As new information flows in, I’m beginning to feel that the regime is doing itself a disservice by upholding its “Take all or nothing” attitude in dealing with the ceasefire groups vis a vis its Border Guard Force program, particularly with the United Wa State Army (UWSA).
The Wa certainly have come a long way from their November counterproposal.
Yes, they still maintain some of their previous stances:
Mongpawk and Mongphen, considered part of Mongyang township by the regime, should continue to be placed under Wa administration as Mongpawk township
Commanders of both northern and southern military sectors must be Wa and the deputy commanders junta officers
However, on other points, previously unthinkable to them, they have made notable concessions: Mongyawn and Hwe Aw areas on the Thai-Burma border are no longer demanded to be kept under Wa administration. Instead, the UWSA strongly requests that the 80,000 Wa people relocated from the Sino-Burma border a decade earlier be allowed to reside legally in the said areas
Chiefs of staff for both military sectors will be Burma Army officers and deputy chiefs of staff UWSA
Previously, the Wa said there should be no junta officers at the battalion level (the Burma Army says there must be 30 of its officers in each 326-strong battalion). But this time, they are allowing 6 of them to be in there, one as a deputy battalion commander and the rest for health, logistics and communications
To make it short, I would have accepted the new Wa proposal, submitted on 3 April (and not 1 April as reported earlier), if I were in the regime’s shoes. However as I’m happily in my own shoes, I would advise it not to accept.
democracy for burma 