The recent Wa celebrations marking the 20th anniversary of what the Wa calls “Peaceful Construction”, was both satisfying as well as disappointing, according to Thailand’s security establishment, which has been closely following Wa developments.
“We’ve been using its 10th anniversary pictorial publication like a bible on Wa, up to this day,” a senior security officer told SHAN, as he ran his fingers through his newly received 392-page 20th anniversary publication. It is priced at Y188 (roughly USD 27), per copy in Panghsang, the Wa capital.
“Whenever we wanted to know the who’s who in Wa, we always looked through it. While the 1999 volume did not carry photographs of the Wei brothers, wanted in both Thailand and the United States, the 2009 volume has two colourful prints of Wei Xuelong, the eldest brother and Deputy Minister of the Wa State Government’s all powerful Finance Department, and Wei Xuegang, the younger brother and Deputy Commander of the 171st Military Region, that covers areas opposite Thailand’s Maehongson, Chiangmai and Chiangrai provinces.
“I wish the SSA (Shan State Army “South”) takes its cue from this one,” he added. The group has 5 main bases across the border.
The only disappointment was that latest snapshots of the most well-known brother, Wei Xuegang, were again not included in the new volume. “Which means we are stuck with the only two available photos we have of him,” said another member.
“We can do nothing about that,” said a Wa official, who requested anonymity, “Because it is his explicit wish. He attends only closed door meetings. He is so paranoid that you cannot expect his presence in any meeting, where there are more than 30 participants.”
The other disappointment was about the lack of any display of the United Wa State Army (UWSA)’s military might on 17 April, when around 2,400 of its troops took part in the military parade.
The Wa is reported to have acquired at least 2 armored vehicles of Chinese make, each Y2.8 million (USD 400,000) recently, apart from a number of sophisticated anti-aircraft guns, mortars and field guns. This reluctance is in contrast to its former nemesis the Mong Tai Army (MTA) of the late Khun Sa, who never failed to fascinate its civilian supporters with a display of its weaponry.
The UWSA held a 4-day celebration, April 15-18, at its main base on the Sino-Burma border, attended by hundreds of its allies and thousands of guests from China.
The UWSA and the Thai Army have fought each other on several occasions since 1996, most notably in 2002, when the latter launched a military exercise, code-named Surasi.
