Shan State in 2002 The people · The one

Shan State in 2002

The people

• The one-year railway project to connect Hsihseng and Mongnai, 103 miles, since 23 October 2001, with unpaid labor provided by thousands of villagers, including women, from six townships was yet to be completed by the end of the year. 

• Kengtawng, which made headlines in the year 2001 with the International Labor Organization's inquiry into the alleged killings of villagers who protested the continued use of forced labor despite the official ban, has become a sub-township of Mongnai. The displaced people from the area have confirmed that the population of arrivals from lower Burma has doubled from 316 households (1,580 people) in 2001 by the end of 2002. When natives complained that their former homes had been occupied by the newcomers, the soldiers "laughed and said we could go anywhere we wanted. Don't think we would be sorry to see you go." 

• 10 villagers who were observing the annual 3-month Buddhist lent in Kholam, Namzang Township, were dragged out and shot to death on 21 September by a "commando" unit from Kunhing after a soldier was killed during a clash with the Shan State Army of Col. Yawdserk. Forces in Kunhing are known for slaughtering at least 265 people during the 1996-98 offensive and 82 more in 2000. 

• Rangoon's order universally lamented by the local people was the forced implementation of dry season rice cultivation "It is being done without providing any assistance or know-how", one farmer said. "All that we get from them are threats if we fail to comply with their orders." 

Aung San Suu Kyi had already condemned Australia's ongoing human rights trainings for junta officials as "pointless and a waste of money."

Culture

• Shan pop music was the reason why increasing indifference of today's youth in the Xishuangbanna, across eastern Shan State, towards their own cultural heritage, according to a panelist of Dai Lue descendant at a cultural seminar held in Chiangmai on 6 July. Its popularity among the present young generation has helped ease the older age group's fear of total assimilation by advancing Han culture, he said. 

• Shan New Year (5 December 2002) was also celebrated both at home and abroad. For exiled Shans and their cousins from India's Ahoms, it marked their first observance of the day, The First Waxing Moon of the First Lunar Month, for most branches of the Tai family. 

• However, Shans in Muse and Lashio almost missed the event when they were told that the New Year would not be permitted to be held as it coincided with the visit of Daw Khin Win Shwe, Gen Khin Nyunt's wife, to northern Shan State. Nevertheless, after the news was reported by foreign radio stations, the authorities were persuaded to change their minds. (The wife of Rangoon's #3 man also cut short her visit to return home when ex-dictator Ne Win died suddenly on the same day.)

Drugs

The whole year was teeming with reports of drug burning and reduced figures in the drug output. 

The rush appeared to have started with the Bangkok Post report on 18 March that the United States considered the United Wa State Army a terrorist organization connected to drug trafficking. A crisis meeting was held in Lashio 4 days later when Wa and Kokang were told by Gen Khin Nyunt they faced disownment by the junta if their involvement in drugs continued. 

The result: 

•  Announcements by Wa and Kokang leaderships banning drugs;

• Bonfires of drugs and poppy seeds; 

• More reports on seizures of drugs and destruction of poppy fields;

• Promulgation of the anti money laundering law. 

Ground sources however told different stories.

•  Across the border in Mongton, opposite Chiangmai, small laboratories are diminishing. Yet at least 17 reportedly protected by local military units are still operating, a fact that lends credit to a disclosure by a source that Rangoon's present policy is to get rid of "small fish" so as to boost its image and look after the "big fish" so as to upkeep the regime is sufficient financial stead. 

• Poppy seeds for public burning ceremonies were delivered by the ceasefire groups and militia units in exchange for business "permits". According to them, most of the poppy pods displayed were emptied of seeds before delivery and fires were quickly put out at the departure of distinguished guests from the bonfires "either to safekeep the drugs for later burnings or to sell them to available buyers." 

• "They catch small operators everyday", said a businessman in Tachilek, across from Chiangrai. "But for big seizures, like the one near Tachilek in October (where 5 million speed pills were seized), they are forced to take action only through information given by neighboring countries. Could you believe these factories can exist under their eyes for years without them knowing?" 

• The second crop of the season that is being harvested across the border both in southern and eastern Shan State, according to several sources, is "generous." Lahu militia units in Mongton, across Chiangmai, have been authorized both to collect tax and purchase this year's yield by the local Burmese commander of Infantry Battalion #65 at prices between 6,000 - 8,000 baht. "Rangoon expects its far-flung units to survive on their own," said an informed local. "It is therefore difficult for them to maintain themselves without getting involved in unsavory practices." 

