TNLA ready to engage in talks with junta

By Admin 25 Nov 2024

DMG Newsroom
25 November 2024, Mrauk-U

The Palaung State Liberation Front/Ta’ang National Liberation Army (PSLF/TNLA) said on Monday that it is ready to engage in dialogue to resolve ongoing armed conflicts as it remains at war with Myanmar’s military regime.

The Ta’ang ethnic armed group said that it is ready to end the military conflicts in consideration of civilians in northern Shan State who have borne the brunt of the hostilities including junta air raids, and also because it respects the efforts of the Chinese government to help bring an end to the fighting near its border.

“We are ready to engage in dialogue to solve all the problems in consideration of war-affected civilians while holding on to our right to self-defence,” the TNLA said.

The TNLA said it has a constructive view of China’s mediation to end armed conflicts and build a peaceful and stable political landscape in Myanmar, and that it will cooperate with China to bring about positive outcomes.

“I think the TNLA’s statement is just intended to please China,” said one military and political analyst. “Both the TNLA and the regime, along with China, understand that peace talks are unlikely. However, the TNLA may stop their offensive.”

In its statement, the TNLA said that the regime was targeting civilians with airstrikes in northern Shan State, where the junta has lost significant territory to the Brotherhood Alliance in Operation 1027.

Arakanese writer Wai Hin Aung commented: “According to my understanding, the TNLA said what it did because junta troops have been driven out of the Ta’ang area. So, it has achieved its ambition militarily, and it will start its political battle [to achieve an official statehood or other autonomous designation]. With China actively involved, it’s an opportunity for them.”

The TNLA has captured more than 10 towns in northern Shan State and Mandalay Region since launching Operation 1027 in October of last year.  It is still engaged in fighting with the regime.

The TNLA in its statement also vowed to continue the armed struggle to liberate the Ta’ang people from oppression, establish a Ta’ang State, and build a federal union that guarantees self-determination for all ethnic groups in Myanmar.