On February 11^th, 2016, the Global Justice Center hosted a round table on Myanmar and the Road to Lasting Peace, featuring two Human Rights defenders from Myanmar, Naw Zipporah Sein and Ying Lao, and Policy Advisor at US Campaign for Burma, Myra Dahgaypaw. At the round table, moderated by the Global Justice Center’s Senior Burma Researcher Phyu Phyu Sann, participants discussed the impact and shortcomings of last year’s cease-fire and election, as well as their hopes for continued international participation in the peace process.

In November 2015, Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) won an enormous victory in Myanmar’s national election, ending almost half a century of military control of the government. Despite this promising democratic election, Myanmar’s military continues to play an outsized role in governance as the country’s constitution guarantees the military at least 25% of the seats in parliament and the constitution cannot be amended without army approval. The month before the election, the military government and eight of the armed ethnic groups signed a cease-fire after almost two years of negotiations. Although the international community has heralded the cease-fire as a victory for peace in Myanmar, the round table participants noted that fighting continues in many areas of the country, especially in the Shan state and other regions with large ethnic minority populations.  One participant testified that fighting actually increased in many of these areas after the cease-fire was signed, even on the day of the national election. She urged that the international community work to include all ethnic groups in cease-fire agreements. The current cease-fire was signed by only eight ethnic armed organizations—seven other groups refused to sign, and another six were prevented from signing by the government.

In the 2015 election, Myanmar’s ethnic groups voted overwhelmingly for Suu Kyi’s NLD party, but a round table participant remarked that they are still waiting to see whether or not the new government has the power to effect change while the military retains so much political and economic power. The NLD government continues to face entrenched challenges, but the people of Myanmar made it clear in the election that they want to see change.  Round table participants stressed that armed conflict and human rights abuses are continuing to take place in their country, and they urged the international community to continue to press for a lasting and fair peace in Myanmar that includes all ethnic groups.