Problem for India? Myanmar's military holds talks with ethnic armed groups on staging elections

New Delhi, Jan 7: Myanmar's military administration conducted discussions with three ethnic armed groups about holding polls in regions under rebel control, international media quoted a spokesman for one of the groups as saying on Saturday (Jan 7).

 

 

 

 

Reportedly, the Shan State Progress Party, United Wa State Party, and National Democratic Alliance Army have attended elections talks. Three days of talks are being held in Myanmar's capital, Naypyidaw, reported international media citing the state media on Friday (Jan 6). The leaders of the Shan State Progress Party (SSPP), United Wa State Party (UWSP), and National Democratic Alliance Army are involved in the growing conflict that has engulfed the nation since the military staged a coup in February 2021.

 

 

 

 

 

Last month, the military of Myanmar met with five minor ethnic insurgent factions, who later issued a united statement endorsing the regime's plans to conduct elections. With a standing force of about 25,000, the UWSP's military arm, the United Wa State Army (UWSA), is one of the world's largest non-state militaries. With regard to their demands for autonomy, control of the lucrative drug trade, and the natural riches in the country's borderlands, Myanmar has about 20 ethnic rebel armies that have been at war with each other and the military for decades.

 

 

A general election is frequently perceived as an effort to normalize the military's use of the electoral process to seize power and to produce a result that ensures the generals keep power in Myanmar. After 50 years of military control, the army's takeover in 2021 undid nearly ten years of progress toward democracy. Numerous people have been detained, including Aung San Suu Kyi, the nation's former leader who was duly elected.