Conflicting claims, suspicion and arrests create confusion Although the Complicating the situation still further in The first ceasefire agreements between Shan ethnic groups and the regime were signed in 1989. The original agreements granted the groups business concessions, particularly in logging, and tax collection autonomy. They also allowed the groups to remain armed—but from early this year the regime has been pressing them to disarm under a program dubbed “Exchange Arms for Peace.” In April, 170 soldiers of the Shan State National Army turned in their arms and 843 rebels of the Palaung State Liberation Army surrendered to the Burmese Army. The following month, the leader of the SSNA, Col Sai Yi, and several of his troops abandoned their base in northern In September, an 800-strong brigade of the Shan State Army (North) also abandoned their base rather than disarm. Despite these developments, the junta’s information minister, Kyaw Hsan, claimed at a recent press conference that “peace” had been secured with armed ethnic movements. “If things are improving, why are people fleeing to The UWSA, with an estimated membership of around 15,000, is the strongest of the Shan ethnic groups. Apart from the two arms of the Shan State Army, others include the SSNA, the Shan State Nationalities Peoples’ Liberation Organization, the
Many of the groups are being allowed to produce and trade in drugs in exchange for co-operation with the regime, according to a report by the Shan Herald Agency for News. The UWSA, long accused of running a lucrative drugs business, tried to polish its image by preparing an elaborate ceremony at which it would announce its territory to be “drugs free.” But the planned ceremony turned into a farce when the regime took exception to invitations signed in the name of a “Wa State.” Widespread skepticism had anyway greeted the “drugs free” announcement. The Wa enjoyed close relations with former prime minister and military intelligence chief Gen Khin Nyunt, and the UWSA has acted as a buffer between the Burma Army and the SSA-S.
Apart from the enmity existing between the SSA-S and the regime, tensions have arisen between |
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