On 5 May, Sai Ai Keng, chairman of village level Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD) from Pengtao tract, Kengtung, township was detained by government authorities and has been accused of having a gun given by the Restoration Council of Shan State / Shan State Army (RCSS/SSA).

The En are known in Shan State as “the gentlest” of all the races there. “No more honest people can be found anywhere,” according to both Shan and Lahu sources.

All of the sources inquired by SHAN believe Ai Keng must have been framed by the authorities.

The following is an article from ‘Undercurrents’, an annual newsletter published by the Lahu National Development Organization (LNDO) on the En.