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The Nation News(30/4/99)



<center><bold>WA cease fire haunts the Burmese military

</bold></center>The Burmese regime has paid little attention to public
criticism over its WA attitude,and as the top Burmese military officers
get richer, the Wa are expanding their drug trafficking, writes
<bold>Aung Naing Oo. 

</bold>Politically, and perhaps financially,the Burmese army has gained
immensely from its 1989 ceasefire agreement with the United Wa State 
Army(UWSA). This marriage of convenience was the first peace pact between
an ethnic army and the Burmese junta since the breakdown of peace talks
in 1964, and served as a catalyst for truce agreements with most of the
other ethnic groups.

A decade later, however, the Burmese junta is in the hot seat over its
relation ship with the wa. Internationally, the regime has been candidly
blamed for its association with the Wa,who have become the No.1 drug
trafficking syndicate in the world, thanks to the immunity they enjoy in
return for allegiance to Rangoon. At home, the junta's uneasy alleance
with the Wa is riddled with long held mutual distrust. 

The WA had been one of the main pillars of the Burma communist Party(BCP)
prior to its collapse in early 1989. The Wa truce with the junta followed
in May of that year.  When the BCP was active, the Burmese army had to
deploy thousands of troops on the frontier near the Chinese border to
contain the communists. During the BCP's time, the Burmese army rarely
launched major offensives against other armed ethnic groups along Burma's
eastern border with Thailand. 

After the cease fire with the Wa, it was able to save time, energy and
enormous resources. More significantly, it was able to withdraw many
troops from battles in the north and re-deploy them in the eastern border
areas.  From late 1989, the Burmese army was able to begin an all-out was
against opponents in the eastern region. The Burmese military pressure
forced many ethnic groups to cease operations against Rangoon. 

For the Wa, the truce provided a good opportunity for them to expand
their drug activities.  Shortly afterwards, the Burmese army was accused
of abetting the armed group in drug trafficking. The Burmese police have
no authority to search any vehicle belonging to the USA. No action could
be taken against the Wa who had shot and wounded civilians and killed a
police officer in Mandalay in 1997. The unruly behavior by Wa officers

goes unchecked by the authorities. 

Because of the benefits it has gained from the truce, however shaky,the
Burmese regime has paid little attention to public criticism over its
pro- Wa attitude. In any event, it cannot afford to do away with the
peace pact, considering the risk of going to war with the Wa group. 

In fact, both the Burmese army and the Wa have gained mutually from their
deal. The Junta's objective is to slowly kill ethnic rebellion through
ceasefire agreements. The Wa wish to reclaim their freedom. 

The mutual distrust has led to cat and mouse games between the Burmese
army and the Wa. The former has often tried to smuggle arms or despatched
disguised intelligence agents into the UWSA terrirory. In some cases,
drugs seized from the Wa by Burmese soldiers have not been returned. 

The Burmese army's attitude towards the Wa officers has changed steadily
over the years. The Burmese attitude that the Wa, once known as
headhunters, are barbaric has now surfaced in their daily inter-action.

of several confrontations over the years, the Burmese detention of three
high ranking UWSA officers, including the deputy commander of UWSA
Division 486 AikSi, in February this year may have been the toughest test
of wills.  The arrest was in response to an earlier seizure of a large
consignment of amphetamine tablets from a Wa Division 486 officer in
Taunggyi, the capital of the Shan States. The Burmese army eventually had
to release the officers to avoid armed clashes with the Wa. 

To retaliate, Burmese troops seized drugs and money from the Division 486
headquarters and forcibly relocated Wa families to Mong Mau township.  In
response, the UN Drug control Programme was informed by the Wa that its
servece is no longer needed in the Mong Ping township. 

The latest Wa action has damaged the junta's efforts for international
recognition for its anti-drug campaign. In a recent incident, the Burmese
army detained an officer in charge of business deals for Division 486 and
several other soldiers after a car chase in Mong Hsu, a gem- mining town.
The latest incident occurred on March 5 when the A demanded that a TV
relay station be removed from its territory and that Burmese engineers
working on a water project be recalled.

Burmese military intelligence chief Lt Gen Khin Nyunt's planned visit to
Mong Yawn is likely to defuse the confrontation and straighten out
differences between the two parties. Despite its wish to check their
strength, the Burmese junta is not yet ready to clash head on with the
Wa, who comand the largest armed force and are unlikely to bow to the
regime's threat. 

The Wa are battle hardened from their years in the BCP, and a fearsome
enemy.  Even Khun Sa, who once commanded some 20,000 soldiers and
enormous wealth from the drug trade, was no match for the Wa. Military
offensives against the Wa would be a massive drain for Burmese resources
and an opportunity for other ethnic groups to exploit. 

The Wa have another strong weapon.  Their claims of potential support
from their brethren in China, in case fighting resumes with the Burmese,
is not a mere threat.The  UWSA is proud of having Chinese- Wa graduates

from Beijing University among its officers. They also claim to possess
enough weapons to fight for 10 years.

The UWSA is also powerful financially. In 1989, it possessed nothing
except a huge amount of weapons inherited from the communists. Ten years
later, the WA command an immense drug trafficking network and have earned
millions of dollars.  Their economic health is evident from the
construction of a town in Mong Yawn, near the Thai-Burma border,
reportedly costing a bout Bt1 billion. 

The problems with the Wa are a hard nut to crack for the regime and
could continue to haunt any government when the country returns to
civilian rule. 

As of now, the junta is globally criticized for the flow into Thailand
and else where of drugs produced by ethnic armies allied with Rangooon. 
Drug barons from Wa and other ethnic nationalities, who are wanted by
Thailand and the United States, live freely in Burma.  When nine Thai
villagers were brutally killed near Mong Yawn, fingers were pointed at
the Burmese army because of the Burmese-Wa connection. 

For the UWSA, its primary struggle is for the recognition of their ethnic
rights and this will continue at all costs. In the meantime, it will
continue the lucrative drug business unless there is a political answer
that can deliver the recognition. It will take political courage for the
junta to find that answer. 


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Aung Naing Oo is the foreign affairs secretary of the All Burma
Students'Democratic Front.

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