YANGON:Looking back on the year, the Myanmar Times reported that the nation’s peace process seems to be a fading dream.
In December last year to the surprise of locals and foreign observers, the Tatmadaw (military) announced a unilateral ceasefire.
The ceasefire raised hopes of boosting peace talks with armed ethnic groups whether or not they had signed the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement.
The ceasefire covered the Tatmadaw’s northern, north eastern, eastern, middle eastern and triangle commands.
But despite the truce, the situation did not improve, and in September this year,the Tatmadaw let the ceasefire expire.
Clashes between the Tatmadaw and armed ethnic groups continued in Rakhine, northern Shan and other areas.
The Times also recalled the landslide tragedy on Aug 9 where heavy rains caused a terrible landslide in Mon State that claimed 72 lives and affected more than 100 other people in Thebyu Kone village, Paung township.
Heavy rain and falling rocks from the mountain buried several houses.Residents said the unregulated extraction of soil in the valleys contributed to the tragedy.
After 10 days of rescue operations, the government called off the search for the missing.
The warning should give people a lesson on the importance of preparing for natural disasters and placed under intense scrutiny the resource extraction business in Mon State.
The Times said the attack on the iconic Defence Services Technology Academy in Pyin Oo Lwin,Mandalay Region, was another shocking incident this year.
The artillery attack on several targets was a joint operation by three of the four armed ethnic groups in the Northern Alliance.
The most standout issue for Myanmar this year was the trial at the United Nations International Court of Justice on the charge of genocide, which was an unprecedented event for the country and the world.
Gambia sued the Myanmar government for alleged genocidal activities by the Tatmadaw that forced more than 700,000 Muslim Rohingya to flee Rakhine State to Bangladesh in 2017.