• The Law to Control Money and Property Obtained by Illegal Means has been issued since 17 June. By the end of the year, the effect of the law is yet to be seen. In fact, Rangoon had to reassure its leading financiers, some of them with long records of deep involvement in narcotics business, that the law would not be retroactive. 

The Wa

Despite their notoriety, the Wa appears to have emerged as "a winner" during the last year. Rangoon has continued to protect them and, ironically, Thailand, the recipient of drugs produced in Wa controlled areas, remains steady with its offer to assist them in making their "Yawngkha" sector of Monghsat Township, across Chiangrai, a drug-free zone. 

All the same, it was not an easy year. Some cases in point: 

• On 10 February, 7 Burmese soldiers were killed and 3 wounded in Doilang, Monghsat Township, an area exclusive to only Burmese and Wa units and off-limits to the SSA. 

• On 25 March, a Thai patrol clashed with a Wa unit during a security mission for HM Queen Sirikij forcing her, as a result, to cancel her visit to the border village in Chiangmai's Wiang Haeng District. 

• In April, some top Wa commanders were unmasked by Chinese drug busters as party to the shipment of 354.15 kg of heroin into China. Pao Yuqiang, the supreme Wa chieftain, reportedly pleaded to keep the details of the Wa connection under wraps in exchange for the turnover of 14 suspects from Panghsang, the Wa capital. 

• The leadership was also reported to have been involved in a dispute with the UNDCP, when its program officer, Xaviar Bourn, discovered on 26 February that some poppy fields supposedly destroyed by the UWSA were already harvested. (NMG)

Rangoon was said to have stood firm by its ally on all occasions mentioned and more. 

• In April, Thai premier Thaksin had quoted visiting Gen Maung Aye saying the Wa's Hongpang Company would be no more within two weeks of his return. However, on 5 August, 3 months after, Hongpang was among 7 construction firms attending a meeting called by Gen Khin Nyunt. (New Light of Myanmar) Last September, 4 policemen in Tachilek had accused some Wa of having some amphetamine pills in possession. The result: the 4 received a jail sentence and the rest of the police force in the city - 137 of them - were transferred to other townships. (S.H.A.N.) 

Panghsang was not also unappreciative of the favors. 

• On 16 January, Burmese forces for the first time, were allowed to enter Mongyawn and the surrounding areas, opposite Chiangmai's Mae Ai District. 

• On 17 May, Wei Hsaitang (not related to Wei Hsuehgang), a commander charged by Rangoon with printing counterfeit banknotes and conspiring with the SSA South, was arrested reportedly at Rangoon's request. 

• It had also participated in the Burmese offensive against the SSA-South during May and June sustaining heavy casualties during the course of the battle. 

The cordial relationship is attributed by some observers to Wei Hsuehgang, 56, who has relinquished his official positions in the Wa leadership to his older brother Hsuehlong, 66, and younger brother Hsuehying, 52. Still he is considered the defacto commander of the Special Brigade 171, that fields 15 battalions, and the "remote control" of the Wa. He is also said to enjoy close relations with Gen Khin Nyunt, who had given him 2,000 acres of land in Tangyan Township last year and conferred a Burmese nomdeguerre on him: U Sein Win. 

On the other hand, Wei's standing with Thailand, that had issued a warrant for his capture, is a controversial issue, due to the fact that the area Thais have offered to develop as a drug-free zone is unquestionably in Wei's turf, thereby provoking prominent Shan exiles like Sao Noan Oo of Lawkzawk to comment that "Wa are being rewarded for their criminal and terrorist activities while the victims are being ignored and neglected." (28 January)

• Yawngkha was known before the Wa resettlement that began in 1999 as Nayao by its natives. Unable to make a living thousands have fled since and 1,700 of them are at the "Internally Displaced People"'s village of Piangfah, across from Chiangrai's Mae Fa Luang District. (The plight of the Wa and the natives are reported in 'Unsettling Moves': The Wa forced resettlement program in Eastern Shan State, by the Lahu National Development Organization, April 2002, at http://www.shanland.org/shrf/Wa/contents.htm.)

The project, initiated by the Thaksin administration and implemented by MR Disanadda Disakul of Doi Tung Project, is, as conceded by one of his members, "still at the confidence-building stage." "We were not allowed even to know how many houses there were in Yawngkha (during our survey trip, 24-28 January)", he said. "Our guide told us stiffly that it wasn't his job to inform us." He went on: "We won't be able to decide what's best for the people until we've studied the living conditions." 

