A meeting between two ethnic armed groups that have repeatedly exchanged blows was postposed until the end of January, according to officials.
The Restoration Council of Shan State/Shan State Army (RCSS/SSA) and the Palaung State Liberation Front/Ta’ang National Liberation Army (PSLF/TNLA) were supposed to meet on December 5. A TNLA delegation led by vice chair Brigadier General Tar Khu Lan travelled to the Pangsang-Mongla area only to be rebuffed; the RCSS leaders said they were too busy to talk.
Major Mai Aik Kyaw, the TNLA’s information officer, said his organization has been negotiating with the RCSS via the Center for Humanitarian Dialogue (HD).
“The HD has been negotiating on our behalf to halt the fighting between us and to hold a discussion,” he said. “We were ready to continue our negotiations. But when vice chair Brigadier General Tar Khu Lan went to Mongla for the meeting, they informed us that they can only meet next month as they have to hold their national-level political dialogue. So we were unable to meet them.”
The two ethnic armed groups have battled sporadically in Shan State since November 2015, not long after the RCSS signed the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA), the government’s hallmark peace accord. The TNLA has not signed the NCA.
More recently, hostilities between the two sides flared up again in May. Both sides have accused the other of territorial infringement.
Over the weekend, the RCSS proposed rescheduling the meeting to the third week of January, according to a statement.
Network Media Group was unable to contact a member of the RCSS for comment.
