Myanmar-China pipeline firms must share profits, says Shan MP
Namsan Township MP Aung Tun has called in parliament
for the Burmese and Chinese oil and gas firms who operate pipelines through Kyaukme
District in northern Shan State to pay a percentage of profits to the Shan
State government.
“The oil and gas pipeline operations of Myanmar and
China should pay about a 5 percent profit share to the Shan State regional government,”
the Ta’ang (Palaung) National Party representative said, addressing lawmakers
yesterday at a parliamentary session in Shan State capital Taunggyi.
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| Aung Tun, an MP from the Ta’ang (Palaung) National Party representing Namsan Township Constituency No. 2 |
“If this pipeline project impacts upon the local
population, it is the Shan State government’s responsibility to take care of
the people,” said Aung Tun. “My question is that if such things happen, how
will they help local people?”
His question was answered by Shan State Minister for Natural Resources and Environmental
Conservation Dr. Nyi Nyi Aung, who suggested that the matter be raised
at a national level in Naypyidaw.
“This question cannot be answered at a state level,”
he said. “It is not [the regional government’s] responsibility.”
The controversial Sino-Myanmar
pipeline is financed by the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) in
coordination with state-owned Myanma Oil & Gas Enterprise. It spans from
Kyaukphyu in Rakhine State, western Burma, to Kunming in China’s southwestern
Yunnan Province, a distance of 771 kilometres. Operations on the project were
initiated in 2009. The pipeline carrying natural gas to China was opened in
October 2013, and the pipeline transporting crude oil was completed in August
2014.
However the US$2.5 billion project has
incurred the wrath of protesters in Burma who claim that the project will have
adverse social and environmental impacts.
But for China the trans-Burmese
pipeline carves a short-cut that allows its ships from Africa and the Middle
East to avoid the treacherous and time-consuming Malacca Straits voyage.
Beijing has maintained pressure on successive Burmese governments not to waver
in the same way that the Myitsone Dam hydropower in Kachin State was halted by
public opinion.
The current Shan State parliament session
is scheduled from 28 August to 1 September. Other items tabled for debate include
state finance, and infrastructure including the laying of telecommunications
lines in rural areas.
Shan Herald Agency for News (SHAN)
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UWSA offers to compensate for confiscated lands in Mong Pawk
The United Wa State Army (UWSA) has pledged to pay
compensation to locals in Mong Pawk whose lands were confiscated during the
construction of a development project in the eastern Shan State town.
According to an UWSA official, the decision to
financially recompense the villagers was taken at a meeting last week headed by
Pawk Aik Pan, commander of UWSA Brigade 468. It was agreed that all previous
owners of land, houses and rice fields that were seized would be compensated.
The UWSA say they will pay 3,500 yuan ($US525) for
each mu (Chinese measurement equivalent to 1.647 acres) of confiscated
land. They have also offered to set up electricity and water facilities for the
affected villagers.
The new town development project in Mong Pawk
required the clearance of about 3,000 acres of land, according to Ar Pong, a UWSA battalion commander in Mong Pawk,
speaking to Shan Herald last month.
Aik Nub, a UWSA official who
attended last week’s meeting, confirmed yesterday to Shan Herald that
the compensation had been agreed, but could not say exactly when the payments
would be made.
The land and buildings of 32
households in an ethnic Lahu village named Jadawkhar were among those
confiscated.
“If we sold our land we would get 70,000-100,000
yuan per mu,” said Nar Wee, a resident who was forced out. “But they
will only pay us 3,000-3,500 yuan. Then we’ll have to rebuild our homes by
ourselves – but not in the new town. We will have to build near the forest or
the mountain which is far from the town.”
The new town project was started in July by the
UWSA, which is arguably the strongest ethnic armed group in Burma with a troop strength of up to 30,000.
The UWSA has signed bilateral
accords with the government; however it declined to sign the Nationwide
Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) with President Thein Sein’s administration in October
2015.