However, following the departure of the Thai survey team, stakes, each attached with a piece of red cloth, were erected to mark the area of the project site. "We were then told to leave because we would not be allowed to live there anymore," said a refugee. Towards the end of the year, it was announced that a school and a hospital would be constructed as a first step. 

According to Unsettling Moves, the total number of arrivals along the border is 125,000, who had displaced 25,000 original occupants. The Wa leadership has given different figures: The number of present Wa settlers is 70,000, which will reach 100,000 by 2005, the year the Wa have targeted as the zero-production year. 

However, the resettlement program so far has failed to achieve any reduction in the drug output by the Wa. "Maybe they don't produce opium anymore up there near the Chinese border," said one Thai officer. "But they are making up for all the deficiency down here." 

The Shan State Army

If the Wa could be considered a winner, then the strongest armed opposition group of Col Yawdserk was obviously the loser. Its statements indicating its willingness to accept a ceasefire status had made no headway with Rangoon, which continued to insist on its total submission. Its fight against the "narco-terrorist" regime that endeared Yawdserk to the Thai populace in 2001, appeared to have turned sour in 2002, after 2 armed drug smugglers, attired in SSA fatigues, were captured dead on 23 March. Pressure on the group slackened only after armed confrontation broke out between the Wa and Thai two days later. 

Its big public event of the year was the capture on 20 May of Pang Maisoong in Mongton Township, across Chiangmai's Wiang Haeng District, a former Shan stronghold that was occupied by the Burmese army following warlord Khun Sa's surrender in 1996. The SSA's claim that it was an anti-drug operation recouped some acclaim from Thailand. The group's daring and ability to withstand the combined Burmese-Wa forces and inflict heavy casualties on them also won grudging admiration even from its critics. 

In the end, the month-long seesaw battle between the two belligerents was terminated by "the need to reconstruct better relations between the countries", according to a border watcher. 

The wounds, however, were hard to heal. Rangoon reopened its borders to Thailand only four months after the hostilities ended. It reinforced its forces facing Shan positions from negligible numbers to close to full strength, adding heavy weapons and artillery. Guns and military transports continued to arrive from China and India. Officers and men who "brought shame to the Tatmadaw" were sacked and punished, including the POWs returned by the SSA. Military exercises have also continued up to the present. 

Not surprisingly, the junta's opponents, including the Shan Democratic Union, the umbrella organization of Shan exiles, have denounced its preparations for war as an "attempt to delay dialogue with the opposition" and have urged it to "make peace not war". It remains to be seen what the effects will be. 

In the meanwhile, the SSA has reaffirmed its anti-narcotics stand and adopted anti-terrorism as one of its tenets without debate at its year-end meeting. It has also promised not to fight unless attacked, that is, along the Thai border. 

And, last but not least, for the benefit of its allies who were worried about its Total Independence position, the meeting declared in effect that an 8-state arrangement, a stand embraced by the opposition in general, would be acceptable to the SSA. 

The ceasefire groups

If, in terms of drugs, the armed opposition groups that made peace with Rangoon, had a hand in helping to boost its international image, politically speaking, there is not much to mention except that more of them have voiced support to the call made in 2001 by six of the groups for Tripartite Dialogue. 

Militarily, some of the groups had participated in Rangoon's relentless fight against the SSA and its supporters during the year, notably Sai Leun of Mong La, Aung Kham Hti of the Pao-National Army and the Kokang. 

Among them, Sai Leun, 56, suffered a second massive stroke and had to be replaced by San Per, a subordinate of Akha origin. Zau Mai, 70, of the UWSA passed away in Panghsang on 31 January. Col Gunyawd, leader of the Shan State National Army and secretary general to the Shan State Peace Council (a joint setup with the Shan State Army "North") and Joint Action Committee (a political setup that includes the SSNA, SSA "North" and Shan Nationalities League for Democracy), 39, spent most of the year in a Rangoon hospital before recovering from a motor accident in February. 

Kokang, the first group to conclude a truce pact with Rangoon, appeared to have fallen out of favor, probably due to its weak stature following bloody infightings and subsequent splits. While junta officials continued to speak in defense of the Wa during regional drug meetings, the Kokang no longer enjoyed such courtesies. In fact, Burmese drug enforcement officers have started to "concede that the real problem is now in the Kokang area… The Kokang are already producing more amphetamines than the Wa." (BBC, 18 January)

Rape report raps Rangoon

It was the biggest thing that had ever happened to the Shans. Nothing in their experience had shaken the generals in Rangoon until this time when License to Rape, the report prepared by women members of the Thai-based Shan Human Rights Foundation and Shan Women's Action Network, came out in June. 

