Peace talks between Myanmar army and the armed ethnic rebel groups of Myanmar are reportedly set to start on Wednesday.
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Myanmar’s 1.1 million Rohingya will not be represented at the conference starting on Wednesday, but the fact Ban raised their plight – and used the term for the group that is divisive in Myanmar – may add to worldwide pressure on Suu Kyi to address the issue.
The four-day conference is being attended by representatives of the government, the parliament, the military, political parties, ethnic armed and non-armed organisations and civil society – taking the attendees to about 1,600, a news agency reported. The Nobel laureate has made bridging the ethnic fault lines that have fractured the nation since its mid-century independence a priority of her new government, which took power in March.
“I firmly believe that we will be able to accomplish this great process with our unity and efforts”.
Htin Kyaw’s trip to India also comes within a week of Indian foreign minister Sushma Swaraj’s visit to Naypyidaw for talks with her counterpart Suu Kyi-leading analysts to suggest that the new Burmese government is trying to balance its ties with its two large neighbours. Ongoing clashes, especially in the north of the country, result in continued human suffering and undermine confidence in the peace process. Modi said that he and Kyaw had also agreed to work together for the safety and security of people of India and Myanmar, and to actively cooperate to “combat the common challenges of terrorism and insurgent activity” in the region.
United Nations chief Ban Ki-Moon described the conference as “an important first step” toward peace at a press conference on the eve of the talks.
Military personnel clear debris on August 25 at a temple damaged by a strong natural disaster in Bagan, Myanmar.
Many from the million-strong Muslim minority are denied citizenship, voting and work rights, and are reviled in overwhelmingly Buddhist Myanmar.
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. The region would benefit immensely by closer ties with ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), thanks to increased trade and investment once connectivity with the South East Asian countries is established through Myanmar. How far it will go in yielding to civilian authority remains an open question, and despite its participation in the peace process, it is uncertain whether the military’s top brass will respect and comply with the agreements reached at the coming conference.
Any hope of a nationwide ceasefire has been snuffed out by fresh flare-ups of violence in some northern states ahead of the summit.
Rebels from some of the worst-hit states want the military to declare a unilateral ceasefire and appoint an global figure to oversee its observance on the ground, the negotiator said.
But distrust of the Tatmadaw, as the Myanmar military is known, runs deep among minorities after decades of oppression, marked by torture, rape and mass killings. Both sides say they are willing to talk, but the military has demanded the rebels lay down their arms first. During the visit, Myanmar reiterated its resolve not to allow its territory to be used against India. Since then, ethnic groups have accused successive, mostly military, governments of failing to honor the 1947 pact, just before Myanmar gained independence from Britain the next year.
“We need to end this tragic drift”, he told the conference.
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Culture also featured prominently in the bilateral talks.
