Shan Herald Agency for News |
- Few will show up for the nationwide ceasefire agreement: Rebel leaders
- KIO Supported Armed Groups in the Kachin Conflict
- Face-off continues between Wa, Burma Army
- To Hopeland and Back (Part II) #5
| Few will show up for the nationwide ceasefire agreement: Rebel leaders Posted: 05 Jul 2013 03:07 AM PDT "Most likely, no one's going to show up," said a prominent leader who requested his identity be withheld. According to the 5-point guideline, both sides would agree:
U Aung Min, Vice Chairman of the Union Peacemaking Work Committee (UPWC), when asked by Lt-Gen Yawd Serk, leader of the Restoration Council of Shan State/Shan State Army (RCSS/SSA), on 15 June how the second signing would be different from the first, replied: "The difference is that at the second signing, it will be witnessed by dignitaries all over the world. All those concerned will sign it. Afterward, nobody will be able to renege on it and reverse the process even if he wants to."  (L-R) Mutu Sayphoe, Yawdserk and Hkun Htun Oo (sitting) at the dinner hosted by Minister U Aung Min (standing behind Hkun Htun Oo) at Myanmar Peace Center, 15 June 2013 (Photo: Nyo Ohn Myint) So far, 13 resistance movements have signed ceasefire with Naypyitaw. Those remaining to sign it include the Kachin Independence Organization/Kachin Independence Army (KIO/KIA). "We need to have a comprehensive peace agreement which not only includes ceasefire, but also a framework for political negotiations," he said, speaking on the sideline of the meeting. The Working Group for Ethnic Coordination (WGEC), formed by representatives of the ethnic armed movements and civil society organizations in 2012, has already drafted a comprehensive agreement, which also contains:
Speaking to the parliament on Friday, 28 June, U Aung Min said, "The government has a plan to hand over the task of organizing political dialogue to Parliament," after the signing of the nationwide ceasefire, according to Eleven Media. Following Aung Min's address, Shwe Mann, Lower House Speaker, has called for direct involvement of the Parliament in the peace process on Tuesday, 2 July. |
| KIO Supported Armed Groups in the Kachin Conflict Posted: 05 Jul 2013 03:05 AM PDT JUNE 2013 PARTIES TO THE CONFLICT OVERVIEW As the number of clashes between the KIO/KIA and the Burma Army continues to decrease and political dialogue continues. The issue of the KIO's smaller allies, specifically the Ta-ang National Liberation Army, the Arakan Army and the All Burma Students Democratic Front (ABSDF)-North, needs to be further addressed. These three groups have helped support the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) in fighting, yet should a ceasefire be reached, their future remains uncertain. THE TA-ANG NATIONAL LIBERATION ARMY The Ta-ang National Liberation Army, which is a member of the UNFC, was originally created by remnants of the Palaung State Liberation Front (PSLF) after its ceasefire agreement with the Government in 1991. Originally known as the Palaung National Force it was formed on 12th of January 1963. By 1976, the PNF was reformed as the Palaung State Liberation Army (PSLA) under the leadership of Chairperson Tar Khon Taung. The PSLA finally signed a ceasefire on the 21 April 1991 and was disarmed on 29 April 2005. After the cease-fire agreement was signed between the PSLA and SPDC, remnants of the PSLA remained at Manerplaw the Karen National Unions's Headquarters. These units continued to fight with the Karen and other ethnic forces. The National Democratic Front supported the PSLA's remaining units to form the PSLF on 12 January 1992 and they continued to mount joint operations against Government forces with the Wa National Organisation (WNO) on the Thai-Burma border. In October 2009, the PSLF held its 3rd congress and formed the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA). The TNLA was formed under the political wing of the PSLF. It started military activity in the Palaung area in 2011 with the training and support of the Kachin Independence Army. The PSLF Chairman is Tar Aik Phone and the TNLA's Commander-in-Chief is Tar Hul Plang. Read More: BCES-BP-14.pdf |
| Face-off continues between Wa, Burma Army Posted: 04 Jul 2013 08:57 PM PDT "Wa villagers (who had moved down to the Thai Burmese border since 1999) are no longer arrogant toward their Shan and Lahu neighbors as before," said a respected local. "They are selling their livestock cheap and saying they'll take refuge on the Thai side of the border once the shooting begins."  According to sources, the Burma Army has issued a series of demands to the UWSA's 171st Military Region that is holding several areas along the border in two townships: Mongton in the west and Monghsat in the east, opposite Maehongson, Chiangmai and Chiangrai provinces:
