The United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC) did not take part in the decision of the Nippon Foundation, the Japanese philanthropic organization, to issue warning to the Shan State Army (SSA) ‘South’ to suspend its humanitarian aid assistance if the group failed to participate in the UNFC activities, said the grouping at a meeting in Chiangmai on 1 May.
“It was not our policy,” said Nai Hong Sa, Secretary General of the 11-party UNFC. “In fact, we had welcomed the Foundation’s earlier decision to extend aid to areas under non-UNFC movements.”

His joint secretary # 2 Hkun Okker concurred. “Each movement’s right of self determination must be respected,” he said. “At the same time, we also understand the Foundation’s concern that we cannot achieve anything by working alone.”

The Nippon Foundation, whose Chairman Yohei Sasakawa has been appointed by the Shinzo Abe government since February as special envoy to facilitate reconciliation, informed the Restoration Council of Shan State / Shan State Army (RCSS/SSA), the official label for the SSA ‘South’, on 31 March that further aid would be reviewed if it refused to take part in the UNFC activities.


The RCSS/SSA is not a member of the alliance. The warning came after the first batch of rice, 6,000 bags (303 tons), was delivered, for the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) that have taken refuge with the group.

The foundation, since early last year, has openly thrown its support for the UNFC. It had also organized the grouping’s visit to Japan early last month to meet Mr Abe and his ministers. The 23 member delegation was led by its chairman Lt-Gen N.Ban La, who concurrently holds a vice chairmanship in the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO)
The RCSS/SSA spokesman Maj Lao Hseng said the group’s standing principle was that it would join only a state-based (in contrast to organization-based) alliance.

“Aid should not be used as a weapon,” commented a non-Shan participant at the meeting.
Related report: Aid group warns Shan movement with aid suspension, 25 April 2013, www.panglong.org.