Myanmar’s military holds talks with ethnic armed groups on staging elections

Naypyidaw [Myanmar], January 7 (ANI): Myanmar’s military administration conducted discussions with three ethnic armed groups about holding polls in regions under rebel control, Al Jazeera quoted a spokesman for one of the groups as saying on Saturday.

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, Al Jazeera reported citing the state media on Friday. 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, Al Jazeera reported.

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.

In December, CNN reported that a military court in Myanmar sentenced Suu Kyi to a further seven years in prison on charges of corruption, taking her total jail term to 33 years. The court ruling found Suu Kyi guilty of corruption in relation to the purchase, repair, and rental of a helicopter during natural disasters and state affairs.

San Suu Kyi now faces a total of 33 years in jail, including three years of hard labor, the source said, meaning she could spend the rest of her life behind bars, according to CNN. Suu Kyi has previously been convicted of multiple offenses, including electoral fraud and receiving bribes, according to sources, CNN reported. She has denied all of the charges levied against her, several media reports said.