Myanmar military urges anti-coup forces to stop struggle and join talks | Conflict Matters

The surprising call comes with the generals, who take power in 2021, under great pressure from their opponents.

Myanmar’s military leaders called on opponents to lay down their weapons and start political talks, a move that was surprisingly quickly rejected.

The State Administration Council (SAC), as the military has done since it took power in February 2021, called on the armed ethnic groups and the People’s Defense Forces (PDF) fighting the military regime to stop what it described as “the path of terrorism” again. start a political dialogue.

Armed groups have taken control of the country since they mobilized forces to launch an offensive in October last year, putting the military under severe pressure.

“The armed ethnic groups and PDF terrorists who are fighting against the State are invited to communicate with the State to solve political problems through party politics or electoral processes so that they can cooperate with the people to emphasize peace and sustainable development by rejecting armed terrorists. in a way,” said SAC in a statement published in Friday’s edition of Myanmar’s Global New Light.

The National Unity Government (NUG), which consists of elected lawyers removed from the coup, quickly rejected the proposal.

NUG spokesperson Nay Phone Latt said it was inappropriate to look into it, according to Reuters news agency.

The NUG formed the PDFs after the military broke up mass protests with brutal force.

The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, a watchdog, says the military has killed at least 5,706 people since the coup and arrested nearly 21,000 people. United Nations investigators last month said crimes against humanity and war crimes committed by the military had increased at an “alarming” rate.

The generals, who say they committed unproven fraud in the November 2020 election that returned Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) to power, have promised new elections.

It proposed the talks as part of its efforts to organize the vote, noting that the census would begin on October 1 to “ensure the accuracy of the voter lists”.

It has not released a date for the vote, but in January 2023, it announced strict electoral rules that led to the expulsion of the NLD and a number of other political parties. Aung San Suu Kyi was sentenced to 27 years following a secret trial on charges widely regarded as politically motivated.

Civil society organizations have warned that the SAC election is a sham and will not be a solution to the crisis created by the coup.

“Let’s be clear: The ruling party is on the brink of collapse,” Progressive Voice, a human rights-based and civil rights organization, said in a statement. “This fake election is nothing more than a ploy to claim false legitimacy and false democracy – an exit ticket sold to the international community.”

Myanmar was ruled by the military for decades after gaining independence from the United Kingdom in 1948.

“The military may be hoping that the current generation of diplomats didn’t know that this comes from a decades-old playbook and doesn’t represent any kind of real change,” wrote Burma Campaign UK director Mark Farmaner in X. .