Almost instantly the world rose up in an uproar to condemn the rapes being committed in Shan State by both the officers and men of the Burmese army and the junta pathetically denied the charges it again and again. "It was as though we were shooting and shooting and nothing happened, but all of a sudden the monster came down," according to one activist. 

To which Chao Tzang Yawnghwe, leading Shan activist in exile, concurred. "We could discern some apprehensions among the top brass last year with the ILO making enquiries about the killings of villagers who had complained about forced labor," he said. "But this time they have gone completely nuts." 

Not unexpectedly, Rangoon announced it would look into the matter. The result of their investigations was also not unexpected: The allegations against the military using rape as a weapon of war were both "groundless and baseless" as evidenced by the signatures of the village elders in Shan State who disclaimed charges by the exiles. Untold was how the signatures were obtained. Several sources both in eastern and southern Shan State agreed that villagers were forced to endorse the prepared statements read out by the officials without objection. 

Yet the fact is that regardless of outcries made by the world, rapes committed by soldiers, especially by officers, continued to be reported from Shan State.

Shan refugees

The biggest losers of the year appeared to be Shan villagers across the border in warlord Khun Sa's former domain who had been going through a period of grace under the Burmese military since his surrender in 1996. This somewhat benevolent rule ended abruptly with the first shot fired in Pang Maisoong on 20 May when it was being overrun by the Shan rebels. 

Some 600 men, women and children fled across the border into Thailand to take refuge. Their fellow villagers, more than a hundred families, were less fortunate. 4 of them including a boy of 12 were shot dead. 13 were arrested, beaten, tortured and imprisoned. The rest were ordered to relocate at Nakawngmu, 100-km east of Pang Maisoong and 40 km north of the Chiangmai border. 

Those that were stranded in Thailand were reluctant to return and applied for permanent sanctuary like the Karens and Karennis further south. This was turned down. Asked why, Jaran Ditapichai, a member of Thailand's National Human Rights Commission, offered the following rationalization: "It's because we bear the same name. We are Thai Noi (small Thai) and you are Thai Yai (big Thai)." 

This happened to be a view shared by a retired Thai general of Shan origin, Phon Wanakamon, who was elected president of the Bangkok-based Tai Union on 3 March. "Thais are not trusted by the Burmese because of Shans, whom they also place very little trust in because of the Thais", he said. 

As a result, the refugees, led by Sai Lieng, have expressed a desire to reside in a third country. But according to a UNHCR official, whether or not their dream will come true rests not only on a willing third country but also Thailand's Ministry of Interior. 

The Environment

• The Salween Dam
  After two years of silence, news of its impending construction returned with a vengeance on 26 November when Bangkok Post, quoting Gen Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, deputy premier, reported that Rangoon had given the go-ahead for 4 mega projects, one of which was a series of dams on the Salween. 

Despite protests made by Burma advocacy groups and Senate Foreign Affairs chairman Kraisak Choonhavan's warning that the project would only lead to more human rights violations, thus forcing more oppressed people to seek refuge in Thailand, the Kingdom's MDX Group and Rangoon's Ministry of Electric Power went ahead to sign an MOU on 20 December.

• The Mekong reef blastings
  The Mekong, called by Shans and Laos alike as Namkhawng, flows 234 km along Shan State's eastern border, where natural resources such as timber and minerals are rich. \

Though boats from all the 4 upstream countries, namely China, Burma, Laos and Thailand, had been plowing the waters for years, very few knew beforehand that it would eventually involve the destruction of shoals, reefs and rapids that had nurtured people along the basin regardless of their origins. It came as a surprise when the blasting of two rapids were completed during the period, 29 March - 15 April. 

Activists subsequently lodged a petition to China on 12 December to halt the second batch of blastings of 16 more rapids located between Burma's Shan State and Laos during the period 15 December - 15 March. The main complaint: The project is being implemented without the participation of the affected people. 

Observers said given the huge amount of weight China carried among its neighbors, it was unlikely to be cancelled. 

• The Kengtawng hydropower project
  Kengtawng is little known to the outside world. But to Shans, the name connotes romance and beauty as depicted by one of their most beloved poets, Nang Khamku. 

Nine months after the attempt by Chinese engineers to build a dam at Kengtawng's 795 ft high Zong-arng waterfalls, a team of Japanese arrived in September escorted by the Burmese military. On 15 November, Gen Maung Aye, Burma's No. 2 man, who was visiting there was reported to have nodded his approval to the project, that involves 3 turbines generating 30 megawatts of power in the first phase and another turbine generating 15 megawatts in the second phase. 

