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1 1 (September 8, 2016)

handle is hein.crs/govcdvs0001 and id is 1 raw text is: FF. ' riE S- - $rh , . , p\w -- , gnom go mppm qq\ , q I aS 11LIANJILiN, Updated September 8, 2016 U.S. Relations with Burma: Key Issues for 2016 Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) secured a landslide victory in Burma's nationwide parliamentary elections held on November 8, 2015 (see CRS Report R44436, Burma's 2015 Parliamentary Elections: Issues for Congress, by Michael F. Martin). The newly elected Union Parliament took office in early February 2016, and in March chose Htin Kyaw, a close friend of Aung San Suu Kyi, as President. In early April, the Union Parliament established the new office of State Counsellor, and confirmed the appointment of Aung San Suu Kyi to that office. She also was confirmed as Foreign Minister. A key issue in Burma's future will be the emerging relationship between the NLD-led government and the Burmese military (Tatmadaw). Burma's 2008 constitution ensures that the Tatmadaw will continue to be a major force in the new government. The Tatmadaw occupies 25% of the seats in both chambers of the Union Parliament, giving it the ability to block constitutional amendments (which require at least a 75% majority to pass). The Tatmadaw also appoints military officers as key Ministers (Border Affairs, Defence, and Home Affairs) and maintains near complete autonomy from civilian control or oversight. P o @ti ca,,, Tra ns t - Burma's formal transition to a new NLD-led government took several months. The two chambers of the newly elected Union Parliament, the Pyithu Hluttaw (House of Representatives) and the Amyotha Hluttaw (House of Nationalities), took office on February 1 and 3, 2016, respectively. On March 15, the Union Parliament chose Htin Kyaw-close friend to Aung San Suu Kyi, long-term NLD member, and ex-political prisoner as President. Htin Kyaw defeated retired Lieutenant General Myint Swe and Henry Na Thio, who were subsequently appointed as Vice Presidents (see CRS Insight IN10464, Burma's Union Parliament Selects New President, by Michael F. Martin). President Htin Kyaw soon announced candidates for his Cabinet, including Aung San Suu Kyi as Education Minister, Energy and Electric Power Minister, Foreign Minister, and President's Office Minister. The Union Parliament, however, approved the new position of State Counsellor on April 5, and Aung San Suu Kyi was appointed to the position. She subsequently stepped down as Education Minister and Energy and Electric Power Minister. Burma has endured a low-intensity civil war since 1948, the result of a perceived failure, according to many of Burma's ethnic minorities, of Burma's central government to abide by the terms of the Panglong Agreement (negotiated between General Aung San, Aung San Suu Kyi's father, and the leaders of several of Burma's larger ethnic minorities) which effectively granted Burma's seven ethnic States a high degree of autonomy. For nearly 70 years, the Burmese government and various ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) have vacillated between periods of active fighting and times of relative peace under negotiated ceasefire agreements. During his term in office, ex-President Them Sein attempted to negotiate a nationwide ceasefire agreement with most of the EAOs. Those efforts were partially successful, when, on October 15, 2015, 8 of 21 EAOs signed an agreement with the Them Sein government and the Tatmadaw (see CRS Insight IN10374, Less-than- Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement Signed in Burma, by Michael F. Martin). Following the signing of the agreement, ex-President Thein Sein's efforts to advance the peace process in accordance with the terms of the ceasefire agreement were largely unsuccessful, as most of the major EAOs and representatives of civil society refused to participate in the negotiations. Over 1,400 representatives of ethnic political parties, EAOs, the government in Naypyitaw and its military (Tatmadaw), and other concerned parties attended a peace conference convened by Aung San Suu Kyi in Naypyitaw, Burma on August 31 September 3, 2016. Progress at the conference appeared to be hampered by the Tatmadaw's objection to inviting three EAOs to the conference, and two other ethnic organizations downgrading their participation. In addition, differences over protocol matters during the conference were perceived by some EAO representatives as deliberate disrespect on the part of the organizers. Statements presented by Commander-in-Chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing and representatives of several EAOs, moreover, indicated a serious gap in their visions of a democratic federated state of Burma and the path to achieving that goal. The NLD-led government faces many of the same challenges in the peace negotiations that the Them Sein government faced, including: * Disagreement over the proper distribution of power between the central government and the seven ethnic States; and * The Tatmadaw's opposition to the participation of several of the EAOs in the negotiations, and the insistence of several of the larger EAOs that all EAOs be included in the negotiations. Progress is also being hindered by the continuing fighting between the Tatmadaw and ethnic militias in the States of Kachin, Rakhine, and Shan. Most of these ethnic militias are associated with ethnic organizations that did not sign the October 2015 ceasefire agreement, including some that the Tatmadaw refused to allow to participate in the

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