“We would like to hold discussions about equal rights and peace,” said Tar Pong Kyaw of the TNLA. “Whether we are allowed to participate or not [at the 21CPC] will depend on State Councillor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.”

Representatives of the TNLA, the Arakan Army (AA) and the Kokang-based Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) held negotiations on Tuesday with a government peace delegation from the National Reconciliation and Peace Center (NRPC) on the issue of participation in the peace process.

The meeting was held in Mongla, the headquarters of the National Democratic Alliance Army (NDAA), on the Sino-Burmese border.

The Burmese military has officially stated that the three groups would have to pledge to disarm if they want to be included in the peace process.

TNLA’s Tar Pong Kyaw said that the government delegation told them to release a statement signalling whether they wish to attend the Panglong conference.

“Because of this, we concluded the meeting without any agreement,” he said.

The so-called 21st Century Panglong Conference is slated to be held on August 31, when hundreds of delegates from the military, government, parliament, political parties and ethnic groups will sit around a table to discuss the nature of future peace talks, according to a statement on the State Counselor’s Office Facebook page on Monday.

Some critics have accused both the previous government, headed by former military general Thein Sein, and the current Suu Kyi-led administration of isolating the TNLA, MNDAA and AA from the peace process.

The three ethnic militias – which are to date frequently engaged in conflict against government forces – were excluded from signing the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement with the Thein Sein government on October 15 last year.

The United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC), a coalition of ethnic armed groups of which the TNLA is a member, has stated that all groups must be included in the peace process.

By Shan Herald Agency for News (SHAN)