By Shan Herald Agency for News (SHAN)
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2 children infected with H1N1 in Kyaukme
Two children in Kyaukme Township, northern Shan
State, are have been infected with swine flu, according to an MP from the Shan
Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD).
Sai Tun Nyun, an SNLD MP representing Kyaukme, who
has been assisting in a health awareness campaign about the H1N1 virus, told Shan
Herald that he was advised by Dr. Aung Aung, the head of the local health
department, that two children were diagnosed with H1N1 on August 13.
“These two children, aged about 7-8, were brought to
Kyaukme Hospital on August 9. They are from Pakar village, Tawsarng village
tract, in Kyaukme,” he said. “Their blood was sent for testing in Yangon and
found to be carrying the swine flu virus.”
He said that the young victims’ condition is not
serious, and that their health is good. They will remain in hospital for
treatment, Sai Tun Nyun said.
Since early August, seven people have been diagnosed
with the H1N1 flu strain across Shan State and another four are currently being
tested, according to Dr. Sai Zaw Win Hlaing, the
deputy of Shan State’s Public Health Department.
Throughout the country, 25 persons have
died from the disease and another 242 have been confirmed infected.
By Shan Herald Agency for News (SHAN)
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Burmese troops shoot at trucks in Lashio
Two vehicles were shot at by Burma government
soldiers when they failed to stop at a checkpoint in northern Shan State’s Lashio Township.
The incident happened at about 5 pm on August 8 in
Ei Nai village, Ei Nai tract, Lashio Township, and involved the drivers of two
4WD trucks travelling from Namtu Township to Lashio.
“These two 4WD trucks drove
past the gate and didn’t stop,” said Sai Wan Leng Kham, an Upper House MP from the
Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD) representing Lashio Township. “The
soldiers shot at them and one vehicle was hit on its bonnet.”
He added: “The
shooting also hit three nearby houses. One 60-year-old woman was quite badly shocked.”
MP Sai Wan Leng Kham said that, following the
shooting, people in the area are rather afraid. He said he would investigate
the incident and report on it in parliament.
“A shooting like this can
easily cause a fire or kill someone,” he said. “We have to bring this case onto the floor of a parliamentary
session. If we do nothing, incidents like this will happen
again in the future.”
By Shan Herald Agency for News (SHAN)
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4 infected with H1N1 in Taunggyi, 3 under observation
Four people in Shan State capital Taunggyi have been confirmed infected with
the H1N1 virus, while three others are under observation, according to the deputy
of Shan State’s Public Health Department.
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| Dr. Sai Zaw Win Hlaing, deputy of Shan State’s Public Health Department, Taunggyi Township. |
Dr. Sai Zaw Win Hlaing said that four swine flu victims have been identified:
a three-year-old girl from Paya Phyu tract of Taunggyi Township; and a five-year-old
girl, a 37-year-old man, and a pregnant woman, aged 27, all from Heho Township.
“The two girls and the woman are being treated at the Women’s and Children’s
Hospital. The man is receiving treatment at Sao Jarm Tun Hospital,” he said.
“The other three patients are undergoing tests.”
In late July, two patients were diagnosed with H1N1 at a military hospital
in eastern Shan State’s Kengtung Township.
By
July 21, the Ministry of Health and Sport said, 17 persons had died from swine
flu across Burma, while 166 people had tested positively to the virus. Currently,
the government said, more than 400 persons are undergoing tests throughout the
country.
Since 2009, swine flu, also known as A (H1N1), has been among the strains of influenza that have
spread in Burma during a global pandemic. However, until this year no deaths
had been reported.
Shan Herald Agency for News (SHAN)
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Senior monk killed in Mong Nai
A Buddhist abbot was killed by an unknown culprit or
culprits on Wednesday in the southern Shan State township of Mong Nai, according
to local sources.
