Shan Herald Agency for News |
- Commentary on "Daw Suu ramping up pressure on UNFC"
- Civilians flee as hostilities intensify in Muse, Kutkai
- To Hopeland and Back The 23rd trip
| Commentary on "Daw Suu ramping up pressure on UNFC" Posted: 21 Nov 2016 03:25 AM PST UNFC would sign when the NLD-Military regime accepted all-inclusivity of ethnic armed organizations; bilateral ceasefire declaration between the Tatmadaw and the ethnic armies; the negotiation process that adhere to tripartite dialogue composition, which for decades has been endorsed by the UN; and the commitment of agreeing to a genuine federal form of government.  Using military pressure to push the non-signatories of the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement is back firing as the recent so-called Northern Alliance, involving the Kachin, Palaung, Kokang and the Arakan armed forces, started an offensive to take the heat out for the KIA, which has been enduring the military onslaught of the Tatmadaw for a few months in a row. According to the ethnic sources, the ethnic offensives didn't come about lightly, but only after weighing the pros and cons. The speculation that the NLD-Military regime is going according to its prescribed roadmap, without considering the UNFC proposal might be the real factor to heighten the military conflict, rather than be a sitting duck, while hoping to achieve a favorable negotiation stance with the blessing of Aung San Suu Kyi. In other words, Suu Kyi is now considered to be fully with the Tatmadaw, at the expense of all the non-signatories ethnic resistance armies. Link to the story: http://english.panglong.org/2016/11/21/commentary-on-daw-suu-ramping-up-pressure-on-unfc/ | ||||||||
| Civilians flee as hostilities intensify in Muse, Kutkai Posted: 21 Nov 2016 01:22 AM PST  The four militias – Arakan Army (AA), Kachin Independence Army (KIA), Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) and Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) – have launched a joint military operation against Burmese government forces in the area. "Our ethnic people are requested to stop travelling in northern Shan State because of the dangers posed by military activities," said the statement. "Local people are also advised to take precautions, and to support this inevitable joint military exercise for the protection of all ethnic peoples." The groups attacked Burmese military outposts and a police station in the Muse Township villages of 105 Mile, Mong Koe and Parng Zai, as well as Namkham and Kutkai areas in the early morning yesterday. "The Burmese armed forces have been launching offensives in the ethnic territories of Kachin, Kokang, Ta'ang, Arakan and Shan for a long time," read the statement. "The military pressures have been mounting increasingly. The Burmese armed forces have also intensified their assaults. They are not only using 105-120mm heavy artillery to target innocent civilians, but are also arresting, torturing and killing indigenous people." For decades, Burma's government forces have launched offensives and operations against ethnic armed groups. Col. Tar Pong Kyaw, the secretary of TNLA, told The Irrawaddy on Sunday that "Ethnic groups cannot hide in the jungle any more—the time has come to fight in the towns." Monday's statement also noted that the Burmese armed forces continue to attack ethnic armed groups including those that signed the nationwide ceasefire agreement with the government in October 2015. The AA, MNDAA, TNLA were excluded from signing the accord. Yesterday, it was reported that four policeman and an unknown number of civilians had been killed or wounded in the clashes. According to a resident in the 105 Mile: "At least four police officers were shot dead." Meanwhile, Nang Khin Tar Yi, an MP from the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD) representing Hsenwi Township, said, "A bomb exploded on the highway between Hsenwi and Muse townships, causing injuries to three people. They are currently being treated at a local hospital." Local sources also told Shan Herald that they had eye-witnessed military's jets, trucks and troops heading into Muse. Since yesterday, villagers in close proximity to the hostilities have been fleeing their homes and seeking shelter in Muse town or across the border in China. According to a report in this morning's state-run press, the four ethnic armed groups also attempted to blow up three bridges into the town. Yesterday, the Chinese embassy in Burma issued a warning to its citizens, advising against travel to the conflict areas. "The Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the Republic of the Union of Myanmar has been watching the situation closely, urging all parties in the conflicts to exercise restraint by taking concrete and effective measures for an immediate ceasefire so as to resume peace in the China-Myanmar border area as soon as possible," the statement said. "The Embassy reminds the Chinese citizens in Myanmar to watch out for their own safety by avoiding going to those conflict areas," it added. The consulate confirmed that many Burmese civilians had escaped the conflict by fleeing onto Chinese territory, and that the Chinese authorities have "taken in those who have crossed the border, and sent the injured ones to hospitals for medical treatment." By Shan Herald Agency for News (SHAN) | ||||||||
| To Hopeland and Back The 23rd trip Posted: 20 Nov 2016 11:06 PM PST Drugs take you to hell Disguised as heaven. Donald Lynn Frost, Chairman, Sturgis Bancorp, Inc.
On my way to Mingladon, where the bus is waiting to pick up inbound drug experts. I drop in at the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD) office to pick the party leadership's brain for tomorrow's gathering in Naypyitaw. I'm not disappointed. A lot of them I've already read and written. But there are also two specifics I've never heard about: · The government-owned Burma Pharmaceutical Industry (BPI) used to have poppy farms in Taunggyi and Lashio before 1988 to obtain opium for its product, opium tincture (Opium tincture, about which I have only a rough idea, is an oral linquid medication used to control diarrhea and relieve pain. But it is also a controlled drug, because of its unwholesome side effects: sedation, constipation, itching, and physical and psychological dependence · The UN also used to have poppy fields in Taunggyi, Lashio and Kengtung, 2 acres each, to
At 10:30, I'm off to Mingaladon, where Tom Kramer of Transnational Institute (TNI) and his wife Nang Pann Ei Kham of Drug Policy Action Group (DPAG), with their hired bus, are waiting for the likes of us. Among the passengers, when the bus starts, are people I know: Sai Long of Myanmar Opium Farmers Forum, John Buchanan of Institute for Strategy and Policy, Col Hkam Awng, former CCDAC Secretary General now working with Mae Fah Luang Foundation in northern Thailand. The Foundation, established by the late King's Mother, has development projects in Yawng Kha and Mongtoom (Monghsat township) and
The distance from the old capital to the new capital is 327 km (203 miles). But it takes us 6 slow hours, including 1 ½ hour for lunch and snack, to get there. The bus is going as if it is riding waves. But our driver is good. So I manage to catch some naps on the way. At some point, someone is relating to us about the conversation among opium farmers, which goes something like this: Farmer A: We have to pay tax to 5 different armed groups. Farmer B: You're lucky. I have to pay tax to 7 groups. Farmer C: I must be the luckiest. Because I have to pay only two armed groups. Former A/B: Which groups ? Farmer C: The MA (Myanmar Army) and the PMF (People's Militia Force, the extended arm of the MA). We also discuss future plans: · Visiting Doi Tung, Mae Fa Luang district, Chiangrai Province. *For readers unfamiliar with different English labels used by the two countries, the following should be the guide for them: Burma Thailand Village Village (Muban) Village Tract Tambon Sub-Township Sub-District (King-Ampher) Township District (Ampher) District Province (Jangwat)
· Direct Myanmar Army/EAO consultations on drugs ("Government meeting CSOs are okay. But without open discussions between the MA and the EAOs, nothing is going to change," a CCDAC official is quoted as saying.) · Study mission to licit occultation in India and Australia (it appears legal production is not without problems either) We are greeted and entertained at Naypyitaw's Royal Ace Hotel by CCDAC officials among whom are Police Colonels Zaw Lin Tun and Myint Thein. The latter says he's from Taunggyi. |
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