Will secure peace take place in Myanmar?

President U
Thein Sein put on air that he would like to heartily hail the peace conference
of the leaders of the ethnic armed groups that was held the end of October. It
was a formal radio talk of the president of Myanmar (Burma) to entire people aired on 1
November. He said that he understand the conference as thrashing out the issues
concerning the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement which is considered to have
effect in the year-end.

The President
said he's very happy to hear the constructive reflection at the conference. The
talk's emphasis was on achieving lasting peace which all citizens have longed
for, he said. Then, he reiterated welcoming all ethnic armed groups to the
signing ceremony of the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement after they successfully wrap
up the peace conference.

U Thein Sein briefly
explained via radio address the objectives of holding the signing ceremony of
the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement. The holding of ceremony is to comply with
the demands of the ethnic armed groups, he said. And reaffirm all existing agreements
to open the peace dialogue process immediately after the signing of the
Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement, the President said.

He also
confirmed once more that the peace process will not end with ceasefire. The
government has committed to launch the political dialogue process from the
foundation of ceasefires that already achieved.

"I am convinced
that the Laiza peace conference of the leaders of ethnic armed groups will pave
the way for the successful inauguration of the political dialogue process," U
Thein Sein said in his last radio program.

However, a new
option came up from the ethnic armed groups. Leaders of two major ethnic armed groups
in Myanmar said on 5 November that the creation of a comprehensive military force
is essential to any dialogue of forming a federal union.

Shan
Nationalities Democratic Party (SNDP) leader Khun Htun Oo told RFA's Myanmar
Service, "The ethnic proposed "army' is actually the same as the current army; people
are just afraid of the name "federal army'."

According to
Khun Htun Oo, only one ethnic Burman group should not control the entire
country. A federal union or federal army should include all ethnic groups so
that ethnic citizens can also have chance becoming generals or even
commander-in-chief.

Similarly,
Brig-Gen Sumlut Gun Maw, the Deputy Chief-of-Staff of the Kachin Independence
Army (KIA) also said on 22 November during meeting in Chiang Mai that to
convince the government about a federal army was important to political talks. Recently,
the government and the ethnic rebel groups have agreed in principle to sign a
nationwide cease-fire agreement as a first step towards lasting peace after
decades of fighting. They also agreed holding dialogue to patch up a durable
political conclusion.

 "We will continue our discussion on forming a
federal union later, because both sides must take part in discussions on how to
form an army. We have to form this [army] according to the nation's
constitution. The ethnic groups want to include this topic when both sides
discuss the military issue," Gun Maw said.

The Chiang Mai
meeting had focused on proposals for a federal state and the creation of a
federal army, which Nai Han Thar acknowledged had been opposed by the
government, as reported by Mizzima News.

"They do not
want to accept our proposal to establish a federal army; they don't want their
army to be reformed and reconstituted," he said, adding that the government
wanted its authority and power to be "untouchable".

P'doh Saw Kwe
Htoo Win, general secretary of the Karen National Union (KNU), said that the
policies agreed at the Laiza talks would remain in play ahead of a round of
cease-fire talks with the government, scheduled for December in the Kayin
(Karen) state capital, Hpa-An.

The main points
of the so-called "Laiza Agreement" consist of political dialogue heading toward
a federal union in Myanmar and an deal to form a federal army.

In
addition, while in Yangon on November 24, the secretary of the United
Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC) said Myanmar's Commander-in-Chief must be
among those who sign a nationwide ceasefire accord with armed ethnic groups.

"The
Commander-in-Chief of Defense Services needs to sign the accord along with the
President, two Vice-Presidents, speakers of both parliaments and the Chief
Justice," UNFC secretary Nai Han Thar told a news conference at the Inya Lake
Hotel. All of their signatures will help to ensure that a ceasefire is durable,
according to Nai Han Thar.

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