Venerable Sao Kaelasa, the head of Wat Oot temple in
Mong Nai, was reportedly on his way by motorbike to pick up a Buddhist novice
in the village of Wan Loi at about 5pm when he was attacked and left for dead
at the roadside. His motorbike was taken.
“U Sao Kaelasa went to look for the novice monk as
it was getting dark. There where he was attacked.” said Sai Tun Hla, the head
of an aid group in Mong Nai Township. “When the novice returned he found the
abbot had been stabbed in the heart with a metal stick. He must have died at
the scene of the crime.
“The police and some villagers brought his body back
to the temple for funeral rites,” he added.
Police say they are investigating but at the moment
there does not appear to be any motif of conflict or of a personal nature.
Sao Kaelasa’s grieving mother said that some locals
are speculating that he was killed by drug users because there are many addicts
in the area.
“[Abbot] Sao Khu had wanted to be a monk ever since
he was a boy,” she told Shan Herald. “He was ordained as a novice when
he was only 10 year old. He was a good son. He always practiced the Buddha’s teachings.”
Some 90 percent of the Burmese population
is Buddhist, and monks and abbots are highly respected across the society. They act as spiritual leaders
within their communities and also perform important duties at weddings and funerals.
“If this happened because of his karma, so be it,” said
his mother.
By Shan Herald Agency for News (SHAN)
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300 left homeless after Nai Soi Refugee camp fire
More than 300 people have
lost their homes after a fire destroyed a small neighbourhood in Nai Soi
refugee camp in northern Thailand last week. No casualties have been reported.
According to Shalea, a
resident in Nai Soi, also known as Karenni Refugee Camp (1), the fire broke out
at about 10pm on July 5. He said that he didn’t know the cause of the fire.
“It may have been from a candle,”
he told Shan Herald by telephone. “It happened at night when most people
were already asleep. Thirty-three houses burnt down and about 300 residents left
without shelter.”
Thai police are
investigating the cause of the blaze, he added.
Nai Soi was original established on the Karenni State side of the
border in 1989 to house villagers fleeing conflict in eastern Burma. The
camp was relocated several times before it was
finally settled at its present location in March 1996. Currently, Nai Soi
refugee camp houses about 8,000 people, most of whom are ethnic Karenni.
Nai Soi has been the victim of several
fires in recent years; more than 40 people were killed in a blaze in 2013 and
about 400 left homeless.
“It is lucky this time that no one got
hurt,” said Maw Mya, a Nai Soi refugee who witnessed last week’s fire. “However,
this type of incident affects everyone psychologically.”
By Shan Herald Agency for News (SHAN)
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Harn Yawnghwe blacklisted by NLD Govt
Harn Yawnghwe,
a son of Burma’s first president Sao Shwe Thaike, has been blacklisted by the
National League for Democracy (NLD) government led by State Counselor Aung San
Suu Kyi.
Unable to extent
his visa, on June 9 he was forced to leave the country.
“Over the past
few years, it was never difficult for him [Harn Yawnghwe] to get a one-year
visa. He would be issued one within a week. He has been applying [for a visa] since
April but still didn’t get it,” said Khuensai Jaiyen, the managing director of
Pyidaungsu Institute for Peace and Dialogue (PI). “When he contacted the Burmese
embassy in Canada, they said they didn’t know anything about it.”
Khuensai
added: “Any visa ban is ordered by the Burmese Ministry for Foreign Affairs.”
There is a
rumor that the reason Harn Yawnghwe was blacklisted is because he has been
increasingly seen as an influential person in the ethnic political arena. He is
often accused by critics of masterminding the peace process single-handedly. Harn
Yawnghwe and his Euro Burma Office (EBO) organization has been one of the main
funders of civil society groups and ethnic armed organizations involved in
Burma’s peace process.
