Peace talks between Myanmar’s government and warring ethnic minorities kicked off on August 31 in a bid to end decades of conflict that have claimed thousands of lives and kept the country mired in poverty. Suu Kyi has dictated a faster pace for the talks than her military-linked predecessors.
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For five days, participants will share their views on the conflict that has affected that country for nearly 70 years.
Adding to these problems, a 6.8-magnitude quake in central Myanmar on Wednesday killed several people and damaged dozens of ancient structures dotting the plains of Bagan.
Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon (R) greets the audience upon arrival with his wife Ban Soon-taek (2nd R) and Ho Kwon Ping (2nd L) Chairman of Singapore Management University at the Ho Rih Hwa Leadership in Asia Public Lecture Series in Singapore on August 29, 2016.
Myanmar’s President Htin Kyaw walks in Naypyitaw, the country’s capital. “This is the real expectation of the global community”, he said.
Though fresh fighting between armed ethnic groups and the Myanmar army in Kachin and Shan states have cast a pall over the conference, representatives from 17 other ethnic militias are attending the summit.
Kyaw arrived in the Buddhist pilgrimage town of Gaya on Saturday where he visited the Mahabodhi Temple, the most sacred of Buddhist shrines, Daijokyo Buddhist Temple and Myanmar Buddhist Vihara. “It is the very first step of uniting the country”. In all seriousness, I believe we all can successfully implement our peace process with the strength of unity.
Several rebel groups have failed to down their weapons – a precondition demanded by the military for them to attend – and troops remain locked in combat with ethnic fighters.
Suu Kyi now holds the office of foreign minister and state councilor in the government led by Kyaw.
“The 21st Century Panlong Conference is a promising first step”.
The army, also known as the Tatmadaw, regularly rejects such allegations, though last month it did admit its soldiers had killed five villagers during an interrogation in the restive northern Shan state.
The deal granted ethnic minorities autonomy and the right to secede if they worked with the federal government to break away from Britain together. “It’s now clear that there can be no military solution to your differences”.
He said the Rohingya “need and deserve a future, hope and dignity”.
The previous military-backed government brokered individual truces with various insurgent groups and oversaw a ceasefire covering eight minor insurgencies past year that fell short of a nationwide deal.
The conference is hailed as ethnically inclusive, however.
Commander in chief Min Aung Hlaing urged ethnic groups to join the ceasefire, which the previous military-backed government signed with eight groups a year ago.
But three smaller armed groups have not been invited, because they would not agree to the terms and are still fighting government forces.
For many of those caught in the crossfire, their concerns are the ongoing violence that has kept them from their homes.
Some ethnic participants who spoke to Channel NewsAsia felt encouraged by the speakers and their commitment to wanting to stop conflicts in Myanmar.
“India’s almost 2 billion dollar development assistance is touching the lives of the common man of Myanmar”.
Thein Sein’s efforts largely failed because he and his negotiators pursued an ad hoc approach to the process and clearly used the peace talks for the government’s own political agenda.
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He added that if they had lived in the country for generations, all people in Myanmar should enjoy the same legal status and citizenship as everyone else.
