A drug free project led by Thailand will be welcomed by the PaO National Liberation Organization (PNLO) that is active in the Shan State's PaO-majority deep south, according to the group's spokesman Hkun Hsoi Hto.
"Our only request (to the Burmese Army) is that don't use the project as a pretext to launch a military offensive in the area," he said.
The project was proposed to the Thai authorities during the April 29-May 1 visit to Bangkok by Burmese junta Prime Minister Thein Sein, according to the Bangkok Post. In response, Thai drug officials led by Pitaya Jinawat flew to Burma to inspect Banyen, also written Wanyin, 35 miles south the state capital Taunggyi, on August 12.
On August 3, nine days before the Thai visit, the uneasy alliance between the Burmese Army and the rebellious ceasefire group Shan State Peoples Nationalities Liberation Organization (SNPLO) came to an abrupt end when the group was surrounded and forcibly disarmed at their main base at Nawnghtao, some 40 miles further south.
For any crop substitution project to succeed, there are at least two
pre-conditions, according to a Thai narcotics official: Peace and the local people's dependency on opium for their livelihood.
The actual situation at the ground level is still volatile, according to reports coming to the border. "We have already fought six times," claimed Hkun Hsoi Hto, who is in charge of the political department.
The junta-drafted constitution, approved in May, has granted self-administrative status to three townships in Shan State: Hopong, Hsihseng and Panglawng, where the PaOs are the dominant ethnic group. "The status is a sham, because we don't enjoy any real administrative powers," Hkun Okker, PaO leader and legal expert told SHAN. "We cannot even appoint our own head of local government."
The PNLO, formed on November 18, 2007, following the breakaway by a faction from the SNPLO on June 10, 2007, issued a statement on its first anniversary, saying it is fighting for the following political objectives: Anti-military dictatorship, Anti-big nation chauvinism, Democracy, Federalism, Equality and Right of Self determination.