The EBO was established in 1997 with an agenda to promote
democracy and human rights. It was allowed to set up a branch office in Burma a
few weeks after Harn Yawnghwe met Naypyidaw’s chief negotiator Aung Min in
Bangkok in September 2011.
Khuensai Jaiyen said that Harn Yawnghwe has been a key player
in Burma’s peace process dating back to President Thein Sein’s initiative in
2011, frequently helping to facilitate talks between the Burmese government and
ethnic armed groups.
“In my opinion, this marks a failure for the State Counselor’s
peace process,” said Khuensai Jaiyen. “If he is not allowed to enter the
country, the peace process that the State Counselor is leading will face
problems. They should not ban him on the basis of these suspicions.
They should have talked with him face to face.”
Apart from Harn Yawnghwe, two other staff from EBO
are also on the blacklist.
Currently, EBO is helping to support the eight
nationwide ceasefire agreement signatory groups to set up liaison offices
inside the country.
Han Yawnghwe is the youngest son of Sao Shwe
Thaike, the prince of Yawnghwe who was the first president of Burma from 1948-52.
One of his brothers was shot dead when Gen. Ne Win staged a coup d’état in 1962. He and his mother, Sao Nang Hearn Kham, the founder of the
Shan State Army, immediately fled the country. He was allowed to return to
Burma in 2011 during the early days of the military-backed Thein Sein
government.
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Shan Resistance Day marked in Wanhai, Loi Tai Leng
The
annual celebrations for Shan Resistance Day were held on May 21 at the two
largest Shan armed organizations’ HQs—Loi Tai Leng, base of the Restoration
Council of Shan State (RCSS) on the Shan-Thai border; and at Wanhai in central
Shan State, the nerve center of the Shan State Progress Party (SSPP).
Organizers
estimate that around a thousand people attended the 59th anniversary
event at Wanhai in southern Shan State, where SSPP soldiers conducted a military
parade.
Speaking
at Wanhai, SSPP/SSA superintendent Gen. Hsoten said, “We continue to bear arms in
order to protect our people. We are determined to continue our armed struggle alongside
the people. Conflict may exit among us with regard to our rights and differing views.
But for the sake of unity and stability, we must tolerate one another. At this
time next year, we will be commemorating the 60th Shan Resistance Day.
If we were to compare that with a person’s life, we would say that it is time to
send him off to a home for retirees.”
He
continued: “However, for those of us who claim to be ‘freedom fighters,’ there
is no retirement. The length of our resistance may be advancing, so we must
adapt as though we were continually youthful and strong.
“Be
quick! Be fast! Be true [to the cause]!” he appealed to the partisan crowd. “We
need to build our strength year by year. Only then can we protect the public. The
day that our army breaks away from the people is the day the army is
disintegrated. Please stand for our people’s interests as a people’s army.”
At Loi
Tai Leng, central command post of the RCSS/SSA, the military parade and
festivities were reportedly attended by some 3,000 people. RCSS leader Gen.
Yawd Serk addressed the audience, emphasizing the need to maintain a sustainable
and stable peace in accordance with the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA).
“Being an NCA signatory,
we have been maintaining peace as mandated in the accord. And also, as we are a
legal organization, if you face arrest for associating with the RCSS, please
report the matter to our nearest liaison office. We will continue to fulfill
our commitment and uphold the promise of our political objectives,” said Yawd
Serk.
Pa
Nang Lu – wife of Sao Noi Soyanta, the man considered the father of modern Shan
resistance – also took to the stage. She spoke about how her husband led Shan
youths against the ruthless Burmese army, and how he founded the Shan armed
forces, known as num serk han – the “young warriors” who evolved into
today’s Shan State Army.
The RCSS
ceremony concluded with a wreath-laying ceremony to commemorate the martyrs who
sacrificed their lives defending the Shan cause.
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10,000 Laikha residents do not have ID cards: SNLD
At least 10,000 residents
in southern Shan State’s Laikha Township do not hold either identity cards or household
registration documents, according to a leading member of the local branch of
the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD).
