Thai-Burmese border — Lt-Gen Yawdserk, leader of Restoration Council of Shan State / Shan State Army (RCSS/SSA), held a two-day consultation, 1-2 June, with individuals and group representatives coming from both inside and outside Shan State which ended yesterday. It took place before his planned visit to Naypyitaw for his first meeting with President Thein Sein sometime this month.
The date was not announced, but he hinted that it would be sometime in the middle of June.
The 50 participants at the consultation, who were familiar with the 12 point agreement signed in Kengtung on 19 May last year complained about several terms still unfulfilled, particularly:
- Cooperation against drugs (#1)
- Release of imprisoned RCSS/SSA members (# 7)
- Peace and ceasefire monitoring (# 8)
- Moratorium on 1908 Unlawful Association Act (# 9)
- Issuance of citizenship cards to RCSS/SSA members and dependents (#12)
The meeting also urged Yawdserk, whose movement signed a ceasefire agreement on 2 December 2012, to speak with the President about:
- The Shan people’s desire for a federal democracy
- For the 2014 census to take into account millions of migrants in Thailand and other countries and to issue them with household registers and citizenship cards
- To put a stop to land confiscations
- To embrace the people’s Free, Prior Informed Consent (FPIC) principle when it comes to megaprojects in non-Burman states
- To support non-state media in ethnic languages
- A bonafide ceasefire
“We may be different parties concerning intra-state affairs,” Yawd Serk told the meeting. “But concerning our state rights we must all speak with the same voice.”
The participates included representatives from Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD), Shan Nationalities Democratic Party (SNDP), Shan State Progress Party / Shan State Army (SSPP/SSA) and National Democratic Alliance Army (NDAA).
“The sea is great because it takes in different waters from different streams,” said a participant from northern Shan State. “A movement will be just as great if it accepts members from all walks of life.”
