The Myanmar government has signed a peace accord with eight of the 15 ethnic armed groups, a ceremony which was attended by India along with other five “international witnesses”. Apart from India, which was represented by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, other international representation was from China, Japan, Thailand, the United Nations and the European Union.

The eight groups among the ethnic minorities signed this peace accord today belonging to the Kayin and the Chin groups. The ceasefire pact with eight ethnic minority armies is seen as a step towards ending decades of civil war though the move has weakened by the refusal of several other rebel groups to join the agreement.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s special envoy for northeast RN Ravi and former Mizoram chief minister Zoramthanga were also present on the occasion.

Did You Know?

• Aung San Suu Kyi is the Chairperson of the National League for Democracy (NLD) in Burma.
• She is one of the world’s most prominent political prisoners.
• She remained under house arrest in Burma for almost 15 of the 21 years from 20 July 1989 to 13 November 2010.

• Suu Kyi received the Rafto Prize and the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought in 1990 and the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991
• As of 2014, she is listed as the 61st most powerful woman in the world by Forbes.

Test Your GK

Which country conducted a counter-insurgency operation in Myanmar in 2015 and killed 100+ militants?