RENAMING BRIDGE

the nearby Karen ethnic group, was part of a contingent of protesters who joined in support of the Mon.

He said many minorities felt Suu Kyi’s government was deaf to their wishes.

The fight over the bridge’s name is seen as more than just a symbolic designation, but part of a larger fight for ethnic self-determination.

Suu Kyi’s father Aung San is regarded as a national hero, especially among the Bamar majority.

But many ethnic groups see him as a more controversial figure who failed to deliver on promises of greater autonomy and federalism for them.

For decades, Myanmar’s border regions have been plagued by insurgencies and civil wars against the Bamar-dominated military which is widely loathed by ethnic minorities.

Since winning a landslide election victory in late 2015, Suu Kyi has made it a flagship policy to find a lasting peace.

But those efforts have been hampered by some of the worst fighting in decades, particularly in the country’s northeast.

Mon state remains peaceful, but Suu Kyi’s party faces a by-election over a single seat there next month in which the bridge has become a major issue. AFP

AFP PIC Protesters demonstrating against plans to name a bridge after Aung San Suu Kyi’s father in Myanmar’s Mon State yesterday.