According to an official with the United Wa State Army, the group will hold a meeting open to the senior member Saturday (8 October) in Panghsang, at their headquarters. The meeting will allow UWSA leaders to explain to both their own troops and residents of the Wa controlled territory the terms that they had offered the Burmese government on October 1st in a meeting in Lashio, the capital of northern Shan state.
The historically rocky relationship between UWSA forces and the current Burmese regime has improved in recent months, with both sides signaling a desire to reach a compromise that would end fighting and bring stability to the long disputed border region.
After explaining the terms of their proposed changes Saturday, cadres and UWSA military members will be allowed to voice opinions and offer suggestions. Gauging public and military opinion will allow UWSA officials to address requests for change as needed.
Some of the proposed terms offered to government officials on October 1st in Lashio included requests for increased government resources and monetary support. The UWSA also expressed a desire to meet with Burmese officials a third time, this time in Pangshang, about which they felt optimistic after.
According to an October 3rd story published by the New Light of Myanmar, Wa official Xiao Minliang assured government officials at the meeting that the UWSA does not wish to secede and wishes to continue progressing towards peace in the Shan state.
The two sides had met previously on September 6th, resulting in the delivery of 1,000 bags of rice previously withheld for two years to the UWSA controlled area.
