Myanmar military junta offers ceasefire with conditions
Activities that disrupt the functioning of the government fall outside the ceasefire, the military has warned.
CAPE TOWN, April 1 (ANA) – Myanmar’s military junta has declared a one-month unilateral ceasefire with ethnic groups opposed to its rule.
According to Channel News Asia, military chief General Min Aung Hlaing said in a speech to the nation that the army has announced the ceasefire to allow peace talks with the ethnic armed groups.
However “activities that disrupt the functioning of the government are outside of the ceasefire”, Hlaing warned.
Myanmar’s state television MRTV statement called on ethnic groups to “keep the peace” and said the military would “suspend its operations unilaterally from April 1 to April 30”, according to CNN.
For the past month, pro-democracy protesters have taken to the streets in opposition to Myanmar’s new military government after the elected leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, was detained on the premise of fraudulent election results.
Last week, more than 3,000 Myanmar villagers fled on foot to Thailand after the death toll in Myanmar dramatically increased.
Myanmar military planes bombed a Karen guerrilla site in a territory that is home to the Karen ethnic minority.
The backing from ethnic groups puts further pressure on the military government.
Several of the main groups, including the Kachin in the north, the Karen in the east and the Arakan Army in western Myanmar, have publicly expressed their opposition to the coup and vowed to stand behind the demonstrators in their territories.
The Arakan Army, Ta’ang National Liberation Army and Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army said on Tuesday that if the army does not end its violence against protesters, they will break the agreement, according to Anadolu Agency.
Meanwhile, the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), an ethnic armed group opposed to the coup, has taken control of a police station in a district of Kachin State.
The UN envoy for Myanmar, Christine Schraner Burgener, warned the Security Council on Wednesday that the country was heading towards a “bloodbath” and called for more significant international intervention.
“Looking back 10 years from now, how will history judge this inaction? I hope you can act while there is still time to avoid the worst outcome by overcoming caution and disagreement,” Burgener said.
– African News Agency (ANA); Editing by Yaron Blecher: