Head of Myanmar’s military government begins peace talks with ethnic militia groups, but doubts remain
- Min Aung Hlaing’s meetings with leaders of ethnic armed Organisations are their first face-to-face peace talks since the military seized power in February 2021
- There is scepticism the talks will do much to advance peacemaking, because none of the groups attending is currently in armed conflict with the government
The head of Myanmar’s military government on Friday held the first in a month-long series of person-to-person peace talks he has initiated with the country’s historically restive ethnic minority groups, state media reported.
Senior General Min Aung Hlaing held discussions with Yawd Serk, chairman of the Restoration Council of Shan State and Shan State Army, the political body and its military wing representing the Shan minority from eastern Myanmar, state-run MRTV television reported.
Min Aung Hlaing’s meetings in the capital, Naypyidaw, with the leaders of the ethnic armed organizations are their first face-to-face peace talks since the military seized power in February last year from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi.
Massive opposition to the army’s takeover has evolved into what some UN experts characterise as a civil war. The new armed rebel groups opposed to the takeover have allied themselves with some of the major ethnic minority guerilla Organisations, stretching the military’s resources. Offering generous peace terms to the ethnic groups could shake the anti-government alliances.
The Shan, the country’s largest ethnic minority group, and other minorities have been seeking greater autonomy from the central government since the country, then named Burma, became independent from Britain in 1948.
For most, the struggle has included years of armed combat, punctuated by insecure ceasefires. The failure to resolve the issue with a comprehensive political agreement with the government has been responsible for much of Myanmar’s instability, with its army justifying its political influence with the need to safeguard national security.
Bids by the ruling military council for peace talks since last year had failed, so Min Aung Hlaing last month proposed in-person peace talks to the leaders of all ethnic armed groups to negotiate an end to armed conflict across the country. He said the peace talks are for the benefit of Myanmar’s people “to enjoy the essence of peace and development”