just an end to the fighting, it means building a wider common future, a sense of togetherness. We never expected progress on the peace process to be linear or quick, which is why the EU has always said that we are in it for the long haul. So I am neither optimistic nor pessimistic, I am an "optimaliser" who looks at possible solutions to what is on the table. The European Union has consistently offered its support to the peace process and to help ensure that everybody can be part of it. And we will do so for as long as it takes because Myanmar is in the midst of one of the most complex transitions I have seen in my career. Since the beginning of the transition, the European Union has sought to offer constructive and principled counsel, in sharing views and advice but without ever wishing to challenge Maynmar’s sovereignty. Our message was simple and clear: sustainable change can only come as a result of a comprehensive, nationally-led effort – but you do have a committed partner in the European Union and its member states when needed. We lifted sanctions and mobilised substantial financial help to support Myanmar's development. Together with regional EU programmes and the bilateral support provided by EU member states, this amounts to approximately two billion euros (€2,000,000,000) to assist Myanmar's reforms and socio-economic development – a clear sign of our political commitment to the country and its people.
What are you hopes for your new position as "EU Special Envoy to Afghanistan", as this country faces its own struggle to find peace?
I hope that the European Union can contribute to bringing solutions to this long and deadly war, which has brought already much too much suffering, pain and humiliation. Several reasons place the EU in a particular position as an honest and impartial broker.  I believe that all international partners must be ready to help in a way that transcends narrow partisan interests. The Afghan war indeed concerns the Afghan people first, but it has regional and global ramifications that affect most countries. My hope is for a political solution respectful of Afghanistan's rich culture, proud history, legitimate aspirations and deep-rooted values. Peace is not only ending war, but a necessary step towards a better future. Remember the Latin saying: "Inter arma silent Musae", while there are conflict and war, culture but by extension, any well-being and development will remain a dead letter.
For our readers, what do you personally bring to the table in Afghanistan? Have you had a lot of experience with conflicts elsewhere?
For the last 17 years, I have been working on transition countries, peace processes and state-building. I lived and worked in several conflict-affected countries. From South Africa and DR Congo to the Great Lakes region and the Horn of Africa, then in the Caucasus, my postings always involved a great deal of work linked to conflict, democracy-building and supporting reforms, and I have represented the EU in international negotiations. Thus, I hope that together with EU member states and partners, I can bring some transferrable experience, some lessons learned to Afghanistan, which is admittedly one of the most complex and difficult cases today on the world political chessboard. I was honoured that EU High Representative Ms Mogherini entrusted me with this task of being her Special Envoy to Afghanistan, and I have accepted it with great humility in view of the magnitude of the challenge.