In his first interview with a foreign news organization, Aung Min, a retired general and the current minister appointed by President Thein Sein to solve the decades old hostilities, told Reuters news agency the government and ethnic armed groups were beginning to trust each other.
“This is a chronic disease that has been happening for over 60 years. Successive governments couldn't cure the disease because the remedy didn't fit,”
After the cease-fires, the negotiations will cover broad areas, such as ethnic groups’ longing for a true federal system, with broad powers granted to states or regions, similar to systems in the U.S. and the European Union.
Nine of 16 rebel groups have signed cease-fire agreements with the government, he said, and he expected six more agreements to be reached within a few months.
He credited Thein Sein as putting in place a “three-step plan” for peace, first involving cease-fires, followed by political negotiations, followed by a special assembly of Parliament which would offer a formal peace agreement. Whether self-determination was involved in the process, he said he couldn’t say, but he left the door open in terms of amending the 2008 Constitution, and “the groups would be encouraged to form political parties and join Parliament.” Aung Min painted a colorful picture of previous cease-fire negotiations, reflecting scenes of deep distrust of the government. He said a few ethnic leaders were afraid to eat food offered to them for fear it was poisoned, and some refused to accept token gifts. “At first they didn't trust me, they carried out body searches on me for weapons,” he told Reuters. “They weren't brave enough to eat food I had brought, in case I poisoned them. They didn't accept gifts and souvenirs in case there were bombs or booby-traps. I had to win their trust and confidence...”
In the past, he said negotiators only sought cease-fires, but now Burma is seeking real peace, even though it will take time and will not be easy. “This is our plan for eternal peace,” he said.