Myanmar peace summit ends

NAYPYIDAW, Myanmar: Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi concluded a landmark summit with ethnic rebels on Saturday, calling it the first step on what promises to be a tough road to peace.

The conference in the capital Naypyidaw was Suu Kyi’s first big drive to end insurgencies that have rumbled across Myanmar’s frontier states for nearly seven decades.

The nobel laureate, now leading the country after championing a democracy struggle against the former junta, has devoted her first few months in power to kickstarting fresh negotiations between rebel militias and the army.

No resolution emerged from the four-day summit, which gave representatives from dozens of ethnic groups a chance to air grievances and outline their political aspirations.

Suu Kyi’s biggest achievement was bringing new players to the table, including rebel armies that did not sign a shaky ceasefire brokered by the former military-backed government last year.

However three groups still actively clashing with troops did not attend the talks, and the powerful Wa -- a heavily armed militia based near the border with China -- stormed out on day two over what the government said was a misunderstanding.

"To achieve peace is very difficult," Suu Kyi told the conference hall filled with hundreds of delegates on Saturday, the final day of the summit after it was decided a fifth was not needed.

"This is the first meeting. After this, there will be more meetings. And there are many things we have to do during the time in between," she added.

The veteran democracy activist, who spent some 15 years under house arrest during junta rule, urged all sides to "look forward" as the peace process continues. Distrust of the military still runs deep in Myanmar -- especially in the minority areas battered by decades of fighting and oppression. Many of the conflicts are complicated by tussles over drug trades and lucrative gem and timber reserves in rebel-held areas.

While Suu Kyi has backed the minorities’ calls for greater autonomy in their homelands, it will be a challenge to craft a federal arrangement that meets each group’s unique demands.