* Myanmar has brokered ceasefires with 10 ethnic groups
* Government due to meet ethnic group alliance in December
* Report on Rakhine, Rohingya violence due Nov. 16
UNITED NATIONS, Sept 21 (Reuters) - Myanmar is willing to
make "all necessary compromises" to broker peace with ethnic
minority rebel groups, including amendments to the constitution
on power and resource sharing, the government's top negotiator
said at the United Nations on Friday.
Aung Min, a minister in President Thein Sein's office, is
pursuing complex political negotiations with at least 10 ethnic
minority rebel groups with which the government has agreed
ceasefires after decades of conflict under military rule.
Conflicts between government forces and ethnic minority
rebels have simmered in the resource-rich former Burma. Western
countries have made ceasefires one of their conditions for
lifting economic and political sanctions imposed on Myanmar over
the years.
"We're willing to make all necessary compromises to bring
peace to the country," Aung Min told reporters.
"The power and resource sharing mechanisms are clearly
outlined in the constitution. If the ethnic minority groups are
not happy with the existing procedure the government is willing
to consider amending the constitution," he said.
Thein Sein has said second-stage peace talks would include
possible amendments to a 2008 army-drafted constitution that
gives the military wide-ranging powers, including the ability to
appoint key cabinet members, take control of the country in a
state of emergency and occupy a quarter of parliament seats.
Aung Min said the Kachin Independence Army had yet to agree
to a ceasefire, but he believed a deal could be reached by
December when the government is due to meet the United
Nationalities Federal Council, an alliance of ethnic groups.
"I'm very convinced we will be able to achieve a ceasefire
agreement (with the Kachin) beforehand," he said.
Thein Sein has ordered troops in Kachin State not to attack
the rebels, but they can defend themselves. The conflict
resurfaced in June 2011, scuttling a 16-year truce and
displacing an estimated 50,000 people.
"The reason there is still fighting between Kachin and
government troops is because troops from both sides are located
immediately next to each other," Aung Min said. "If we can
relocate or redeploy troops from both sides, if we can set them
apart ... the fighting will stop automatically."
The government wants to broker peace with all the ethnic
groups before planned 2015 elections.
"We will do whatever is necessary to complete the peace
process before 2015," he said. "We don't want to leave it to the
next government. We have encouraged all these ethnic groups to
form political parties and to run in the upcoming elections."
Aung Min also said the government had set up an independent
commission of inquiry to investigate an outbreak of violence in
June between ethnic Rakhine Buddhists and stateless Muslim
Rohingyas that killed 80 people and displaced thousands.
The commission would look at how further violence could be
prevented, which includes examining the status of the ethnic
minorities, he said. The report is due Nov. 16 and the
government would try to implement its recommendations, Aung Min
said.
A high-level meeting on Myanmar will be held on Sept. 28 on
the sidelines of the annual U.N. General Assembly session in New
York to discuss progress made on reforms and to encourage the
government to continue to democratize, U.N. diplomats say.
(Editing by Mohammad Zargham)