Wa told to give back their temporary cards

The order was issued on 13 May, 3 days after the nationwide referendum followed by numerous reports about official irregularities, according to the source.
 
A Wa officer contacted by the Shan Herald was unable to substantiate the report but confirmed that most of the Wa eligible voters had cast No votes to the junta-drawn draft charter. “That must have really needled them,” he remarked.

_{Temporary card}
                                                                
The United Wa State Army (UWSA) has not agreed with the territory cut out for them by the draft charter. One township, Markmang, under the Burma Army control, according to the draft, has been allocated to the Wa, while another one, Mongpawk, under the UWSA control, has not been.
 
“The Wa are having a 5-day war game starting today,” said a Thai border watcher. It involves 1,200 combined troops from its 5 brigades (414th, 258th, 772nd, 775th and 778th) along the Thai-Burma border.
 
The Burma Army’s eastern Shan State commander Min Aung Hlaing, meanwhile, threw a roaring party in Kengtung, 160km north of Maesai, on 12 May to celebrate its “victory” in the referendum, said a source from Kengtung.

The Wa say they are ready to return all the cards "as they had brought only trouble to us but no benefits," according to a Thai security official. The back page of the white card stipulates: This card cannot be used to verify one's citizenship.

Updated: 20 May 2008