A mass of military trucks loaded with arms and troops headed from Murngton to Nar Gaung Mu region where the direction was to UWSA (United WA State Army), yesterday. There were Government LIB 65, 225 and IB 519 and 227 on activities, except Artillery Battalion 113.
“Those were the precursor signs of war because UWSA didn’t listen to the order from the Union Government or the Military to shoot SSPP/SSA before. And they wouldn’t do now so the government have to get rid of them.” Murngton local said to our correspondent.
SSPP/SSA had also been ordered to remove from those regions last 14 this month, and the tension between the government and KIA was growing in this month. CR. TAIFREEDOM
The Burma Army is sending reinforcements into areas that link the Shan State Army (SSA) North with its ally the United Wa State Army (UWSA) on the eastern bank of the Salween, according to local sources.
This is in spite of the fact that both the SSA and the UWSA have signed ceasefire agreements and Naypyitaw had, on 12 July, met Wa leaders that defused the tension along the Thai-Burmese border between the two sides.
Car in Wa controlled area
During last week, Chinese made Dong Feng six-wheelers had arrived in the Loi Khawk mountain on the west bank of the Salween in Tangyan township. “There were 6 trucks each carrying no less than 30 troops,” said Maj Naw Lake, liaison officer for the Shan State Progress Party/Shan State Army (SSPP/SSA), as the SSA North is officially known.
Another convoy of trucks had arrived at Loi Khio in Monghsu township, further south of Loi Khawk, according to a local elder. “People are worried there will be more fighting,” he said.
The SSA and the Burma Army have been playing a cat-and-mouse game further north in Namtu township. The two sides have not stopped fighting, even though the SSA had signed a ceasefire on 28 January 2012, more than 18 months ago.
“The Burma Army appears to be trying to cut the territorial links between the Wa on the east bank and the SSA, Kachin and Palaung resistance armies on the west bank,” commented a long-time border watcher from Thailand. “It is a known fact that the Wa has been supplying these groups with arms and ammo.”
There has been reports of Burma Army units moving into vital Salween crossings north of Tangyan, where the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) are active.
Meanwhile, Burmese authorities have demanded Panghsang, the Wa headquarters, present a list of their motor vehicles, especially those with NW (Northern Wa) and SW (Southern Wa) number plates that were imported tax-free during the period when Gen Khin Nyunt was in power. “Panghsang has yet to respond,” said a Monghsat local.
The United Wa State Army’s demand to upgrade its self-administered region into a fully autonomous state will be decided in line with constitutional provisions, according to the Union Peacemaking Work Committee.
The move was discussed during a meeting organised between the government and the United Wa State Army (UWSA) in Kengtung on July 12 after increased military tensions between the two parties.
“The Wa’s demand is not a new matter. Their delegates attended the National Convention in 1993 during which they demanded to upgrade self-administered region into a state. Since then they had already realised that their demand would be decided in line with the constitutional provisions. In addition, their demand was meant for sometime in the future,” said Thein Zaw, the vice-chairman of Union Peacemaking Work Committee.
Despite a decrease in skirmishes between the Myanmar army and the UWSA, both sides are attempting to gain military advantage and control of the southern Wa region. The army also reportedly demanded that the Wa make a list of the number of its outposts and move some of them to which they have not complied leading to further stand-offs.
WA ARMY
However, the Kengtung meeting mainly highlighted root causes for military tensions. Both sides reached an agreement on the withdrawal of the troops, according to UWSA spokesman Aung Myint.
Myanmar’s government and the United Wa State Party (UWSP) have reached a five-point agreement, including an open and prompt action to discuss military affairs when the need arises.
The agreement was made after the talks between the Union Peacemaking Work Committee and UWSP held at the Golden Triangle Command in Kengtung, Shan State on Friday.
Committee Vice-Chairman Thein Zaw said the discussion took place in a both brotherly and friendly manner.
WA ARMY
“We discussed how we would approaches towards building lasting peace. We could resolve some difficulties. Problems can occur sometimes at a lower level. We held talks in a brotherly and friendly manner in order to prevent the problems from becoming worse,” Thein Zaw told the Daily Eleven.
