HAPPENINGS AROUND THE WORLD n HAPPENINGS AROUND THE WORLD n HAPPENINGS AROUND THE WORLD n HAPPENINGS AROU

Leaders of the Women’s League of Burma meeting with leaders of Peace- Making Work in 2012 to discuss Myanmar’s peace process

Photo courtesy of WLB

T

Women’s Group Says Ceasefire Agreement WILL NOT BRING PEACE

he Women’s League of Burma (WLB) says a ceasefire agreement signed in October will not bring peace to the beleaguered country, also known as Myanmar. Myanmar has been beset by ethnic and political conflict since its creation in 1948, with various regions and groups agitating for independence or greater autonomy. Beginning in 1962, a military government has brutally suppressed the various groups and has led to the displacement of hundreds of thousands of persons inside and outside Myanmar. Many of the groups opposing the government, such as the Karen, Chin and Kachin, have a strong Baptist presence. WLB, based in Chiang Mai, Thailand, is a community-based organization working on the rights of women in the Southeast Asian country. It focuses on abolishing systematic sexual violence in ethnic areas, and raising women’s involvement in political processes, especially in the peace process. WLB said it was “gravely concerned that the government’s … signing of the Nationwide Ceasefire

Agreement (NCA) on October 15 with only eight armed groups [would] not lead to peace, but to an escalation of conflict.”

Even with the announcement of the signing, the government still “sent in massive troop reinforcements and launched new offensives in Kachin and northern Shan State, with serious human rights abuses inflicted on civilians.” This led to “fresh displacement, adding to the over 200,000 already displaced in northern Burma.” In addition, WLB claimed, “camps for internally displaced in northern Burma are already facing

critical humanitarian shortages due to Naypyidaw’s (the capital city of Myanmar) restrictions on access, and funding cuts from international donors. New displacement is placing further burdens on the camps, with women and children bearing the brunt of the hardship.” The women’s organization said it feared “that the NCA signing will lead to further funding cuts for displaced populations throughout the country, and possibly forced return, as the international community strengthens its support for Naypyidaw.” The marginalization of women is a matter of anxiety. “WLB is also concerned at Naypyidaw’s failure to ensure women’s participation in the peace process. Ethnic armed groups agreed at the Law Khee Lar summit last June to amend the NCA text to guarantee a quota of at least 30 percent women in future political dialogue.” However, Naypyidaw has refused to amend the text, which states that only an “appropriate” proportion of women take part in political dialogue. “This vague, subjective wording provides no guarantee of meaningful women’s participation, and directly contradicts the government’s claims to be implementing UN Security Council Resolution 1325,” WLB claimed. “The NCA is not only non-inclusive for the ethnic groups, it’s also non-inclusive of women,” said WLB spokesperson Naw Wahkushee. The women’s organization urged the international community not to prioritize normalizing

of relations with the Myanmar government “over the interests of women and children in ethnic conflict zones.” They asked donors to “review their unconditional support” for and start exerting pressure on the government “to immediately end its military offensives and systematic abuses, and begin troop withdrawal from the ethnic areas as a prelude to political dialogue.”

JANUARY/MARCH 2016 17

The Women’s League of Burma . . . focuses on abolishing systematic sexual violence in ethnic areas and raising women’s involvement in political processes.

MY ANMAR