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| Burmese Identity Card |
“There are about
50,000 people in Laikha,” Sai Kawng Kham, the head of SNLD’s Laikha office,
told Shan Herald after his party had met with villagers on May 11. “However,
more than 10,000 do not have ID cards.”
His comment came
after the SNLD had arranged a series of meetings with villagers in Parngsang,
Namlue, Thatmauk, Wanheng and Nong Kaw to listen to their problems and learn
more about their communities.
“The villagers face
several hurdles if they don’t have ID cards,” Sai Kawng Kham said. “They asked
us to help them obtain IDs and household registration documents. They said that
they originally wanted the government to come to their villages and make the
documents for them because they live so far from any major town.”
He said that the
reason so many villagers in that region do not have ID cards is because they
never need them – they rarely if ever travel anywhere.
He added that those
who do have IDs say they have never had to use them; some said they hid them
under the roofing tiles of their thatched houses, and they sometimes became
damaged.
On December 15, 2016, The Irrawaddy reported on its
English website that of the 51 to 53 million citizens in Burma, only about
37 million own ID cards.
By
Shan Herald Agency for News (SHAN)
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23 landmines uncovered near Namtu temple
Twenty-three landmines have been discovered, planted
near the temple compound where a blast occurred on Monday, causing serious injury to eight novice monks.
“After the bomb blast that wounded eight
novice monks, the following day local authorities and community leaders went to
the area and uncovered more than twenty mines near the temple,” Nang Kham Phong,
a local aid worker in Namtu, told Shan
Herald on Thursday.
“The mines were buried east of Zeya
Sukha Temple in Mong Yen Tract, Namtu Township,” said Nang Kham Phong. “They
have now been moved to the local military office.”
Many years ago, the Burma military
set up positions in this village. When they withdrew from the area the
villagers reclaimed their lands.
According to an official from the local
administration, authorities suspect there could be many more devices planted in
and around Mong Yen. He said that that the landmines may have been planted in a line, but
otherwise they had no idea how to locate them. He said that the local
administration could not be the ones to take responsibility for this.
Burma was ranked third most dangerous
country in the world for landmines in 2014 behind only Colombia and
Afghanistan, according to the Landmine and
Cluster Munition Monitor, a research and monitoring arm of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL).
A report from the Landmine and Cluster
Munition Monitor published in November 2016 reads: “In September 2016, Deputy Minister of Defense
Maj-Gen Myint Nwe informed the Myanmar parliament that the army continues to
use landmines in internal armed conflict. At
the same session, a Member of Parliament from Shan State stated that ‘it can’t
be denied that non-state armed groups are also using landmines…particularly
since 2012.’”
Landmine explosions are
regularly reported across Shan State. On July 7, 2015, Shan Herald
reported that a 70-year-old woman was killed after stepping on a landmine near a
Burmese military compound in northern Shan State’s Hsenwi Township.
Another case occurred in northern Shan State’s Hsipaw Township on July 22 last year, when a villager
and his eight-year-old daughter were seriously
injured
by a landmine explosion when they went into a forest to cut firewood.
According to an ICBL
report in November 2015, 396 people had been killed, 3,145 injured, and 204
affected in an unknown extent by landmines in Burma since 1999. However, the
report noted that the real figure could be much higher.
By Shan Herald Agency for
News (SHAN)
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Muse residents protest People’s Militia plans to tax pier users
Some 300 local residents staged a demonstration in
Muse Township on Tuesday to protest a plan by the Namkham-based Myoma People’s
Militia to take control of a pier at a river crossing in the village of Nong
Kho.
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Some 300 Nong Kho residents gathered at
the banks of Mao River in Muse Township to protest against the Myoma People’s
Militia plans to tax pier users
|
According to village headman Sai Soi, about 300
residents gathered in Nong Kho, which lies between the strategic towns of Muse
and Namkham in northern Shan State, to voice their opposition to the militia’s
moves to supervise the pier on the Mao River also known as Shweli River.
