The meeting between the National Democratic Alliance Army-Eastern Shan State (NDAA-ESS) and the junta negotiators yesterday, on the transformation proposal ended inconclusively, according to a source close to the NDAA leadership on the Sino-Burma border.
Senior NDAA leaders led by Sai Leun aka Lin Mingxian (63), met the delegation led by Military Affairs Security (MAS) chief, Lt-Gen Ye Myint yesterday, at its main base in Mongla, opposite Daluo.
Ye Myint was accompanied by Brig Gen Kyaw Phyoe, Commander of Kengtung-based Triangle Region Command, Mongkhark area Commander Nay Lin and another MAS officer from Kengtung, among others.
The meeting continued for 3 hours from 09:00 to 12:00 (Burma Standard Time).
During the meeting, Ye Myint informed the NDAA about the rejection by the Kokang and the Wa of its proposal. “It is likely that they did not ask the opinion of their own people,” he was quoted as saying.
Sai Leun then told the General that the NDAA’s rejection resulted from the public meetings held recently. “The best thing for both sides is to keep things as they are,” Sai Leun was quoted as telling Ye Myint.
Ye Myint, on hearing the response from the NDAA, said, “The rise of the ceasefire areas (from hovels into multi storied buildings) has been astounding. Don’t you feel sorry to lose them?”
He continued, “Our head of state Than Shwe would like to see you as the role model for all [ceasefire groups]. He also promised that if the NDAA accepted the offer, the junta leaders would see to it that the agreement was abided by the new government formed after the upcoming elections.
The junta delegation departed at about 15:00 hours. On June 3, the Shan State Army (SSA) North was also reported to have met Ye Myint, at the capital of Shan State North, Lashio. However, the group refused to divulge details.
A source close to its Hseng Keow base told SHAN, the group had asked Ye Myint to defer the question until a new government had been formed.
Meanwhile, the Burmese military junta’s third highest ranking general Thura Shwe Mann, the Joint Chief of Staff, is reportedly visiting China, according to Irrawaddy and Radio Free Asia (RFA).
He is expected to discuss with Beijing the current state of affairs in Burma, particularly the trial of Aung San Suu Kyi and the ongoing negotiations with ceasefire groups.
Some junta officials have already accused China of supporting the Wa, during the Wa traditional festival at Cangyuan on the Chinese side of the border, last month, according to a Wa source. “But the Chinese officials brushed off the accusation by saying, ‘We adhere to the policy of non-interference. But, since the population of the Wa on the Chinese side is even higher than that on your side, how can we know who is helping them if you do not tell us?’”
