COMMENTARY

Peter Burgess

Burmese Government and Ethnic Rebel Group Sign Cease-Fire

IMAGE Rungroj Yongrit/European Pressphoto Agency ... Karen National Union guerrillas in 2006. The ethnic Karen rebels' fight for greater autonomy has been one of the largest of the brutal civil wars in Myanmar.

BANGKOK — The government of Myanmar signed a cease-fire agreement on Thursday with ethnic Karen rebels, whose fight for greater autonomy is one of the largest of the brutal civil wars that has bedeviled the country since it gained independence from Britain more than six decades ago.

“A cease-fire agreement has been signed,” U Aung Min, a government negotiator, told reporters in the Karen capital, Pa-an.

The pact is another major step by the new civilian government as it races to open the door to improved relations with the outside world.

Since its installation in March, ending nearly 50 years of military rule, the government has held talks with the political opposition leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, approved the registration of her political party and her candidacy in a by-election in April, and suspended plans for a huge Chinese-backed dam that drew strong opposition both from within and outside Myanmar, formerly Burma.

The deputy leader of the Karen National Union delegation, Saw David Htaw, was quoted by Reuters as saying that the appearance of political reforms added to his confidence that the government would hold to its agreement.

“We have never been more confident in our talks,” Reuters quoted him as saying. “According to the changing situation everywhere, peace talks are unavoidable now; this is something we have to pass through without fail. The people have experienced the horrors of war a long time. I’m sure they’ll be very glad to hear this news. I hope they’ll be able to fully enjoy the sweet taste of peace this time.”

The country’s majority ethnic group, the Burman, has dominated the army and held the highest posts in government since independence. Successive military governments justified repressive rule by saying strong measures were needed to hold the country together in the face of challenges from armed ethnic factions.

Western governments and Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi have insisted that ending those conflicts was a major priority. Western governments long punished Myanmar with sanctions because of its record of human rights abuses and political repression.

Now the government says it is negotiating peace pacts with the other major ethnic rebel groups — the Chin, the Mon, the Kachin and the Kayah — and is determined to achieve a permanent peace with them in three to four years.

An agreement has already been reached with the Shan ethnic group’s State Army, but fighting has intensified with the Kachin Independence Army despite an order last month by President Thein Sein for an end to military operations.

The conflicts have driven hundreds of thousands of people to take refuge in camps just across the border in Thailand. Human rights groups have documented military abuses, including rapes, forced labor and the conscription of child soldiers.

In another move, Myanmar state radio and television said 651 prisoners would be released under a new presidential pardon starting Friday, according to The Associated Press, raising hopes that those freed would be political prisoners. In the past two weeks, The A.P. said, the government gave amnesty to 6,656 prisoners and reduced the sentences of 38,964.

I care about this more now that I've been seeing firsthand how the diverse peoples of Southeast Asia are being yanked abruptly and into the modern world. The woman who cleans our house, Phaw Phaw, is a Karen from Myanmar, now living in Singapore. In her village, they do the dance with poles shown below. We hope to visit it sometime this summer.