Shan State
Websites/Multiple Documents
Description:
About 12,300,000 results (January 2018)
Source/publisher:
www via Google
Date of entry/update:
2018-01-02
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Category:
Non-Ceasefire Groups, Shan State
Language:
English +?
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Description:
"The internal conflict in Myanmar refers to a series of ongoing insurgencies within Myanmar that began shortly after the country, then known as Burma, became independent from the United Kingdom in 1948. The conflict has been labeled as the world?s longest running civil war....."Main fronts:
Kachin State...
Kayah State...
Kayin State...
Rakhine State...
Shan State..."
Source/publisher:
Wikipedia
Date of entry/update:
2018-01-02
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Category:
Shan State, Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Karen (Kayin) State, Karenni (Kayah) State, Armed conflict in Burma -- offensives
Language:
English
more
Description:
"Most ethnic Shan live in the Shan State, though there are also pockets in other parts of Burma such as in Kachin State. Most of them are Theravada Buddhists, with some elements of animist practices, and speak a language which is part of the Tai-Kadai language family, and closely related to Thai and Lao.
As there are no reliable population figures for Burma since the Second World War, the size of the Shan minority is a matter of some uncertainty, though most outside sources appear to agree that the Shan are probably the country?s largest minority (Ethnologue [www.ethnologue.com] estimates 3.2 million in 2001; the US State Department gave an estimate of over 4 million in 2007). The term Shan itself is however problematic, at least as it is used by Burma authorities, since they include under this term 33 ethnic groups that are in fact quite distinct and to a large degree unrelated except for close geographic proximity..."
Source/publisher:
Minority Rights Group
Date of entry/update:
2014-08-21
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Category:
Shan State
Language:
English
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Individual Documents
Sub-title:
A coronavirus outbreak in Tachileik has shone a rare spotlight on border-based hotels, KTVs and casinos with links to powerful armed groups, whose open flouting of pandemic restrictions has put Myanmar and Thailand in danger.
Description:
"On November 25, Ma Nang, 18, lost her sense of smell.
Known as anosmia, it is one of the most common symptoms of COVID-19. In hotspots across Myanmar, thousands of people have reported losing their sense of smell, and many have later tested positive for the coronavirus.
But Ma Nang was not in a COVID-19 hotspot, and had neither travelled to an area with COVID-19 cases nor seemingly been in contact with any infected people.
The resident of Tachileik, in eastern Shan State on the border with Thailand’s Mae Sai, had been working as a KTV singer at 1G1-7 Hotel until November 16, when she quit her job. She travelled north to Kengtung for a few days with friends but fell ill after returning to her hometown.
“I went to a fever clinic but I wasn’t worried – there were no cases in Tachileik,” Ma Nang said. “I was shocked when the test came back positive.”
Until her positive test, Tachileik, which is sometimes referred to as the capital of the Golden Triangle – the notoriously lawless area where the borders of Myanmar, Thailand and Laos meet – had seemingly escaped Myanmar’s “second wave” of COVID-19. Since the first cases emerged in Rakhine State and Yangon in late August, the virus has gradually spread across most of the country. Eastern Shan State is one of the few exceptions: it has recorded the lowest number of cases outside Kayah State, which only registered its first patient in October.
In the week before Ma Nang tested positive, several other cases had been detected in Tachileik but they had all been among people undergoing quarantine, with no evidence to suggest the virus had spread in the community.
In response to her positive test, the Tachileik District COVID-19 Prevention and Rapid Response committee issued a notice on November 28 advising residents to stay at home, to adhere to a curfew and not to hold gatherings. Restaurants were told to only sell take-away, and anyone with COVID-19 symptoms was advised to immediately visit a fever clinic. Residents needed little warning; the streets would be mostly deserted for the next two weeks. “Of course, I’m worried about the virus,” said U San Shwe Myint, owner of Happy restaurant. “In the circumstances I decided it would be better to close my restaurant completely.”
