International Desk: Armed groups have been at war with the ruling junta government in Myanmar for the past few years. The civil war-ridden country has seen more conflict in recent times than before.
In such a situation, the military government called upon the rebel groups to lay down their arms and sit in a political dialogue. However, the rebels rejected this call of the military government.
In Myanmar, the military overthrew the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in a military coup in February 2021. Since then, the country has been ruled by the army-backed ‘State Administration Council’ (SAC).
In a statement published in Friday’s (Sept 27) edition of the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar, the State Administration Council said, ‘Abandon the path of armed terrorism to be able to join hands with the people to emphasize sustainable peace and development and resolve political issues through party politics or the electoral process. Ethnic armed groups and PDF terrorists are urged to contact the state’.
The junta government has called on the rebels to participate not only in peace proposals for dialogue but also in elections planned for next year.
But the anti-junta-exiled National Unity Government (NUG) said the military government’s proposal was not “worthy” of consideration. The NUG also said the junta had no jurisdiction to hold elections.
On the other hand, the Karen National Union (KNU), a rebel group that has been fighting Myanmar’s army for decades, said talks could only take place if the military agreed to accept some general political demands.
Another rebel group, the Bamar People’s Liberation Army, also said it was not interested in the junta’s offer of peace talks.
Dulapak Pricharush, an associate professor at Thammasat University in Thailand, said China’s growing pressure may be behind the junta’s proposal.
He said China has extended its support to the Myanmar government. We can see that Beijing is trying to pressure the various parties to negotiate as long as its interests are protected.
According to a UN report, more than 5,000 civilians have died since the coup in 2021 due to military repression and airstrikes.
