Waland tightens security

No.09 - 1/2007
24 January 2007
Drugs
 
Waland tightens security
 
Panghsang, the Wa capital, has been undergoing heightened security since some of its trusted members have absconded with public funds the past two weeks, according to reliable sources on the Sino-Burma border.
 
Locals leaving Panghsang aka Pangkham either into China or for other destinations are now required to apply for safe conducts before departure. "If anything befalls those without authorization, we will not be responsible for their safety," one resident was warned by a local official.
 
The stiff measure came in the wake of two Wa officials who went missing after drawing funds from the finance department run by Wei Hsuehkang, currently the United Wa State Army's official bankroller. One of them was said to have disappeared with 30 million baht ($ 833,000).
 
One Wa official, interviewed by SHAN, had categorically rejected the reports. "No such things ever took place," he said. "And as for security checks on the road, they are being conducted by the Chinese officials only, not us."
 
To which one local resident retorted that things were the other way round. "We have no trouble with the Chinese, only with the Wa," he said.
 
Wei Hsuehkang, wanted both by the United States and Thailand on drug charges, became the group's financier since July 2006, after the Wa found themselves in dire financial straits following their drug-free declaration in June 2005.