Shan Herald Agency for News |
| Another in-on drug commander goes to the pen Posted: 23 Oct 2013 02:29 AM PDT A light infantry battalion commander whose unit is based on the notorious Gold Triangle has been locked up following seizure of 7 tons of "Ice" (crystal methamphetamine) on 3 October, according to sources. 17 other officers and other ranks from LID 571, based in Ta Lerh (Talay), 48km north of Tachilek, are reportedly under custody. 3 men were arrested and their two pick-ups carrying the said consignment confiscated by the Ta Lerh police while on their way from Mong Lane to Tachilek. The 3 were Sai Noi, Sai Hsu and Sai Hawng.  Naw Kham (center) and three of his accomplices, unseen, taken to the execution chambers where they received lethal injection in Kunming, capital of southwest China's Yunnan Province, Friday, March 1, 2013. (Photo: Xinhua/AP) "This is the second time military officers have been taken action for their involvement in drug trafficking," she said. The first time took place in Tachilek, when a colonel was arrested, following a shoot-out on 28 February when Infantry Battalion # 331 commander Lt-Col Zeya Win was killed. The incident came in the wake of a major haul of methamphetamine pills at Nawng Hsarm Pu, Mong Phong, where the late "Godfather" Naw Kham, who was executed in Kunming on 1 March, used to roam. Contrary to Beijing's claim that "request occurrence of drug-related crimes on the Mekong River has been effectively contained" both locals and drug enforcement officers have stated otherwise. "In fact, the situation has become worse since Naw Kham's arrest (on 24 April 2012)," said a high official whom SHAN met in Naypyitaw in June. And Naw Kham was but a small link in the drug chain." The military, in the meanwhile, has been conducting its legal proceedings quietly. According to Article 319 of the 2008 constitution, legal cases that involve defense services personnel are administered independently by courts-martial. Civilian courts have no jurisdiction over them. |
| Lawyer counsels way out for Wa statehood demand Posted: 23 Oct 2013 02:27 AM PDT A Chin lawyer Salai Marn has recommended that the solution for the United Wa State Army (UWSA)'s persistent call for a separate statehood is to enact a provision in the constitution how new states could be formed.  Book cover: Seven sections in the constitution ethnic peoples want to change The Wa that had joined the Federated Shan States to form the Shan State as part of the Union of Burma in 1948 has been calling for a separate statehood since 1993. "More serious than the Wa statehood is Naypyitaw that has been inconspicuously moving toward a new regionhood," he cautions. Other amendments suggested by the lawyer are: • Election of state/regional chief ministers • Curtailment of Union Legislative List • Removal of military representatives from state/regional legislative assemblies • Making more citizens eligible to run for President • Provision of separate legislative power for the Upper House, and • Reduction of the number of representatives from regions (but not from states) in the Upper House* *It is interesting to note here that Drs. David and Susan Williams, US-based Center for Constitutional Democracy, had instead suggested that the number of regions, and not the number of representatives from regions, should be reduced so to increase the relative power of the states. "Only when 50%, if not all, of the amendment demands of the people are met, there can be a win-win solution," Salai Marn writes in the booklet's foreword. The author is said to be based in the United States, according to a source from the lawyers circle. |
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