Myanmar junta sends unexpected peace offer to armed groups after big battlefield upsets

Myanmar’s military junta on Thursday (September 26) extended an unexpected invitation to armed groups opposing its rule, calling for an end to fighting and the start of peace talks, after three and a half years of intense conflict.

The offer comes as the military faces significant setbacks on the battlefield, losing ground to ethnic minority armed groups and pro-democracy “People’s Defence Forces” (PDF) that emerged in response to the junta’s 2021 coup.

“We invite ethnic armed groups, terrorist insurgent groups, and terrorist PDF groups which are fighting against the state to give up terrorist fighting and communicate with us to solve political problems politically,” the junta said in a statement.

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A human rights ‘abyss’

The United Nations warned last week that Myanmar was descending into a human rights “abyss,” highlighting widespread torture inflicted on detainees by the military.

In addition to the ongoing conflict, the junta is grappling with the devastation left by Typhoon Yagi, which has caused severe flooding, leaving more than 400 people dead and hundreds of thousands in urgent need of assistance.

Unfulfilled promise of elections

The military seized power from Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected civilian government in February 2021, sparking nationwide protests that were violently suppressed. In response, civilians formed PDFs to resist the military, while ethnic minority groups that have long fought against the military regime renewed their efforts, pushing the country deeper into civil war.

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Since the coup, more than 5,700 civilians have been killed and over 20,000 arrested, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, a local watchdog group.

The junta, which justified its coup by levelling fraud allegations on the 2020 election won by Suu Kyi’s party, has repeatedly promised to hold fresh elections once the country stabilises.

So far, there have not been any indications of serious preparations in holding fresh polls.

With inputs from AFP