“If our common demand is the implementation of Panglong Agreement and federalism, that should be sufficient to achieve unity,” he told a fact-finding commission appointed by the Committee for Shan State Unity (CSSU) on May 3rd.

The commission, consisting of four women and two men, began its investigation on June 7th and concluded the first stage of its mission on July 16th by meeting with SSA-S leaders at Loi Taileng, the SSA-S’s main base located between Thailand’s Maehongson and Shan State’s Mongpan Township.

The fact-finding team’s primary mission is to determine how the CSSU—which was formed in October 2013 by two Shan political parties, two Shan armies, and nine Shan civil society organizations—can be further strengthened and expanded.

The SNLD has proposed creating a federal system with eight states, consisting of Burma Proper and seven non-Burman states (Arakan, Chin, Kachin, Karen, Karenni, Mon, and Shan). For its part, the SNDP proposal includes 14 states: seven multi-ethnic states and seven non-Burman states. The wide gap between the SNLD and SNDP proposals has long been a major barrier to cooperation between the two major Shan political parties.

Some academics, including the well-respected late Chao Tzang Yawnghwe (1939-2004), have suggested that the number of states is less important than whether the country can create a federal system at all, but the two Shan political parties have adamantly maintained their positions regarding the number of states they envision for Burma’s new federal system.

To aggravate the situation, some non-Shans currently located within Shan State have demanded their own states—particularly the Wa ethnic group.

Peun Kham, the leader of the fact-finding commission and a revered leader (especially in eastern Shan State), said that “the positive outcome of the 40-day mission is that an agreement was reach by all groups concerned to promote and preserve unity—and most importantly, to speak with one voice.”

According to Harn Yawnghwe, Executive Director of the Euro-Burma Office (EBO), the concerned parties should take a common stand on the number of states and the issue of separate statehood for the Wa in order to strengthen Shan unity and cooperate with non-Shans. The EBO is an NGO that has been facilitating the development of democracy and federalism in Burma since 1997.

The quest for unity in Shan State has become more and more challenging as the 2015 general elections approach. Critics have pointed out that without unity and basic understanding between the SNDP and the SNLD, the election in Shan State will be won by either the National League for Democracy (NLD) or the current government’s Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP).

With this in mind, the fact-finding commission is planning to resume its fact-finding mission before the first anniversary of the CSSU.