Our participation at Panglong depends on Suu Kyi: TNLA
The secretary of the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) has
said that their participation at the upcoming 21st Century Panglong
Conference (21CPC) will depend on Burma’s State Councillor Aung San Suu Kyi.
“We would like to hold discussions
about equal rights and peace,” said Tar Pong Kyaw of the TNLA. “Whether we are
allowed to participate or not [at the 21CPC] will depend on State Councillor
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.”
Representatives of the TNLA,
the Arakan Army (AA) and the Kokang-based Myanmar National Democratic Alliance
Army (MNDAA) held negotiations on Tuesday with a government peace delegation from the National Reconciliation and Peace Center (NRPC) on the
issue of participation in the peace process.
The meeting was held in
Mongla, the headquarters of the National Democratic Alliance Army (NDAA), on
the Sino-Burmese border.
The Burmese military has
officially stated that the three groups would have to pledge to disarm if they
want to be included in the peace process.
TNLA’s Tar Pong Kyaw said
that the government delegation told them to release a statement signalling
whether they wish to attend the Panglong conference.
“Because of this, we
concluded the meeting without any agreement,” he said.
The so-called 21st
Century Panglong Conference is slated to be held on August 31, when hundreds of
delegates from the military, government, parliament, political parties and
ethnic groups will sit around a table to discuss the nature of future peace
talks, according to a statement on the State Counselor’s Office Facebook
page on Monday.
Some critics have
accused both the previous government, headed by former military general Thein
Sein, and the current Suu Kyi-led administration of isolating the TNLA, MNDAA
and AA from the peace process.
The three ethnic
militias – which are to date frequently engaged in conflict against government
forces – were excluded from signing the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement with the
Thein Sein government on October 15 last year.
The United
Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC), a coalition of ethnic armed groups of
which the TNLA is a member, has stated that all groups must be included in the peace
process.
By Shan Herald Agency for News (SHAN)
Tags: News, Politics