All the problems with the southern Wa region also could be solved, he added.
agreement of uwsa 12 july
“All things went well. There was misunderstanding until both sides met personally. When we met, the problems were not that serious,” Thein Zaw said.
Lieutenant General Aung Than Htut from the Defence Services Commander-in-Chief’s Office told the Daily Eleven that military tension was caused partly because the government army surrounded the Wa outposts in the southern Wa region after they had failed to retreat as commended.
“All the problems have been solved. We have lived and continue to live in unity. We are like brothers. There is no doubt, no hatred between us. Problems erupted because of misunderstanding at a lower level, said Lt-Gen Aung Than Htut.
Wa leaders [through their interpreter] say today’s discussion produced good results, but declined to comment further.
“The southern issue is now OK. Further negotiation will come as the next step. We will continue our talks,” said Aung Myint, the spokesman for UWSP.
Kaukkawt Ann, the foreign affairs officer-in-charge and a politburo member for UWSP has led the Wa delegation which included 19 high-ranking members.
New tensions arose between both sides [government and Wa troops] last May when a rubber plantation owned by UWSP in Tachileik District in southern region of the Shan State was occupied by the government troops.
Tension has mounted since then as government demanded that Wa troops retreated from a various pockets in the region and back to their main bases in the south Wa region.
“It’s very good to have the agreement reached before a shot is fired,” said Win Tun, a union minister who attended the meeting.
Five top Wa leaders arrived at Hwe Aw, opposite Chiangmai, last Friday, 5 July, to hold pre-talks with local United Wa State Army (UWSA) commanders before actual negotiations with Naypyitaw’s negotiators in Kengtung, 11-12 July, according to Thai security sources.
Xiao Minliang (Photo: UWSA)
Xiao Minliang, Vice President, led the delegation and one of its members was Zhao Guo-an, Chief of External Affairs. The source was unable to name the remaining 3 members, but maintained that it was a confirmed report. “Naypyitaw had proposed 5 July for the negotiations,” explained another source. “But Wa authorities in Panghsang (on the Sino-Burmese border) said it would be better if they could first discuss with its commanders on the Thai-Burmese border, where the current confrontation is taking place. The Burmese side had apparently given the okay to the request.” Continue reading “WAR: Top Wa leaders across the border”→
Thousands of Myanmar Army (MA) and United Wa State Army (UWSA) troops are encircling one another around a strategic mountain in Monghsat township, opposite Chiangmai and Chiangrai provinces, according to Thai and Shan sources.
Pakae, the Wa outpost, one mile south of Loi Hsarm Hsoom, where the Burma Army is guarding its communication line between Monghsat and Tachilek, is being surrounded by Burmese troops, who are in turn surrounded by Wa troops. Pakae is higher than Loi Hsarm Hsoom and poses as a threat to the later.
Loi Hsarm Hsoom is 13 miles east of Monghsat and 51 miles west of Tachilek, opposite Maesai.
So far there has been no report of a shootout between the two sides. “We are not going to shoot first,” one of the Wa officers was quoted as saying by a local. “But once the first shot is fired by the Burmese, we will not confine the fight to just Pakae. We are going to carry it to wherever the Burmese troops are.”
Representatives from both sides are due to meet in Kengtung on 12 July, according to a local source. Another source added that Naypyitaw had proposed 6 July for talks but Panghsang, the Wa capital, had asked to postpone it to a later date.
The Restoration Council of Shan State/Shan State Army (RCSS/SSA) meanwhile says it is not talking sides. “There is nothing we cannot resolve through peaceful means,” said RCSS/SSA leader Yawdserk.
The UWSA on the other hand suspects Naypyitaw and Yawdserk must have reached agreement on cooperation against it. The RCSS/SSA officers denied. “The Wa, in cooperation with the Burma Army, had fought against Shans since 1989,” said a Shan officer. “So they naturally think we will be doing the same thing against them. They, of course, are simply wrong. We entertain no such idea. Moreover, this is the time for peace, not war.”
Altogether 13 armed movements, including the UWSA and RCSS/SSA, have signed ceasefire agreements with Naypyitaw since 18 August 2011, when President Thein Sein called for peace talks.
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