By mid-December the outbreak was mostly under control, with few new cases of community transmission. But the emergence of COVID-19 in eastern Shan State raises serious questions about the enforcement of prevention measures, including the closure of high-risk venues, monitoring of overland travellers and control of international borders..."
Source/publisher:
"Frontier Myanmar" (Myanmar)
Date of entry/update:
2021-01-05
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
Local URL:
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Description:
" Myanmar's armed forces have seized a large amount of arms and ammunition in Namsang township, northern Shan state, the Office of the Commander-in-Chief of the Defense Services said on Sunday.
The seizure was made during an encounter between a military column and the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) near Homein village on Friday.
As the TNLA withdrew after a brief fight, the military column conducted a detailed search and clearance in the area later on the day and found the large amount of arms and ammunition stored in three locations.
The weapons confiscated include portable air defense system, hand grenades, TNLA uniforms, assault rifles, machine guns, mortar rounds and propellants, and explosives.
TNLA is a non-signatory to the government's Nationwide Ceasefire Accord (NCA)..."
Source/publisher:
"Xinhua" (China)
Date of entry/update:
2019-11-24
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
Local URL:
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Description:
"n the northern part of Myanmar next to the Chinese border, there lies a Wa state where the way of life resembles that across the border in China. The yuan has become the main currency, Chinese language is widely spoken, and mobile telephones are connected to Chinese networks. It is also where the United Wa State Party (UWSA), the largest non-state armed group in the country, is located. This April marked the 30th anniversary of an internal coup within the Communist Party of Burma (CPB) by the Wa, with a three-day military parade. During the parade, Bao Youxiang, the President of Wa, even vowed, “We will not hesitate to sacrifice our lives and achieve the goal of being an autonomous state.”
This article will discuss the reasons behind such a phenomenon in Wa state, the way and the extent of China’s intervention, and also the challenges faced by the Myanmar government..."
Source/publisher:
"Eurasia Review"
Date of entry/update:
2019-11-23
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
Local URL:
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Description:
"More than 2,000 people have been forced to flee from their homes, and 19 have been killed, since fighting broke out between government troops and ethnic minority insurgents in northern Myanmar last week, government officials said Wednesday.
The escalation in hostilities in Myanmar’s fractured north is another setback for civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s bid to bring peace amid a stuttering transition from full military rule.
The people displaced in the latest fighting are sheltering in monasteries around Lashio town in the north of Shan State, and are depending on aid groups and the government for their supplies, aid workers said.
"We are providing basic rescue materials as well as cash to displaced people in the camps, the injured people and also to family members of those who got killed," Soe Naing, director of the Department of Disaster Management in Shan State, told Reuters..."
Source/publisher:
US News (USA)
Date of entry/update:
2019-10-23
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Kachin State, Shan State, Armed conflict in Kachin State - general articles, Armed conflict in Shan State - general articles, Burma: Internal displacement/forced migration of several ethnic groups.
Language:
Local URL:
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Description:
"Myanmar authorities on Tuesday arrested 17 Chinese nationals posing as policemen and carrying fake guns in the Kokang region of northern Shan state, a police official said, raising questions as to whether they were involved in illegal activities targeting Chinese tourists in the border area.
The Chinese citizens, believed to have entered Myanmar illegally, were apprehended in the Kokang capital Laukkai near the China-Myanmar border, said Zaw Khin Aung, chief of the Shan state police force.
“Five of them have been charged with impersonating police officers,” he told RFA’s Myanmar Service. “They even possessed police accessories like handcuffs.”
“We got 17 of them in total,” he added. “We will check the status of the rest of them with immigration authorities.”
Authorities found on them two uniforms, a bulletproof vest, two fake pistols made of fiber, and another fake gun that resembled an M22 pistol, Zaw Khin Aung said..."
Source/publisher:
"Radio Free Asia (RFA)" (USA)
Date of entry/update:
2019-10-17
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
China-Burma relations, Shan State
Language:
Local URL:
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Summary:
"THE SMELL of the bodies permeates through the minivan as we make the 32-kilometre journey back to Lashio.
