Rebel leader

Rebel leader: Odds on another border conflict

Despite the initiatvive of Thailand to broker a mediation, the winds of war have risen up to 70%, said Col Yawdserk, leader of the Shan State Army 'South', during a recent interview at his Loi Taileng base, opposite Maehongson. 

"Reinforcements, supplies, heavy weapons and even armored vehicles have continued to arrive in border areas east of the Salween", he told S.H.A.N.. "The presence of artillery pieces and tanks, pointless as they are against us, suggests Rangoon is determined to use them against Thai forces that might get in their way." 

The military authorities of Burma might also employ another means to soften the Thai resolve to protect its territorial integrity as well as its citizens living close to the border, he continued: "Unilateral closure of border checkpoints by Rangoon had, in the past, produced desired results. We can therefore expect another one of this kind when the offensive starts." 

The 45-year old Yawdserk, who also doubles as Chairman of the Restoration Council of Shan State, assured he was not looking forward to the upcoming conflict. "Soldiers on both sides die and people suffer in war," he said. "I would therefore prefer a political resolution. However, if negotiated peace is not on their agenda, we are prepared to fight for our cause like hornets. We can even abandon our Loi Taileng, if necessary, but we shall never give up the struggle of our people." 

Surrender, he said, was out of the question. "The Mong Tai Army surrendered (in 1996) with more than 10,000 fighters and 7,000 weapons. The result was the loss of homes, lands and lives of our people on an unprecedented scale. This experience should serve as a reminder to those who say surrender is the solution." 

According to Dispossessed, a report produced by Shan Human Rights Foundation, the 1996 Shan submission was followed by three-year long forced relocations of 1,500 villages in central Shan State, comprising at least 300,000 people, of whom no less than 660 were killed by the Burma Army. Most of the rape cases described by in License to Rape http://www.shanland.org/shrf/License_to_Rape/license_to_rape.htm, another report by Shan Human Rights Foundation and Shan Women's Action Action Network, also took place during the period. 

Later on 13 February, Yawdserk released a statement saying Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's success in the proposed mediation process depended entirely on the sincerity of the generals in Rangoon.