No ceasefire but govt and Palaung agree to further talks ......................................................................................... By Nan Tin Htwe | (Myanmar Times Journal) Sunday, 04 August 2013 A sometimes fiery first meeting between the government and the Ta Aung National Liberation Front ended without an agreement but more talks are expected to take place in the coming week. A Union Peace-making Working Committee delegation led by chief negotiator U Aung Min met leaders of the front and its armed wing, the Ta Aung National Liberation Army (TNLA), in Muse, northern Shan State, on July 31. The talks were the first with the group since it formed in 1992 and followed recent clashes in northern Shan State between the Tatmadaw and the TNLA, which is allied with the Kachin Independence Army. U Aung Min had proposed a four-point agreement but after almost five hours and no sign either side would be able to bridge the gap in their demands he said the deal could not be signed because the chairman of the front and commander-in-chief of the TNLA were not present. He said an agreement would be signed at the next round of talks, which is expected to take place within 10 days in nearby Namhkam township. The government’s proposal included a ceasefire, freedom of movement for troops without arms, a commitment to political dialogue and the opening of a Ta Aung National Liberation Front liaison office. The talks began in what has become the normal fashion, with U Aung Min urging the Palaung group to cooperate and “overcome all of our difficulties together”. “We belong to this land and so do you. Don’t feel that you are a guest,” he said. “Without any tricks or games we continue to work to political dialogue and cooperate with you.” However, the divisions became clear when Lieutenant Colonel Tar Bone Kyaw, a co-founder of the TNLA, made eight demands that he said had come from the group’s central committee. The demands included setting up a time frame and process for “true political dialogue”, reducing conflict between the Tatmadaw and TNLA, assisting displaced people, combating the drug problem and releasing detained TNLA soldiers. He also asked for the Palaung Self-administered Zone to be expanded from two to 13 townships, saying that the zone in its current form was designed “to separate the Palaung people”. He insisted that the true Palaung population was “not less than” 1 million, rather than the 400,000 stated by the government. Speaking in a mixture of Myanmar and English – despite no native English-speaking observers being present – he repeatedly expressed outrage for the military regime’s forced disarmament of the Palaung Liberation Front after it agreed to a peace deal with the government in the early 1990s. “The group that was built by our people’s sweat and blood was destroyed,” he said, adding that TNLA will become stronger than the Palaung Liberation Front ever was if political dialogue does not take place. The talks were attended by a number of MPs and political figures, while the Tatmadaw was represented by the commander of Northeastern Region Command, Brigadier General Aung Soe. On the recent conflict, he said the Tatmadaw was not the aggressor and had only been trying to ensure national security. He accused non-state armed groups of forced recruitment. “We have to protect our soldiers as well,” he said. “In some areas [groups are] not following the nation’s laws … Only when there’s rule of law can governance take place smoothly. “If you ask who wants peace most, I will say it is us, the soldiers.” U Maung Maung Swe, the Pyithu Hluttaw representative for Namkham, read a statement from the parliament that urged the TNLA to seek peace. “You need to act and travel according to the law,” he said, while also urging the TNLA to take part in the development of Palaung regions and the 2014 census. U Maung Kyaw, chairman of the Leading Body for the Palaung Self-administered Zone, accused the armed groups of arrogance and being out of touch. “For the people, the most important thing is to live, eat and sleep peacefully,” he said. “What people expect is peace. What they face is suffering,” he said, adding that those without arms agreed to do anything that armed groups say because they are afraid. The TNLA’s Lt Col Tar Bone Kyaw insisted that the Palaung had faced discrimination at the hands of the government that was deeper than that inflicted on other major groups, such as the Mon and Kachin. “Discrimination and oppression have existed since independence,” he said. Among the hundreds of Palaung supporters who gathered outside the Shwe Palaung Hotel to show their support for peace negotiations, the discussion was less combative. Wearing the black traditional Palaung dress and holding a bouquet of flowers, Ma Mu Mu Aye said she did not feel the same way as Lieutenant Colonel Tar Bone Kyaw. “I myself never experienced [that discrimination]. But I heard about it and I think it exists,” she said. Even though she could be mistaken for a TNLA supporter, she said she supported neither side. “I’m here because I want peace, not because I hate the government or support the TNLA.” Like Ma Mu Mu Aye, hundreds of other Palaung waited outside the hotel all day, the crowd growing from dozens in the morning to hundreds in the afternoon. All wore traditional Palaung clothes and many carried flowers, Palaung flags and banners with messages such as “We Love Peace” and “Forever peace”. Some played traditional music and shouted words of encouragement in the Palaung language. “I don’t want to see the two sides shooting at each other,” said 56-year old U Aik Maung. Ko Myo Aung, 30, agreed. “If there’s no fighting,” he said, “I think everything will be okay.” Creit- (Myanmar Times Journal)
Posted on: Tue, 20 Aug 2013 07:37:48 +0000
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