Myanmar's government and eight armed ethnic groups signed a ceasefire agreement on Thursday, the culmination of more than two years of negotiations aimed at bringing an end to the majority of the country's long-running conflicts. The deal fell short of its nation-wide billing, with seven of the 15 armed groups invited declining to sign due to disagreements over who the process should include and ongoing distrust of Myanmar's semi-civilian government and its still-powerful military.
President Thein Sein, a former general, made the nation-wide ceasefire a key platform for his reformist agenda after taking power in 2011 and ending nearly 50 years of military rule. While the absentees were a blow to the president, who pushed for the deal to be signed ahead of a November 8 general election, he described the deal on Thursday as historic.
"The nation-wide ceasefire agreement (NCA) is a historic gift from us to our generations of the future," Thein Sein said at a signing ceremony attended by hundreds of diplomats, officials and rebel group representatives in the country's capital. "This is our heritage. The road to future peace in Myanmar is now open."
Thein Sein said he would continue with efforts to convince other groups to join the ceasefire later. Among those that signed was the Karen National Union (KNU), Myanmar's oldest armed group. The KNU has fought one of the world's longest running conflicts with the Myanmar military spanning nearly 70 years.
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