A model for the future

For decades, the political dialogue in Myanmar has been almost non-existent. The civil wars between ethnic minorities and the central government right after the country's independence in 1948 made reconciliatory politics even more difficult. Since 1988, the conflict between the military junta and the National League for Democracy (NLD) led by Aung San Suu Kyi has created a situation in which all parties have more or less stuck to their positions. None of the attempts to sit together, engage with each other and build trust have been successful.

Even the welcomed reform process, which started in the Southeast Asian country in 2011, has not been able to totally change the situation for the better. It is true that there have been cease-fire agreements between armed ethnic groups and the central government but there have been no long-lasting peace deals. Until Thursday, October 30, there had been no direct engagement between the government and the leading opposition groups.

So President Thein Sein's invitation to opposition parties to hold formal talks in the capital Naypyidaw, and the opposition's acceptance of the invitation, is definitely a breakthrough.

There are those who say that the Friday roundtable discussion was an attempt to please the United States ahead of President Barack Obama's visit in November. But regardless of the intentions, the talks were a step in the right direction. Considering the long-lasting deep distrust that exists between Myanmar's political parties, the initiative deserves applause.

The Friday roundtable negotiations could also pave the way for a constitutional amendment that would allow Suu Kyi - whose sons are British nationals - to contest presidential elections after the 2015 parliamentary polls. At the moment, candidates whose immediate family members possess foreign citizenship are disqualified from running for the office of president. If Suu Kyi is indeed allowed to run in the 2015 elections, there is a good chance she will become Myanmar's next president.

But there shouldn't be an over-emphasis on individuals. A year before Myanmar's independence, the political power rested solely on Aung San, Suu Kyi's father. Aung San was eventually assassinated by his political rivals and the country fell into political chaos, which continues to date. So instead of putting all hope in Suu Kyi, we should support the political process, which the roundtable talks can strengthen.

Through these multi-party talks, the government, the NLD, the military, and Myanmar's ethnic minorities can jointly develop a regulatory and institutional framework for the country's future.