PANGLONG, MYANMAR - Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi called on all armed ethnic groups to sign a cease-fire agreement during a speech Sunday in the same place where her father, an independence hero, signed a peace deal 70 years ago. Speaking during annual Union Day celebrations in Shan state, Suu Kyi said ethnic groups can still join the movement for peace. "I want to ask those ethnic groups who haven't signed the nationwide cease-fire to trust yourself and sign it and please participate in our 21st Century Panglong Conference,'' Suu Kyi said. With military offensives on the rise, ethnic groups have recently expressed that their hopes for Suu Kyi leading the peace process are fading. Since then, ethnic groups have accused successive, mostly military governments of failing to honour the 1947 pact.

Source: Bangkok Post February 12, 2017 10:25 UTC