"The Wa have instead beefed up their positions along the border," said a Thai border watcher. "Wei Xuegang (commander of the 171st) reportedly ordered his brigade commanders, 'if they shoot, we shoot.'" There are 5 UWSA brigades in the 171st Military Region: 778th, 772nd, 775th, 248th and 518th, totaling 7,000 strong together with their own militias, according to a Wa source. The tension which was no more than an annoyance after the Wa called for a separate state of their own in March and refusal to allow Naypyitaw's administrative personnel into Wa-controlled territories came to a head after reports of the UWSA launch of a rubber plantation-cum-new town project in Mong Khid, Mongton township in May. This was followed in June by the killing of a Tachilek resident by a Wa gunman believed to be a follower of Xi Guoneng, an official in the Wa's Hong Pang Company (new renamed Thawda Win). The victim was said to have opened a case with the police after Hong Pang had forcibly taken land and bulldozed the buildings inside the land. Xi Guoneng, also written Shi Kuo Neng, is one of the 26 individuals named by the US Treasury Department on 13 November 2008 as Specially Designated Narcotics Traffickers pursuant to Kingpin Act. "The Burma Army is also unhappy about reports that the UWSA is giving material support to the Kachin Independence Army (KIA)," said a Thai security source. Naypyitaw, according to some reports, had dispatched an envoy to negotiate with the Wa last week, but nothing has been disclosed about the meeting, which took place at Kunma, north of the Wa capital Panghsang. Wa leader Wei Xiegang is said to have established close business and personal relationship with U Aung Thaung, the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP)'s special adviser. |
| To Hopeland and Back (Part II) #5 Posted: 04 Jul 2013 08:56 PM PDT He wanted to know how I rated the success of the trip led by Lt-Gen Yawdserk in percentage terms. I thought for a while and answered, "60%". Looking back after two weeks, I still hold to the same percentage, which was a 10% increase from my original 50%. My calculation was that since this was a great opportunity to show to the skeptical world that Naypyitaw really meant business, I had no doubt it was going to look good. However during my 8-day stay there, I also found out that there were several people and officials who were working hard to widen the space and make the trend irreversible. Of course, the time is quite limited, 2 ½ years until the end of 2015. But with careful planning, implementation, cooperation and a lot of luck, many things can be accomplished. That was the reason for the 10% increase in my success rate. Coming to this, I remember someone asking Yawdserk during a press conference, "You seem to be supporting President Thein Sein a lot. Why is it?" His reply was, "Well, he appears to be a good man to me. And anyhow if I'm going against him, I'll be in the camp of the people who are opposing the reforms. You know I cannot side with them." So what about the remaining balance? It is very clear. There is still fighting in Shan State and Kachin State. The reason: the Burmese military is still on the push, although it is placing all the blame on the rebels at the same time. The rebels had in the past lodged complaints with U Aung Min, the President's front man, and it hadn't worked. It means a separate peace talks with the military, whose army commander in chief, Vice Senior General Soe Win, who is also wearing the hat of a vice chairman in the Union Peacemaking Work Committee (UPWC), is in order. Knowing the military and its Total War mentality (and that of the rebels' own hardliners), it won't be an easy job. But no stones should be left unturned. Because we know not all the military's top brass are for war. And if the talks turn nasty, it'll leave no doubt in the onlookers' minds whose in the wrong. My conclusion, therefore, is that although one leaf of the door to peace is still closed, we should not wait until it is also opened. We should instead plan carefully and boldly step in through the open side of the door and push/pull the remaining leaf open both from inside and outside, and if the door just collapses, so much the better. |
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