Villagers told S.H.A.N., "They didn't tell us whom the electricity generated will feed, but we simply know it's not for the likes of us." 

The exiles

If there is any blame to be attached to the Shan Democratic Union and its affiliated groups, it is certainly not for "being inactive". 

Many of their members were globe-trotting ambassadors, sometimes using their own personal funds like the SDU's general secretary, Wansai, who was in the Hague on 20 January to inform the Conference on Decolonization that in Burma, the union was "defunct' because under the military rule, non-Burman states had become "de facto colonies." His presentation that if states fail to fulfill 3 fundamental tasks: 

• Protection of the people

• Promotion of the population's welfare

• Representing the interests of the population externally, then that state or government concerned lacks legitimacy was well received by the conference, according to him. 

By February, he was in Lisbon with his sidekick, Saw Sarky from the Karen National Union; April in Madrid, May in Athens to meet the next president of the European Union and later in Copenhagen to attend the International Burma Summit. Their line was that of the Ethnic Nationalities Solidarity and Cooperation Committee formed in August 2001 that proposed "to speak on behalf of the non-Burman nationalities in order to bring about Tripartite Dialogue." According to Sarky, their trips were important "as the ethnic point of view is often overlooked." 

They were also active in the state constitution drafting activities. The Constitution Drafting Commission of Shan State (CDC-S), led by SDU's spokesperson Sao Sengsuk, had staunchly resisted pressures from some quarters to produce a first draft, saying, "The first task, that is the ongoing popular survey trips and awareness raising activities must be completed, because we want it to be acceptable to the majority of the people and participation from all sectors of our society as well." 

Meanwhile, the exiled Shans had not limited their activities to Shans and non-Burmans, but had also worked in cooperation with other Burmese democratic movements. Their role in this sphere appeared to be such that some Burman politicians had reportedly grumbled about the Burmese opposition being "hijacked" by the "Yawnghwe Brothers", namely Chao Tzang and Harn.

The Shan party

Khun Toon Oo, president of the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy that won the most seats in Shan State in 1990 and legitimate leader of his home state, began the year with an interview on 20 January that he was "optimistic we will reach Tripartite Dialogue this year." 

On 31 July, he succeeded in forming the United Nationalities Alliance, an informal coalition of 8 ethnic parties, that aimed "to prepare for the eventual tripartite talks" according to his explanation. 

Later on 23 October, he joined Burma's "shadow legislature", the Committee Representing People's Parliament (CRPP), described as "an effort to break the current stalemate". 

However, towards the end of the year, Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, UN human rights rapporteur, concluded that Burma was yet to have a road map for political reform and that it was still a long way off from Tripartite Dialogue. 

The SNLD also suffered setbacks during the year. On 12 February, its annual Union Day party, attended by opposition politicians and diplomats last year, was stopped by the authorities. 

The Shan leader's followers also voiced disappointment when Aung San Suu Kyi, his "sworn ally", made a successful "promotion" trip to Shan State in November without informing him. 

He suffered his "humiliation" quietly, according to the party's general secretary, Sai Nood. (Presumably to soothe Shans' feeling, The Lady made an apology on 21 November "as a Burman" for the weak efforts made by the Burman majority in fostering national unity with the non-Burmans.) 

The only positive indicator for the new year comes from The Lady herself, who told Reuters on 11 December, that talks between NLD and the junta had made some progress and that she was hopeful of progress towards political reform "by this time next year. Some political change can even take place within months." 

Quotes of the year

Question of Secession
(The non-Burmans)' aim is to achieve equality and Self-Determination both in political and administrative affairs … So long as they enjoy these rights, I don't think they will break away. 
Khun Toon Oo, Bangkok Post, 10 May 2002

Ceasefire comes before talks
If a genuine dialogue is desired, a 60-day or 90-day nationwide ceasefire should be announced beforehand… We must then work together to reach a common position. 
(Khun Toon Oo, DVB, 19 May 2002)

At ease, non-Burmans
Our NLD believes that without the participation of the ethnic nationalities, it is not possible to really resolve the political problems of Burma… (However) it is not possible to know exactly when or under what conditions they can participate. 
Aung San Suu Kyi (RFA, 17 May 2002)

The meaning of Tripartite Dialogue
Tripartite Dialogue is dialogue on 3 issues - democracy, dictatorship and the constitutional issues - not three actors or groups sitting at the dialogue table. 
Chao Tzang Yawnghwe, 22 May 2002