In the back of the ambulance – a Toyota Super Custom minivan – are two yellow bags...
Sub-title:
Volunteers with community service ambulances in northern Shan State are taking big risks to help others in conflict zones – and sometimes pay with their lives.
Description:
"THE SMELL of the bodies permeates through the minivan as we make the 32-kilometre journey back to Lashio.
In the back of the ambulance – a Toyota Super Custom minivan – are two yellow bags containing the bodies of U Win Maung, 61, and his wife, Daw Aye Mya, from Man Kaung village.
The smell doesn’t seem to bother the volunteers from the Giving Hand aid group. As we pull out of Man Kaung, Ko Kaung Zaw, 22, slips down the surgical mask on his face and takes a long drink of Sprite from a bottle that had been resting beside the body bags.
For most of the journey back to Lashio, Kaung Zaw, who has been volunteering with Giving Hand for about three years, scrolls through Facebook on his phone, paying little attention as the bodies slide around due to the winding road.
But this was no ordinary emergency. Win Maung, a former member of the Tatmadaw, was the leader of the Mong Yan militia. The couple were killed when their home was bombarded with grenades and M79 grenade-launcher fire in an apparently targeted attack on the evening of August 20..."
Source/publisher:
"Frontier Myanmar" (Myanmar)
Date of entry/update:
2019-10-08
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
Local URL:
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Summary:
"THERE IS much doom and gloom in Myanmar’s tourism industry. A sharp decline in higher-spending visitors from Western countries, who have spurned Myanmar as a destination because of the crisis in...
Sub-title:
In the final installment of our series about award-winning responsible tourism businesses, we meet Inle Princess Resort managing director Daw Yin Myo Su to discuss the industry slowdown and how the Myanmar Responsible Tourism Awards can serve as a platfor
Description:
"THERE IS much doom and gloom in Myanmar’s tourism industry. A sharp decline in higher-spending visitors from Western countries, who have spurned Myanmar as a destination because of the crisis in Rakhine State, has been offset by a huge increase in visitors from Asian countries, especially China. However, the number of tourists from China travelling on cheap package holidays known as zero budget tours has generated debate about sustainability and who benefits from tourism.
Despite many challenges, veteran hotel entrepreneur and philanthropist Daw Yin Myo Su tries to see the positives. Her many years in the industry – back to when her family ran a small guesthouse in Nyaung Shwe during the socialist era – help to put the downturn since 2016 into perspective.
After all, it’s not like Myanmar hasn’t been through similar troughs before. And even if the violence in Rakhine had not prompted a drop in Western arrivals, growth would likely have slowed from the breakneck pace of the U Thein Sein government, when Myanmar was flavour of the month and visitor arrivals were increasing by at least 50 percent a year..."
Source/publisher:
"Frontier Myanmar" (Myanmar)
Date of entry/update:
2019-10-06
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Shan State, Tourism in Burma - articles and studies, Sustainable/ethical/responsible tourism (Burma/Myanmar)
Language:
Local URL:
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Description:
"Nestled in the hills of eastern Shan State near the China-Myanmar border, Panghsang is the capital of the Wa Region, a self-administered area approved by Myanmar’s Constitution. It is home to Myanmar’s largest and best-equipped ethnic armed group, the United Wa State Army (UWSA), with an estimated 30,000 troops and 10,000 auxiliary members, according to Myanmar Peace Monitor.
In April, the army celebrated the 30th anniversary of its foundation in Panghsang in grand scale, with columns of troops paraded in the city square. Founded in 1989, the UWSA signed a ceasefire with Myanmar’s then-military government—the State Law and Order Restoration Council—in the same year after splitting from the Communist Party of Burma. It also founded the United Wa State Party and the Wa State People’s Government while pressing the Union government to recognize their region as a state of Myanmar.
