Myanmar President seeks peace talks within 100 days, rebels reject offer

Myanmar's new military-backed government wants to hold peace talks with opposition armed groups by the end of July, the country’s junta leader-turned-president said, but two key rebel groups rejected the offer on Tuesday.

State media reported that President Min Aung Hlaing, who led a coup five years ago that plunged the Southeast Asian country into a civil war that continues to rage, told a government meeting that he wanted rebel groups that were not part of a ceasefire deal to join talks to be held within 100 days.

"For groups that have not yet engaged in dialogue and negotiation, we also invite them to come participate in discussions by the final deadline of July 31," he said, and mentioned opposition groups such as the Karen National Union, the Chin National Front, and the All Burma Students' Democratic Front.

Min Aung Hlaing referred to signatories of the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) in his remarks, a deal that was in place before the 2021 coup threw it into question.

Saw Taw Nee, a spokesperson for the KNU, dismissed the government proposal.

"The KNU has already withdrawn from the NCA since the 2021 coup. We have no plans to return to negotiations or follow the NCA path," he said.

CNF spokesman Salai Htet Ni said his group was seeking a federal democratic system free of the influence of the military.

"Since we are fighting a military-political battle for this, we have nothing to discuss with those who currently call themselves an 'administration' after merely changing their appearance from the military," he said.

Myanmar has been in turmoil following the coup that overthrew the democratically elected government of Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, who was subsequently imprisoned for 27 years on charges her allies say were politically motivated. Last week, the government cut the 80-year-old's sentence by one-sixth.

The parliament elected Min Aung Hlaing as president earlier this month, following a lopsided election that was derided by critics and Western governments as a sham to perpetuate military rule behind a veneer of democracy.

The new military-backed administration has only been recognised by a few countries.

-John Mair/Reuters