“This jetty has been used for many generations. It
was built about 100 years ago with wood,” he said. “Now the Myoma People’s
Militia group is planning to rebuild it from metal and then collect taxes from
those who cross the river [by boat].”
Sai Soi said that the militia didn’t discuss details
with local people, but it was clear that they intended to move their men in
when construction is complete.
“They used guns to scare us when they started rebuilding
the pier,” he added. “That’s why we have come out to protest. We strongly
disagree with their operations. We just want things to stay as they are.”
On April 4, ten representatives from Nong Kho met
with leaders of the Myoma People’s Militia. Sai Soi said the villagers requested
that no taxes be collected from local people at the pier. However, the militia
group reportedly replied that they had invested much in the pier, so they had
to collect taxes to repay that.
The Myoma People Militia is a splinter group from
its former allies the Panhsay Militia, led by Lao Sam. Both are backed by the
Burmese army.
By Shan Herald Agency for News (SHAN)
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2 shot dead, 1 injured by gunman in Mong Kung
Two men were shot dead and another injured by
unknown assailants in southern Shan State’s Mong Kung Township.
According to a local activist who wished to remain
anonymous, the incident occurred on the evening of April 3, near Parng Kethu
tract, 19 miles from Mong Kung. Two men died at the scene while the other was
taken to a local hospital.
“The three victims were identified as Loong Teaja,
Loong Sarng Su Lai and Sai Sarng Htun,” said the source. “Loong Teaja and Loong
Sarng Su Lai died immediately. Sai Sarng Htun was wounded on his hands and taken
to hospital.”
The source said no eye-witnesses had come forward
nor clues established. However, he said, it was suspected that the victims were
shot by a people’s militia group as an act of vengeance because Loong Teaja had
been a soldier for the Wanparng People’s Militia No. 758, whose leader Maj. Sai Toi was assassinated in
September last year.
The Wanparng People’s
Militia has been active in Namsarng and Lai Kha townships. Before its former leader
Col. Murngzuen surrendered to the Burmese military in 2005, the militia had
been armed as Brigade 758 of the Restoration Council of Shan State/Shan State
Army (RCSS/SSA).
However when Col.
Murngzuen was killed in 2010, leadership passed to Maj. Sai Toi who soon after
suffered a similar fate.
By Shan Herald Agency for
News (SHAN)
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SNLD patron Loong Hein Swe Moe passes away, aged 91
Loong [Uncle] Hein Swe Moe, the patron of the Shan
Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD), passed away yesterday at the age of
91 in Mandalay, according to the party’s spokesperson.
Sai Leik confirmed that the party veteran died
peacefully on the afternoon of April 6 in his home in Marthayar, Mandalay. His
body is to be cremated on Saturday.
“Loong Hein Swe Moe was a respected person,” he
said. “When the SNLD was established in 1988 in Yangon, at that time U Thet Win
was the chairman. But it wasn’t very successful because it did not include the
Mandalay members. When they held another meeting in 1989, Khun Htun Oo was
selected as chairman and Loong Hein Swe Moe became patron.”
He added: “He has been our party patron ever since.”
The SNLD spokesman further praised Loong Hein Swe
Moe, noting that his house was a regular venue for party meetings. He took
responsibility for everything, including food, accommodation and transportation,
said Sai Leik.
Prominent in several avenues of Shan affairs, Loong
Hein Swe Moe was also the patron for the Shan Literature and Culture Association
in Mandalay since its establishment.
Loong Hein Swe Moe was an ethnic Palaung from
northern Shan State’s Namhsan Township. He married Nang Ei Kham Leang, who passed
away about 10 years ago. He leaves behind six children.
