Hundreds of representatives of ethnic groups have gathered in the capital of Myanmar, as Aung Sun Suu Kyi opened peace talks to end decades of fighting between the military and rebels.
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Suu Kyi, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and the head of armed forces Gen. Min Aung Hlaing are scheduled to give speeches at the opening of the talks to determine the fate of the country’s various ethnic minorities, who make up about 40 percent of the population. India had signed a peace accord with a second NSCN faction in August past year.
Ban also said there is a “heightened expectation” of faster progress under Suu Kyi’s leadership on issues facing the country, and that the worldwide community and Myanmar’s government should work together to overcome them. Hopefully, Asian countries can stop being suspicious of each other and seize the opportunity to promote regional peace, stability and development.
“The 21st Century Panglong conference is a promising first step”, said Ban.
Why are the talks happening now?
Since Myanmar gained independence from Britain in 1948, it has seen over a half-century of armed conflict, with ethnic rebels embarking on a longstanding battle for greater autonomy and self-administration.
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.
“I conveyed the concern of the global community about tens of thousands of people who have been living in very poor conditions in IDP camps for over four years”, said Ban.
The talks are the first formal peace negotiations since Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of the National League for Democracy party swept elections last November and took office in April, vowing that national unity would be its top priority.
All members of the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC), an alliance of nine ethnic armed groups that did not sign a nationwide cease-fire agreement with the previous government last October, will attend the peace conference in order to participate in political dialogue so it can push for the formation of a federal union in Myanmar.
Greater autonomy is the main demand of almost all ethnic minorities in the country, including the Chin, Kachin, Karen, Kokang, Kayah, Mon, Rakain and the Shan communities, who together represent over 30 per cent of the country’s population.
What deal is likely to be reached?
The fact that Suu Kyi has been able to bring the vast majority of the rebels to the negotiating table only five months after taking power is a sign of progress, experts say. It also remains unclear, he adds, how much devolution of power Suu Kyi actually wants.
Still, few expect the coming days to be anything more than an opening salvo in a peace process that could take years.
Myanmar, which has recently attained democracy, holds a unique position in India’s neighbourhood, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday.
More than 100,000 Rohingya have been living in unsanitary camps since fleeing their homes in Rakhine state starting in 2012, following deadly violence driven largely by Buddhist mobs.
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The government, along with many Burmese, consider the Rohingya to be illegal Bangladeshi migrants. They are not formally recognised by law and have no voting rights.
