Junta engages in informal meetings with certain ethnic groups for peace talks

Burma News International (BNI) is a network of 15 independent media and news organizations based in and around Burma Amid intensified airstrikes and ongoing military conflict across Myanmar, the junta has begun informal talks with some ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) to facilitate potential future peace negotiations. The junta has sent letters inviting Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) signatories, non-signatories, and groups that signed the NCA but are now in conflict with it, to attend meetings for discussion. Colonel Khun Okkar, an official of the Peace Process Steering Team (PPST), a grouping of seven NCA signatory organizations, confirmed that both the PPST and its member groups received invitations from the junta on April 24. “We’ve received invitations both as the PPST as a whole and as individual groups. So, there are discussions happening within the groups, and also meetings as the PPST. We’re also making the necessary preparations,” he told NMG. Furthermore, the junta is reportedly holding informal meetings with certain EAOs. “Informal talks are already happening. Initial invitations, clarifications, and proposals are already being made. We’ve already met with them in the past few days. After that, they’ll meet with groups in the southern part of Mawlamyine Township in Mon State, and then with groups in the north,” Colonel Khun Okkar said. U Aung San Myint, general secretary of the Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP), said the junta’s invitation for peace talks stands in stark contrast to the reality on the ground, where it continues to target civilians. “Despite the peace call, the junta is still carrying out daily airstrikes, drone strikes, and artillery shelling in our areas and other regions. How can we sit down with them and talk about peace if these attacks don’t stop? It won’t work as long as their words and actions keep contradicting each other,” he argued. PPST spokesperson Colonel Saw Kyaw Nyunt said that while they have received the invitation and are preparing for discussions, there are still many challenges due to differing military and political perspectives. “Even though we all want peace, it’s a fact that the approaches and agendas will differ. In any case, we’ll do our best. To hold a peace meeting that includes all stakeholders, we have to keep pushing forward despite the many difficulties and challenges we’re facing right now,” he said. The junta is reportedly planning to hold informal meetings in Thailand and in Myanmar’s Mawlamyine, Kyaingtong (Kengtung), and Mongla areas before eventually bringing all groups together in the capital, Naypyidaw. NMG has not been able to independently confirm whether non-signatories to the NCA and groups currently fighting against the regime have received invitations from the junta. Observers criticized the junta’s peace offer as merely an attempt to escape the political crisis, especially since civilian deaths from its airstrikes continue to rise.