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1 1 (January 19, 2021)

handle is hein.crs/goveblh0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congr ssional Researh Service lnforrning the legislative debate since 1914 S January 19, 2021 Burma: Key Issues in 2021 Burma (Myanmar) has been embroiled in a low-grade civil war between its military, known as the Tatmadaw, and over 20 ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) as far back as 1962, when the Tatmadaw overthrew a democratically-elected civilian government. In 2011, the Tatmadaw handed power over to a hybrid civilian-military Union Government based on a 2008 constitution largely written by the Tatmadaw. The Obama and Trump Administrations attempted to foster Burma's return to democratic civilian rule by supporting the Union Government and its current leader Aung San Soo Kyi. Major Events in 2020 For Burma, the year 2020 was marked by the continued intensification of the country's civil war, stalled peace talks, marred parliamentary elections, investigations of allegations of genocide, and the outbreak of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Aung San Suu Kyi and her political party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), retained a supermajority following the November parliamentary elections, securing five more years in office. Civil War Burma's civil war intensified in 2020, despite the Tatmadaw declaring a unilateral ceasefire covering most of the nation, except Rakhine State (see Figure 1). Fighting between the Arakan Army (AA) and the Tatmadaw in Rakhine State escalated throughout the year, until the AA offered a ceasefire in November 2020 to allow special parliamentary elections to be held in Rakhine State. The AA, Tatmadaw, and Union Government are discussing terms for holding the special elections. In Shan State, frequent clashes occurred between EAOs and the Tatmadaw, as parties attempted to secure control over new territory. In Kayin (Karen) State, the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), the armed wing of the Karen National Union (KNU), called on the Tatmadaw to remove its troops from KNU-controlled territory after the Tatmadaw continued work on a major roadbuilding project. The fighting has internally displaced tens of thousands of civilians, and has given rise to allegations of human rights abuses, particularly by the Tatmadaw. Peace Talks In 2015, the Union Government, the Tatmadaw, and eight of the EAOs signed a multiparty ceasefire agreement. Efforts in 2020 by Aung San Suu Kyi to persuade more EAOs to sign the 2015 ceasefire agreement were unsuccessful. In March 2020, the Joint Ceasefire Monitoring Committee (JMC) established by the 2015 ceasefire agreement held its first meeting since two of the EAOs-the KNU and the Reconstruction Council of Shan State (RCSS)-suspended participation in November 2018 to protest what they perceived as Tatmadaw recalcitrance to address ceasefire violations and discuss reasonable terms for ending the civil war. A December 2020 JMC meeting made little progress on both issues. Representatives of the Union Government, the Tatmadaw, and the EAOs who have signed the 2015 ceasefire agreement participated in a peace conference in August 2020, but the non-signatory EAOs did not attend. The conference produced no major results. Figure I. Intensity of Fighting by Ethnic State (2020) * Battles, explosions, and and remote violence 666 total Sb in ethnic states) #1 Total/ethnic state (Data: 2020, fuliy a) Source: CRS, with data provided by the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED). ICC and ICJ Cases In late 2017, the Tatmadaw launched clearance operations against the Rohingya, a predominately Muslim ethnic minority in Rakhine State, after an EAO, the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), attacked security outposts near the border with Bangladesh. More than 700,000 Rohingya fled to Bangladesh, alleging that the Tatmadaw soldiers committed serious human rights violations during the clearance operations. In November 2019, the Gambia filed a case with the International Court of Justice (ICJ), accusing the Union Government of violating the Convention on the Prevention >orts.congress.gov

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