ReliefWeb

INTRODUCTION AND SUMMARY OF FINDINGS

For over sixty years, Myanmar has been the site of violent conflict between the central government armed forces, called the Tatmadaw, and multiple conflict actors. Since the Myanmar government initiated the peace process in 2011, bilateral ceasefire agreements with fifteen ethnic armed groups have been signed. These agreements carried the great hope that Myanmar would finally see the end to the violent conflict that has affected most parts of the country.

The bilateral ceasefire agreements served as the foundation for the central government, the Tatmadaw, and the different ethnic armed groups to begin negotiations for a nationwide ceasefire agreement. Throughout Myanmar, there are calls for a peace process that not only stops the fighting and ends the violence, but also seeks to address the longstanding issues that affect all communities. The forging of a nationwide ceasefire agreement in October 2015 was seen as the first step in a long process that needs to address decades of deep-seated resentment, marginalization, and mistrust from the different ethnic groups throughout the country. Decades of counter-insurgency tactics have created conditions of severe socio-economic underdevelopment in the different ethnic states. Most of the rural areas have very limited access to basic social services such as schools and health care facilities. And as communities competed over limited resources, majority-minority group tensions arose.
These are only some of the issues that need to be raised in the political dialogue process and addressed in the comprehensive peace agreement.

As the country prepares for the third Union Peace Conference, the peace process is at a precarious juncture. Fighting continues in Kachin between the Tatmadaw and the KIA, and in Northern Shan between the Tatmadaw, the RCSS, and the TNLA. There have also been skirmishes between the Border Guard Forces and a splinter group from the DKBA, while sporadic clashes broke out between the NMSP and the KNU. Not only are these clashes putting the lives of communities in the surrounding areas at risk, they are also undermining national trust in the sustainability of the peace process.

Other challenges to the peace process are the issues of inclusivity and representation at the peace dialogues. Apart from the exclusion of three ethnic armed groups, the dialogues have also been faulted for limiting the participation of civil society organisations and women. In the course of negotiations, it became clear that the peace process would mainly be a toplevel process, primarily involving chosen representatives from the central government, the Tatmadaw, and the leadership from the ethnic armed groups.

The Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies (CPCS) recognises the importance of involving the communities in the peace process. The communities are necessary partners in creating a robust and sustainable peace process. As stakeholders who have been living at the frontlines of violent conflict, the communities have valuable insights to share about the grievances that drive conflict. Listening to how they are affected by the bilateral ceasefire agreements being implemented in their areas also serves as a significant source of feedback on the positive and negative effects the ongoing peace process is having at the community level.

This publication is based on research and direct engagement with communities in six ceasefire areas of the country. The overall aim of the project is to amplify the voices of communities to allow their experiences to inform and influence decision-makers, including negotiators and other key stakeholders in the country’s peace process.

Structure of the Publication

This publication is divided into ten chapters. Chapter 1 contains the introduction and conflict context. It also contains the summary of main findings across all the states and the similarities and differences noted between the first and second rounds of the listening project. Chapter 2 contains the recommendations to key stakeholders based on the main findings. Chapter 3 explains what listening methodology is and how it is used to gather the data. Chapter 4 covers the experiences and reflections of the listeners as they travelled to different parts of their state and conversed with the residents. Chapter 5 to 10 contain more in-depth discussions of the main themes identified in the six areas covered by the research.