Reuters, Prothamalo(Bangladesh), 5 September 22024

Indonesia is hosting an international meeting involving the United Nationsand opponents of Myanmar's ruling military, sources with knowledge of the talkssaid on Friday, as a regional effort to end a civil war fails to gain traction.

Myanmar is embroiled in a bloody crisis stemming from a crackdown onpro-democracy protests that followed a 2021 coup by its military, which isbattling on multiple fronts to contain a nationwide rebellion by a movementallied with several ethnic minority armies.

The United Nations, the regional bloc ASEAN, the European Union andMyanmar's shadow National Unity Government (NUG) would be at the talks,according to a source with knowledge of the two-day meeting.

A diplomatic source confirmed the NUG was in Indonesia for talks, while athird source said the United Nations was at a special meeting on Myanmar.

A fourth source said a meeting was being held in Indonesia involving"stakeholders" in the Myanmar crisis.

The sources did not provide details on the other attendees, or proposalsbeing discussed.

Asked about the meeting, Indonesian foreign ministry spokesperson RoySoemirat said there were plans for talks between ASEAN special envoys on theMyanmar crisis, but he gave no details of attendees or a timeframe for thetalks.

Myanmar's military government and the delegations of the U.N. and EU in bothMyanmar and Indonesia did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

A spokesperson for the NUG declined to give comment or confirm the meetingwas taking place.

Dialogue elusive

The meeting comes just days away from a summit in Laos of leaders of the10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), whose peace plan forMyanmar, drawn up three years ago, has so far failed despite repeated calls fordialogue.

The bloc, currently chaired by Laos, has expressed openness to other avenuesto support its plan, including mediation from neighbouring countries andorganisations outside of ASEAN.

Reuters reported last month that a think-tank funded by the Indiangovernment had invited anti-junta groups involved in the rebellion to a NewDelhi seminar next month.

Last year, former ASEAN chair Indonesia said it had received positivesignals about preliminary dialogue from major parties in the conflict, butthere has been no signs of advancement yet.

The junta has refused to engage in talks with its rivals, calling themterrorists bent on destroying the country.

Last month it urged its armed opponents to halt their rebellion and join thepolitical fold for an election next year, a call that was rejected by severalgroups, and dismissed by some analysts as a hollow gesture.

It is not clear if any anti-junta groups have agreed to run in the election,which has already been widely dismissed as sham.

The outcome is unlikely to be recognised by Western countries, with dozensof parties disbanded for not registering to run, including the dominantNational League for Democracy, whose government the generals toppled in thecoup.