By Shan Herald Agency for News (SHAN)
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Hsipaw civilian killed by unknown assailants
A community leader in
northern Shan State’s Hsipaw Township was shot dead by an unknown gunman or
group on Sunday, according to local source.
 |
Sai Sarng Pe dead body at the scene on February 26
|
Sai Kyaw Sein, the headman
of Nam Ma tract, told Shan Herald
that the village headman, Sai Sarng Pe, aged 57, was killed on February 26 at
about 4:30pm near his farm in Nar Koon, Nam Ma tract, Hsipaw Township. He said
that the victim was pronounced dead at the scene.
“Sai Sarng Pe is the leading
member of the community in Nam Ma tract,” he said. “No one knows who shot him
and who is behind the murder.”
He said that he was shot at
close range, a matter deduced by the fact that his body was beside his car which
was not hit by any bullets.
“The gunman was clearly
experienced with weapons because the shots were to vital areas such as his
forehead and his stomach,” he said.
“We want this case to bring to
justice because Sai Sarng Pe was a respected person. He has been one of the
community leaders for more 30 years. We want to know the truth about what
happened.
“In any case, whether this
was related to drugs or logging, the matter should have been taken to court,
not resolved in this [violent] way,” he added. “If assassinations are allowed
to occur, then no one will want to be village headman. They will be too
afraid.”
He said they have reported the
matter to the local authorities but have not heard about any progress.
This type of murder is happening
in Shan State regularly, according to Sai Hor Hseng, the spokesperson of the Shan Human Rights
Foundation (SHRF), an active non-profit organization monitoring, investigating
and reporting human rights violations and abuses in the region. He said that
this is because there is no rule of law in Burma.
“The law cannot be
enforced across the country, especially in remote areas, because there is no
rule of law and the government also does not have the power to do it.
“When local people are faced
with problems like this they do not know who to ask for help,” he explained. “Even
though they are the leaders in the community they are frightened. They are
afraid to become headman because they do not want to deal with the problems.”
He added: “Our people
have been oppressed for so many years. The government must somehow step in and
protect its citizens.”
By Shan Herald Agency for News (SHAN)
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Lashio man dies from landmine blast
A civilian died on Saturday from injuries sustained after stepping on a landmine in Mong Kyat tract in northern Shan State’s Lashio Township, according to a local source.
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| The map shows the location of landmine explosion. |
“We do not know who planted the landmine,” said Sai Long, a resident in Mong Kyat tract. “The Tatmadaw [Burmese armed forces] used to be based nearby in Kunlong, and many armed groups laid minefields around here.”
In addition to the Tatmadaw’s Light Infantry Battalion 312, several other militias are known to be active in the area: the Manpang People’s Militia; the Kachin Defense Army (KDA); the Shan State Progress Party/Shan State Army (SSPP/SSA); and the United Wa State Army (UWSA).
The local source told Shan Herald that following Sai Yihaw’s death, his brother was too afraid to carry his body back to the village for fear of reprisals. Instead he reported the matter to the local authorities and requested help from local MPs.
Sai Wan Leng Kham, an MP from the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD) representing Lashio Township, said, “As a government representative, it is very difficult to undertake development plans in this area because of the ongoing conflict. We do not know where and when fighting will erupt and where all the mines are hidden.
“I urge all sides to put an end to this cycle of violence, and to cease reinforcing their troops in this area,” he said, adding: “They should bring these matters to the negotiation table.”
On February 8, another landmine explosion was reported in this area, according to local resident Sai Naw, who told Shan Herald that three water buffalos had been killed in the blast.”
By Shan Herald Agency for News (SHAN)
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Mantong villagers fear returning to conflict zone
Some 150 villagers who fled their homes in Mantong
Township last month due to fighting between Burmese government forces and the
Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) say they are now afraid to go home.
 |
| A makeshift refugee camp in Hsipaw Township where the villagers are staying |
According to Sai Win Aung, an aid worker who is
assisting the displaced persons in northern Shan State’s Hsipaw Township, the families
are unwilling to chance going back due to the uncertain conflict situation.
