NLD spokesperson describes Tatmadaw-AA meeting as ‘a good prospect’

By Min Tun 11 Dec 2020

Min Tun | DMG
11 December 2020, Sittwe 

A recent in-person meeting of Tatmadaw and Arakan Army representatives in the autonomous Wa region is “a good prospect,” said Dr. Myo Nyunt, a spokesperson for the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD).   

“It is good when they meet and discuss, rather than fighting. We think it is a good prospect,” Dr. Myo Nyunt said.  

Representatives of the Tatmadaw and the Arakan Army met at Panghsang, a town along the Myanmar-China border controlled by the United Wa State Army (UWSA), on December 9, according to the UWSA’s liaison office.  

The meeting did not include officials who are responsible for the administration of Myanmar, and the meeting was an initial discussion, Dr. Myo Nyunt noted.  

“Ethnic armed group affairs in Myanmar are a political affair. So, authorities who are in the administrative sector and Parliament should participate in the process to build a sustainable peace,” he said.    

Top Tatmadaw and AA leaders convened an online discussion for about 30 minutes on November 25, the AA announced earlier this month.   

U Yan Naing Soe, an IDP in Rathedaung town, told DMG that he was concerned about the possibility of new clashes because he said he had seen the Tatmadaw reinforcing military forces on the ground while the respective leaderships were talking.  

“We cannot believe fighting will stop although they are negotiating. People who recently returned home to harvest their paddy have come back to the IDP camp now. We saw the Myanmar military is extending its forces,” he said.  

Pyithu Hluttaw lawmaker U Aung Thaung Shwe from Buthidaung Township said it was necessary to wait and see if the talks between the Tatmadaw and the Arakan Army would produce the outcomes hoped for by the Arakanese people.   

“Over the course of Myanmar’s history, negotiations were made to make peace. It has been 70 years, but no solution can be made so far. So, we need to wait and see the result of the negotiations between the Tatmadaw and AA,” he said, adding that negotiations would be better if they were to occur in a context in which the Arakan Army was not designated as a terrorist organisation.   

The conflict between the Tatmadaw and AA in Arakan State began in late 2018. Hostilities have decreased significantly in the days following the November 8 election. 

In their online discussion last month, the two sides addressed three issues including the safe and speedy transport of basic food supplies and medicine to villages where locals are in urgent need due to past fighting.  

The two sides also reportedly spoke about holding timely future elections in Arakan State constituencies that were disenfranchised on November 8, the Arakan Army said. That aspect of the conversation came in the wake of the Union Election Commission’s decision on October 16 to cancel general election voting in several Arakan State townships, citing security concerns.