Namtu villagers live in fear of TNLA, RCSS conflict
Residents in northern Shan State’s Namtu Township
are currently living in fear of intensified armed conflict between the Ta’ang
National Liberation Army (TNLA) and the Restoration Council of Shan State/Shan
State Army (RCSS/SSA), as hostilities increased during last week’s peace talks
hosted by the Burmese government in Naypyidaw.
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| Photo by Tai Tiger- Villagers were fleeing their homes to Namtu town on May 11. |
Fighting between the two armies has broken out
frequently in the Namtu area. A clash on May 13 compelled more than 200 villagers
to flee their homes.
On May 25, clashes also broke out between Burmese
government forces and the TNLA in that same area, according to a local Namtu
resident who spoke to Shan Herald. He said the fighting caused more than
600 villagers to abandon their homes and seek shelter elsewhere.
Reached for comment, Khuensai Jaijen, the managing director
of Pyidaungsu Institute for Peace and Dialogue (PI), said that to put a halt
to the fighting between TNLA and RCSS/SSA, both sides must engage in talks.
“What is happening now is that both sides
misunderstand each other,” he said. “If they sit down and talk, they can
resolve their issues. It’s not necessary to hold official meetings. They just need
to meet with each other on a regular basis to iron out any problems.”
However, to date both sides have been unable to
agree on a meeting place for such talks.
According to Tar Aik Kyaw, the spokesperson of the
TNLA, the Ta’ang group has suggested a meeting either in China; in Panghsang,
the headquarters of the United Wa State Army (UWSA); or in Mongla, the
headquarters of the National Democratic Alliance Army (NDAA).
“It should be possible for us to meet either in
China, Panghsang or Mongla,” he said. “However, they [RCSS/SSA] said they
wanted the meeting to be in Chiang Mai. For us, that is difficult because we
are not an NCA signatory group. We will only meet if the location is secure.”
Reports indicate that the conflict between the TNLA
and RCSS/SSA has forced more than 1,400 persons from Namtu to flee their homes
since last year.
On
September 13, Shan Herald reported that
representatives from the Ta’ang National Party (TNP) and Buddhist monks met
with the RCSS/SSA in Chiang Mai. However, TNLA spokesman Tar Aik Kyaw explained
that the TNP and the monks did not represent the armed group.
“They [TNP and the monks] went to Chiang Mai because
they wanted a school opened. The media understood that they were mediators on
our behalf,” he said.
Clashes between the RCSS/SS and
TNLA first broke out on November 27, 2015, only a month after the RCSS/SSA
signed the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) with President Thein Sein’s
government. Since then more than 100 clashes have erupted between those two
militias.
The TNLA was excluded from the
first round of peace talks, unofficially dubbed the 21st
Century Panglong Conference, or 21CPC, in 2016.
However, the group did attend the second round of political dialogue,
represented as a member of the newly formed Federal Political Negotiation
Consultative Committee (FPNCC), which was led by the UWSA.
FPNCC comprises: the UWSA; TNLA;
NDAA; Myanmar Nationalities Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA); Arakan Army (AA);
Kachin Independence Army (KIA); and Shan State Progressive Party (SSPP).
By Shan Herald Agency for News (SHAN)
Tags: Human Rights, News, War
