The militant wing of a Myanmar student group signed a cease-fire agreement with the Karen state government on Monday, after nearly a quarter of a century of hostilities dating back to a crackdown on pro-democracy activists by the former military junta.
The All Burma Students Democratic Front (ABSDF), which had been fighting in Myanmar’s border areas alongside armed ethnic groups seeking greater political representation, also called for a new Panglong conference, referring to an all-inclusive 1947 accord aimed at uniting ethnic groups and forging national reconciliation.
ABSDF Chairman Than Khe signed the cease-fire agreement in a Monday meeting with Karen State’s border affairs minister Col. Aung Lwin, among others.
Aung Min and Thein Zaw, vice-ministers of the central government’s peacemaking committee, witnessed the signing at the Myanmar Peace Center in Yangon, in what was the sixth gathering between the two sides in two years.
“We have decided today that we are going to stop fighting,” Aung Min said in a statement following the signing ceremony.
“The ABSDF will be allowed to continue without carrying weapons and the group will open an office in Myawaddy,” a city in southeastern Myanmar’s Karen state on the border with Thailand, where some members of the resistance group had operated in exile.
The ABSDF was formed in November 1988 after student activists fled to border areas to fight against the Myanmar junta. Its members are based in the northern, western, and southern border areas of the country, where they have formed alliances with ethnic Kachin and Karen rebels, among others.
The two sides also agreed in principle to allow members of the ABSDF to travel freely within specified areas controlled by the group’s ethnic allies.
Aung Min said that the two sides would meet again on Saturday at the Peace Center to hold further discussions at the state level and to work towards a national ceasefire agreement.
“Myanmar’s era and ruling system has changed,” he said. “We—the two sides—are the ones that must work together for the country’s political and democratic reform.”
Panglong agreement
Than Ke called the last 25 years of Myanmar’s history—since the military staged a brutal crackdown on peaceful demonstrations calling for democracy and human rights in September 1988—a “dark period,” and cautioned that while the country had reached a “dawn,” critical times lie ahead.
“Attaining a democratic system, ethnic rights, and a federal union in our country should be done through discussion and negotiation,” he said.
“If we want the clashes to end, we must first have a cease-fire, and the cease-fire agreements shouldn’t be just between these two sides.”
Than Ke called for an all-inclusive meeting between Myanmar’s government, political parties, armed ethnic groups, members of parliament, and civil society organizations to solve their differences, in a manner similar to the signing of the Panglong Agreement, which led to the formation of the country’s ethnic autonomous regions.
“That’s why a conference like the Panglong Conference needs to be held,” he said.
“If we want to travel this journey, I would like to say that [the ABSDF is] ready to work on this for our country based on our experiences over the past 25 years.”
The Irrawaddy online journal quoted Than Ke as saying that the ABSDF needs “to move forward to win democratic gains and achieve a federal system for ethnic autonomy, by working together with other colleagues.”
“[But] a cease-fire does not mean we are going to lay down our arms,” he said.
National reconciliation
Myanmar President Thein Sein has implemented wide-ranging democratic reforms since taking power from the former military junta in 2011 and has signed cease-fire agreements with most of Myanmar’s armed ethnic groups, including a temporary agreement with the Kachin in May.
But clashes between the military and ethnic rebels, as well as between ethnic groups themselves, have since hampered plans for a national reconciliation, which is viewed by many as essential to bringing democracy to Myanmar.
Min Ko Naing, a leader from the 88 Generation group of student democracy activists formed in the aftermath of the crushed uprising of 1988, said that keeping the conversation going between the ABSDF and the government is vital to maintaining the cease-fire agreement.
“Political discussions should follow this cease-fire agreement—there shouldn’t be any gap. If so, it would cast suspicion on the agreement,” he said.
Min Ko Naing called on the two sides to continue talks in the interest of peace.
“If they are willing, they will achieve it. My concern is that they will repeat the past—fighting and then making a cease-fire agreement, then fighting again and making a cease-fire again,” he said.
“They must not fall into this pattern. Their peace is for the good of the whole nation.”
Reported by Kyaw Thu and Kyaw Thu for RFA’s Myanmar Service. Translated by Khet Mar. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.