The Irrawaddy Magazine

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Govt: Peace Conference to End ‘Without Good Result’ Posted: 28 May 2017 08:03 AM PDT NAYPYIDAW – The second session of the 21st Century Panglong peace conference is likely to end without major agreement after the issue of "non-cessation" from the Union caused a deadlock, according to a government spokesperson. State Counselor office spokesperson U Zaw Htay told reporters on Sunday that the issue of committing to remaining in the Union had been "heatedly debated" at the Union Peace Dialogue Joint Committee (UPDJC) meeting between the government, the military, and nationwide ceasefire agreement (NCA)-signatory ethnic armed groups. "The ethnic armed groups do not want to include the commitment of non-cessation [among the basic principals]" said U Zaw Htay. State counsellor and UPDJC chair Daw Aung San Suu Kyi headed negotiations on the 41 basic federal principles—encompassing political, economic, social, security and land and environment sectors—yet to be agreed by the three parties at the most recent Union Peace Conference in Naypyidaw. Due to the impasse, the conference has been extended until Monday, although it was originally planned for just five days from May 24 to28. The UPDJC will present the basic principles which have been agreed upon during the tripartite talks to the 700 delegates of conference—including ethnic armed group, civil society, parliament, military, government, and international representatives—on Monday. Despite the State Counselor holding a closed door meeting with the Tatmadaw on Saturday afternoon as well as Sunday's tripartite talks, the impasse was not overcome. U Zaw Htay said: "Some groups could not pledge non-cessation from the Union, thus, we could not agree to principles of groups having their own state constitution nor self-determination." "As we could not agree upon on these issue, we decided not to continue discussion [on this issue] during this conference," he added. Khun Myint Tun, chairman of NCA-signatory the Pa'O Nationalities Liberation Organization, said "everyone has the attitude of non-cessation from the Union, but all, including the Tatmadaw's generals, were raised with the idea that the federal principles include the freedom to leave." "We, the ethnic people, never said that we would or will separate from the union, thus the term does not need to be added in the basic principles." "Instead of urging separation, we need to think of a more positive term for further collaboration," Khun Myint Tun said. Discussion about building a federal state and proposing an amendment to Burma's 1947 constitution to ensure the equality and implementation of the 1947 Panglong Agreement—that ensures cessation from the state if ethnic groups so wanted—were widely conducted in 1961-1962, before Burma fell under a military coup in March 1962. The word "federal" was effectively banned for almost half a century under the military regime. The term has become widely used again since Burma's transition from military to civilian rule over the last six years ago. The term "non-cessation from the state" was added to the principles "to prevent the concerns of the public, the Tatmadaw and the government" said U Zaw Htay on Sunday, referring that the term "cessation" being frequently used at peace conferences. He said, "what [we] want is commitment on non-cessation. This commitment on non-cessation has been added to put away these concerns." Lt-Col Sai Ngern of the Restoration Council of Shan State/Shan State Army-South (RCSS/SSA-S), told The Irrawaddy on Friday that by signing the NCA text, the signatory groups had demonstrated trust in what are referred to as the state's—and previously the military regimes'—Three Main (National) Causes: "non-disintegration of the Union, non-disintegration of national solidarity and perpetuation of sovereignty." Therefore, the lieutenant colonel argued that there "is no more need to include the term 'non-cessation' from the Union." On Thursday, the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy party also expressed concern in its statement that the term seems to represent worry on the part of the state, rather than a pragmatic solution. The party said in its statement that "inclusion of the term is also the opposite of the first Panglong agreement" in 1947, to which the late Gen Aung San and ethnic Chin, Kachin and Shan leaders had agreed. Dr. Aye Maung of the Arakan National Party echoed these sentiments and said that all negotiators must be ready to compromise. "This 21st Century Panglong must not trample the 20th Century Panglong [in 1947]," he said. U Zaw Htay said "the government, the Tatmadaw and parliament representatives have a common perspective on the issue. But, we are not succeeding, and we sadly have to leave this issue behind." But the spokesman said 12 out of the 21 basic principles for the political sector had been agreed upon. The post Govt: Peace Conference to End 'Without Good Result' appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Rights Group Calls for Probe of Alleged Military Abuse After Beating Video Emerges Posted: 28 May 2017 01:27 AM PDT RANGOON—Human rights advocates called on Burma to investigate the actions of some of its soldiers on Saturday after footage of people being treated violently by uniformed men went viral. Burma's armed forces have often been accused of abuses by human rights groups and Western governments during decades of conflict with myriad ethnic armed groups. The footage, which was posted on Facebook early on Saturday, surfaced as some of the country's armed rebel groups gathered in the capital, Naypyidaw, for a new round of peace talks with Burma leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi after a tough first year in power for her that saw the worst fighting with rebels in years. The footage appeared to show several members of Burma's military beating and kicking three men as at least six unidentified men were handcuffed and questioned. The video showed soldiers kicking men in the face on the ground as well as holding a machete to a man's throat. Some of the handcuffed men were questioned as to whether they belonged to the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), an ethnic armed group based in Burma's eastern Shan State which recently clashed with the military. Reuters could not independently verify the identity of the people involved in the video. It was not clear when and where it was taken. Matthew Smith, founder of campaign group Fortify Rights, identified the uniform as the Burma Army's "The Myanmar authorities should immediately investigate this footage, and with urgency the authority should determine the well-being and whereabouts of the men detained in the footage," he said. Burma State Counselor's Office and military did not immediately respond to requests for comments. A coalition of four rebel groups comprising some of Burma's most powerful militias, including the TNLA, staged attacks on security forces in the north of the country in November. Earlier this year, Burma investigated policemen after footage of villagers being treated violently appeared online amid tension over a government crackdown aimed at rooting out suspected insurgents. The post Rights Group Calls for Probe of Alleged Military Abuse After Beating Video Emerges appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

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