Junta demands military presence in Mongla

No.09 - 3/2007
16 March 2007
Politics
 
Junta demands military presence in Mongla
 
A top commander of the Burma Army had once again pressed on the Mongla ceasefire group to accept a token military presence in its domain during the latest meeting which took place on Tuesday, 13 March, according to an insider source.
 
"(Lt-Gen) Kyaw Win drew attention to the fact that both Kokang and Wa, our closest allies (whose territories are also located on the Sino-Burma boder), have the Burma Army units at their capitals", said the officer, who requested not to be named. "To which Sao Sai Leun (Mongla leader) responded by saying that he would need to consult with the community leaders before making a decision as undue alarm among the populace was the last thing he wanted".
 

^{Sai Leun aka Lin Mingxian}

The meeting between Lt-Gen Kyaw Win, defacto Governor of Shan and Kayah states, and Sai Leun aka Lin Mingxian, leader of National Democratic Alliance Army-Eastern Shan State (NDAA-ESS) or Shan State Special Region # 4 in the official terminology, took place in Mongla, 87 km northeast of Kengtung.
 
Mongla is also under pressure to "exchange arms for perpetual peace", official set phrase for "surrender". Maj-Gen Min Aung Hlaing, Commander of the Triangle Region Command, during his meeting with Sai Leun, known in Burmese as U Sai Lin, in December in Kengtung, had urged him to "set an example" for other ceasefire groups.
 
Burma has already forced two ceasefire armies: Palaung State Liberation Army (PSLA) and Shan State National Army (SSNA) to surrender in 2005.
 
Special Region # 4 was formerly known as the 815 War Zone under of the Communist Party of Burma (CPB), from 1971 to 1989, the year it was overthrown. Sai Leun, like many other anti-Rangoon armed movements, had made peace with the Burma Army in the same year.
 
The NDAA-ESS boasts 3 brigades and 15 battalions with 300 men each.

The only junta agencies permitted in Mongla are the customs and immigration that arrived in early 2006.