Burma Signs Ceasefire to End Decades-Long Conflict

Karen leaders stress this is only first step

A Burmese official (R) exchanges documents with a representative of the Karen National Union after signing a ceasefire agreement in the city of Hpa-an, Burma, on Jan. 12. (Soe Than Win/AFP/Getty Images)

The government of Burma signed a ceasefire agreement with the Karen National Union (KNU), an armed ethnic group located in the eastern part of the country, essentially ending a six-decadelong armed conflict.
Both the KNU and the government agreed to the terms, following talks between both sides. The KNU has been attempting to establish its own state since the year after Burma (also known as Myanmar) broke away from British rule in 1948.
In the agreement, both sides will allow patrols and passage through each other’s territories. The KNU will also establish communication offices in government-controlled areas.
“The people have experienced the horrors of war a long time. I’m sure they’ll be very glad to hear this news. I hope they’ll be able to fully enjoy the sweet taste of peace this time,” a KNU leader, Saw David Htaw, told Reuters.
Nevertheless, in a statement issued by the KNU, reported by Karen News, Htaw stressed that the day’s conclusion is only the first step.
“I’m cautious, very cautious, there is no certainty, we’re still not sure of the real agenda,” he said.
“Our past experience has been that the real power always lies in the hands of the military hard-liners and the in the past they have not hesitated to use guns against ethnic people. The [Burma army] offensive against the Kachin is very brutal. The Burma army has moved almost two-thirds of its soldiers there,” he added.
In the past month, there have been reports that the Burmese army has attacked the Kachin Independence army, another ethnic separatist group, and also recently tried to take over a base held by the group. Since June, fighting between the government and the Kachin army has forced the displacement of more than 45,000 people.
News of the ceasefire was greeted positively by Western governments as Burma’s military-backed civilian government continues to make progress toward meeting the conditions stipulated by the United States and European governments to see economic, political, and military sanctions lifted.
“This is a good step, and we welcome it,” said U.S. State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland at Thursday’s press briefing.
Nuland added that peace with ethnic groups had been a central topic of conversation when Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was in Burma a few months ago.
In addition to ending conflicts with various ethnic groups, including the Karen, the terms of the sanctions are all political prisoners must be freed, and establish a dialogue with the opposition. Some, but not the majority of prisoners have been released and Aung San Suu Kyi, considered the main opposition leader, has been cleared to run in Parliamentary by-elections in April.
Over the past 60 plus years, there were five failed attempts at peace talks between the KNU and the former military junta.
Nant Bwa Bwa Phan, a contributor for the Irrawaddy, a Thailand-based magazine considered an authoritative voice on Burma, writes that while the ceasefire seems promising, there is still a lot of skepticism about the current Burmese government. Therefore, if a ceasefire agreement is put in place without the proper political processes, he argues, it would essentially amount to the KNU surrendering, leaving them defenseless against further human rights abuses.
One “reason for concern is that while the international community has got very excited about changes happening in Burma, even praising President Thein Sein, for many ethnic people life under Thein Sein has got much worse,” Phan writes.
“Maybe a few more websites are now available in Burma. Maybe they can print pictures of Aung San Suu Kyi in newspapers, and hold a film festival. But balance that against what has been happening out of sight in ethnic states,” Phan adds.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague last week flew to Burma and met with its president and other top officials, offering hope that there will be more reforms in the future. He called for the release of all political prisoners and for credible elections in April.