Myanmar Government Invites Northern Alliance of Ethnic Armies For Talks
The Myanmar government has invited the Northern Alliance group of ethnic armies to meet for talks in October to try to persuade their leaders to sign bilateral cease-fire agreements ending escalated armed conflict with the national military in the country’s far-flung ethnic regions, a government negotiator said Tuesday.
Tin Myo Win, chairperson of the Myanmar Peace Commission (MPC), sent invitations on Monday to the four alliance members — the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), Arakan Army (AA), Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) — to attend the meeting in the town of Kengtung in eastern Shan state on Sept. 16 and 17.
The invitation also said that the MPC would guarantee the safety of delegates from the ethnic armed organizations, three of which have been engaged in recent fighting with Myanmar forces.
