Why a National Peace Agreement Is Important for Myanmar

As Myanmar readies itself for the second national conference on its 'new' peace process in February 2017, an update on outstanding issues with Myanmar's peace process may be timely. It is hardly surprising that, despite the months of preparation for the second Panglong Conference in August or September 2016, there was little or no change in the realities on the ground in Myanmar during the year: armed incidents between the Burmese military and armed ethnic groups continued in the days leading up to that conference, whether or not official ceasefires had been signed; armed groups that had sparred with each other regularly continued to do so; and in some cases, clashes occurred between groups that had not actually fought each other for many years.