Despite its location on the Myanmar side of the border, on a stroll around the town you could believe you’re in China. On the streets of Panghsang, most people communicate in Mandarin. Chinese characters, along with Myanmar and Wa translations are emblazoned on shopfronts. Yuan is the currency of choice here. For a good cell phone signal, you’d better connect with a Chinese network. Street signs are written in Myanmar and Chinese. Stores are stocked with goods imported from China..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of entry/update:
2019-10-06
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Shan State, Peace processes, ceasefires and ceasefire talks (websites, documents, reports and studies), Wa (cultural, political, economic), China-Burma relations
Language:
Local URL:
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Sub-title:
The far east of Myanmar is run by the country's largest rebel army which unilaterally declared it Wa State.
Description:
"In Myanmar, it has been almost four years since a so-called Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement was signed between ethnic rebel armies and the government.
But there is still no sign of lasting peace.
Some groups are refusing to sign the document, including what is regarded as East Asia’s largest non-state army, which runs an isolated state on the borders with China and Thailand.
Al Jazeera's Wayne Hay takes a rare look at the secretive Wa State..."
Source/publisher:
"Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of entry/update:
2019-09-29
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Peace processes, ceasefires and ceasefire talks (websites, documents, reports and studies), Shan State, Wa (cultural, political, economic)
Language:
Local URL:
more
Description:
"Rakhine: New small internal displacements were reported during August due to the ongoing armed conflict. In northern Rakhine State, WFP’s emergency relief assistance continued to reach 97,700 conflict-affected people including 1,900 newly displaced people from 165 Muslim, Buddhist and Hindu villages in Buthidaung and Maungdaw townships. In addition, WFP reached over 7,800 children under 5 years and pregnant and lactating women (PLW) through nutrition interventions.
In central Rakhine State, WFP continued to assist 110,800 food-insecure people including 2,200 who were newly displaced through emergency relief food assistance. In addition, WFP extended its lean season support to over 4,400 most vulnerable people in Rathedaung Township.
WFP’s nutrition assistance reached 5,200 PLW and 24,600 children under five years of age.
Kachin: WFP provided emergency food assistance to 43,700 displaced and flood-affected people in Kachin State using cash and E-Money transfers. Over 1,860 PLW and children under 2 received nutrition assistance from WFP.
Shan: Armed clashes have flared up in Shan State since mid-August causing over 9,000 temporary internal displacements. Urgent needs of the displaced people were covered by the assistance from the Government and local well-wishers. WFP emergency relief distributions continued to support 7,300 displaced populations from northern Shan State. Hampered by the armed clashes,
WFP could not reach about 8,000 targeted people in conflict-affected villages of the KoKang Self-Administered Zone. Over 1,400 PLW and children under 2 received nutrition assistance in Shan State..."
Source/publisher:
World Food Programme (WFP) (Italy) via Reliefweb
Date of entry/update:
2019-09-27
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
WFP (World Food Programme), Food Security and nutrition in Burma/Myanmar, Public Health, Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Kachin State, Shan State
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
187.02 KB
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Description:
"A trio of ethnic armed groups have escalated their fight with the military in Myanmar’s Shan State. This alliance has long been outside the country’s peace process. With China’s help, the government should pursue bilateral ceasefires – and longer-term rapprochement – with the three organisations.
What’s new? On 15 August, an alliance of ethnic armed groups staged coordinated attacks against strategic targets in northern Myanmar. The offensive left up to fifteen people dead, and clashes reportedly continue in the northern part of Shan State, creating concerns for civilians’ safety.
Why did it happen? The three ethnic armed groups behind the attacks have been largely excluded from the peace process for the past five years. In recent months, the government has proposed bilateral ceasefires to the groups but has set unrealistic demands and accompanied the offers with military pressure.
Why does it matter? The attacks mark a serious escalation in Shan State’s conflict. They represent a rejection of bilateral ceasefire terms that the Myanmar government has proposed to the armed groups. While the Myanmar military has not yet responded with significant force, the brunt of mounting violence will inevitably fall on civilians.
