Ban Ki-moon, Secretary General of the United Nations, talks to reporters during the joint press conference with Myanmar’s Foreign Minister Aung San Suu Kyi at Myanmar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Naypyitaw, Myanmar August 30, 2016.
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Ban said he was encouraged that different ethnic armed organisations with divergent interests and aspirations had come together to form a single team to negotiate the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) a year ago.
A peace conference has begun under Aung San Suu Kyi’s supervision.
“So long as we are unable to achieve national reconciliation and national unity, we will never be able to establish a sustainable and durable peaceful union”, she said.
“I congratulate the participants for the patience, determination and spirit of compromise”, said Mr Ban.
Why are the talks happening now?
The previous military-backed government brokered individual truces with various insurgent groups and oversaw a cease-fire covering eight minor insurgencies past year that fell short of a nationwide deal.
“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.
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.
“If Suu Kyi is able to find a common ground between the representatives of ethnic groups, Myanmar’s military and the government, then it would be a historical achievement”, Marco Bünte, an associate at the GIGA Institute for Area Studies and professor at Malaysia’s Monash University, told DW.
Many in the Buddhist majority country regard the largely stateless Rohingya as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, and they are not among the 135 ethnic groups recognized by law.
Most armed groups have agreed to attend the peace talks – even those that did not sign a ceasefire a year ago.
The BBC’s Jonah Fisher in Nay Pyi Taw says the armed groups have been brought to the table by vague promises of a more federal Myanmar with power and resource sharing. The group would like to hold onto their arms until a deal is reached. “So I do believe we will be successful in getting it at the conference”, said Khun Than Myint, the facilitator of the meeting, which is titled Union Peace Conference – 21st-Century Panglong.
Mr Ban said the NLD-backed government has promised him that it will solve the root of the problem in Rakhine State – the issue of citizenship for those who self-identify as “Rohingya”, a term that both the previous government led by U Thein Sein and the current NLD-led administration have declined to use.
On July 1, Yanghee Lee, the United Nations special rapporteur on Myanmar, said Myanmar’s government should immediately end the deep discrimination practiced against the Rohingya and other Muslims in Rakhine.
Annan will advise Myanmar’s new government on resolving conflicts in Rakhine, a region divided on religious grounds and home to the stateless Muslim Rohingya. They are not formally recognised by law and have no voting rights.
Ban will call on Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Tuesday before flying to Myanmar.
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She also flagged the importance of civil society organisations to be fully involved in the process at every level, and the need for youth to also have a voice at the upcoming gathering and in future discussions. “But the young people themselves must also remember the importance of inclusivity not just amongst armed groups but within all communities”, she added.
