Three armed groups that have been excluded by the government from signing the nationwide ceasefire agreement (NCA) and attending the upcoming Union Peace Conference (also called 21st Panglong Conference) have publically expressed interest in attending peace talks.
The Myanmar National Truth and Justice Party/ Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNTJP/MNDAA), Palaung State Liberation Front/Ta’ang National Liberation Army (PSLF/TNLA) and the United League of Arakan/Arakan Army (ULA/AA) issued a joint statement announcing that the groups wanted to attend the conference.
Col Tar Bone Kyaw, general secretary of the PSLF/TNLA, explained that the statement was issued in response to the government’s Union Peace Dialogue Joint Committee (UPDJC) recent announcement that the peace conference scheduled to start on 31 August would be inclusive.
“We understood that [the Burmese government] accepts the all-inclusive policy so we, the three allied groups, also have the opportunity to attend the conference just like other ethnic armed groups.”
U Khin Zaw Oo, secretary of the government’s Peace Commission and retired lieutenant general, earlier said the 3 armed groups will only be allowed to attend the peace conference if they release a statement that they would surrender.
The same demands for signing the NCA were given to the groups; all which have fought with the Burma Army in the last two years.
None of the other ethnic armed groups in the country—even those actively fighting with the Burma Army—have been asked to surrender as a prerequisite for joining peace talks.
Tar Bone Kyaw told IMNA yesterday that they are not prepared to release a statement that they will surrender their arms but eager to join the peace conference.
“We have full desire to attend the 21st Century Panglong Conference. We also want to solve political issues with political methods. This is our stand on peace…We are ready to take part in the peace process, which is led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.”
The joint statement said the groups wanted to stop fighting with the Burmese military, achieve stability and development for their regions, and national reconciliation through political dialogue.
U Zaw Htay, a member of the Union Peace Conference preparatory committee, reportedly told the media at the end of the recent UPDJC meeting in Naypyidaw that the government only needed to negotiate with the PSLF/TNLA after an agreement with the other two armed groups had been reached. This led to speculations that the ULA/AA and the MNTJP/MNDAA had agreed to the demands of government delegates to surrender.
However, Tar Bone Kyaw said that no such arrangement has been made.
“The view of our three allied groups is the same. The government delegates haven’t offered to continue the negotiation. I think they will tell us something if we are not allowed to attend [the peace conference]. We are waiting for it,” he said.