“Although they [the Burmese army and TNLA] are not
engaged in hostilities at this very moment, the situation is still very tense,”
he told Shan Herald. “The villagers are worried that if they go back and
the clashes resume, they will be caught in the middle and unable to get out.”
He added: “The villagers are also afraid of a new
wave of conscription and tax collection in the area [by the TNLA].”
According to Nang San
San Aye, an MP from the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD) representing
Hsipaw Township Constituency No 2, local community leaders have gathered to
discuss ways to resolve the problem.
“As the villagers are unable to go
home, we are now discussing ways to help them,” she said. “We are also
examining the possibility of expanding the village where they are sheltering or
creating a new village for them, and we are checking to make sure it can be done
in accordance with the law.”
On January 5, Shan Herald
reported that since the
beginning of January some 1,300 civilians from Mantong Township have fled their
homes. They are currently sheltering at six camps in Namtu Township.
Civilians in the townships of
Namsan, Namtu, Mantong, Kyaukme and Kutkhai have been regularly displaced since November 20 last year due to fighting between government troops and the newly proclaimed
Northern Alliance, which comprises the Arakan Army (AA), Kachin Independence
Army (KIA), Myanmar Nationalities Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) and the TNLA.
By Shan Herald Agency for News (SHAN)
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Kachins rally at Burmese consulate in Chiang Mai
Dozens of expatriate Kachin
people staged a protest today in front of the Burmese consulate in the northern
Thai city of Chiang Mai, calling for a cessation to the armed conflict in
Kachin State and northern Shan State.
According to a statement
released by the protesters, Burmese government forces continue to oppress the
ethnic people in those regions despite the election of a democratic leadership
in Burma in November 2015.
“In September 2016,
government forces attacked the Kachin outpost of Laipaung,” read the statement.
“Each time they launched an assault, they employed heavy weapons, assisted by fighting
jets to conduct bombing raids. Each time they dropped more than 1,000 bombs. What’s
more, they bombed a refugee camp, causing a huge impact on those refugees.”
Speaking to Shan Herald,
Jai Ji, one of the organizers, accused the Burmese armed forces of targeting
places where civilians had sought refuge or shelter.
“People are suffering due to
the actions of the tatmadaw [Burmese military],” he said. “This is a
very cold time of year, and people suffer when they have to abandon their
homes.”
Thursday’s statement also claimed
that, since 2011, the Burmese armed forces’ offensives in Kachin State have
compelled civilians to flee their homes and villages, but they have been
frequently prevented from crossing the border into China. It said many had been
left on the side of the road without any protection.
Rally spokesperson Nawkham
said, “We requested assistance from the Chinese government for the refugees
from Kachin State, and asked that they be treated in accordance with the principles
of human rights. We also asked the Chinese government to put pressure on the Burmese
military to put an end to the fighting in Kachin State and northern Shan
State.”
The protesters also demanded
justice for the families of two teachers who had disappeared in Mong Koe, northern
Shan State.
The demonstrators’ statement
went on to allege that the Russian military was aiding and abetting the Burmese
army in its conflict with Kachin rebels. It urged Moscow to investigate this
claim and bring those involved to justice.
The Kachin Independence Army (KIA) signed a ceasefire agreement
with the then-ruling Burmese military junta in 1994. However, in 2011, the
ceasefire was broken, and hostilities have continued to date.
On
November 20, the KIA, alongside its
allies the Arakan Army (AA), Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA),
and Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), coordinated assaults on Burmese military positions in areas across northern Shan State, including Muse, Namkham, Namhsan, Kutkai, Namtu, Kyaukme, Hsenwi and
Mantong.
The Burmese army soon brought in reinforcements to recapture
its strongholds, and the fighting has since intensified.
By Shan Herald Agency for News (SHAN)
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