Myanmar’s military has not retaliated in the heavy-handed way many observers expected, given the attacks’ provocative nature. Instead, it has focused on securing key infrastructure and reopening the highway to the border with China. Contrary to most expectations, the military has also extended its unilateral ceasefire from 31 August to 21 September. The government negotiating team has moved quickly to resume talks with the groups, with meetings held on 31 August and 17 September. On 9 September, the Brotherhood Alliance announced a one-month ceasefire but also warned that it would retaliate if attacked. China, which wields strong influence in the border areas and over some of the groups, has also been encouraging dialogue and de-escalation.
The Myanmar military could still decide to strike back, however. A counteroffensive would have dire consequences for the area’s civilian population, particularly ethnic Ta’ang (also referred to as Palaung), whom government forces suspect of providing support to the TNLA. Myanmar’s military and, to a lesser extent, the three ethnic armed groups have a history of human rights violations. Already, there are reports of indiscriminate shelling and mortar fire, as well as attacks on local aid groups’ vehicles and civilian cars and trucks on the highway. Thousands of residents have fled their homes, some pre-emptively out of fear of being targeted by forces on either side. Humanitarian access, which is already constrained, is likely to become more difficult..."
Source/publisher:
"International Crisis Group (ICG)" (Belgium) via Reliefweb
Date of entry/update:
2019-09-25
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Shan State, Kachin State, Peace processes, ceasefires and ceasefire talks (websites, documents, reports and studies), Armed conflict in Shan State - ceasefires and ceasefire talks, Non-Ceasefire Groups
Language:
Local URL:
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Summary:
"Shops, hotels and restaurants in Panghsang, the unofficial capital of Myanmar’s northeastern area controlled by the United Wa State Army (UWSA), display signs in three languages: Wa, Chinese and...
Sub-title:
China-backed ethnic army is under pressure to disarm but tells Asia Times ‘if we don’t have weapons, we have nothing’
Description:
"Shops, hotels and restaurants in Panghsang, the unofficial capital of Myanmar’s northeastern area controlled by the United Wa State Army (UWSA), display signs in three languages: Wa, Chinese and Bamar.
But while Wa, Chinese and other ethnic dialects are widely spoken in the city, very few residents can speak or read, Bamar. Other social and political influences from the country’s largest ethnic group are also largely non-existent.
The UWSA and its political wing, the United Wa State Party (UWSP), have what the country’s many ethnic armed organizations crave: an autonomous region with no interference from central authorities, armed forces equipped with sophisticated weapons and, most significantly, bilateral ceasefire agreements with the Myanmar military, one of which has held firm for three decades.
Now, however, the UWSA is under pressure to also sign the government’s Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA), an initiative launched by the previous military regime that the current elected administration has made a pre-condition for political talks on the fractious nation’s future as a unitary state or federal union.
“The government wants us to give up our weapons, but we can do that only when a political agreement has been reached, and when there is peace in the whole country. Only then, not now,” said Zhao Guoan, a member of the UWSP’s politburo’s standing committee tasked with handling foreign affairs, in an Asia Times interview..."
Source/publisher:
"Asia Times" (Hong Kong)
Date of entry/update:
2019-09-19
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Peace processes, ceasefires and ceasefire talks (websites, documents, reports and studies), Armed conflict in Shan State - ceasefires and ceasefire talks, Wa (cultural, political, economic), Shan State
Language:
Local URL:
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Description:
"THE government’s National
Reconciliation and
Peace Centre (NRPC)
and representatives of the four
groups KIO (Kachin Independence
Organization), MNTJP
(Myanmar National Truth and
Justice Party), PSLF (Palaung
State Liberation Front) and ULA
(United League of Arakan) met
at the Amazing Kengtung Resort
in Kengtung (Shan State)
yesterday morning to discuss
signing of the Bilateral Ceasefire
Agreement.
Union Attorney-General U
Tun Tun Oo, in his capacity as
the vice chairman of the NRPC,
extended his greetings saying
that the meeting was a significant
event for the peace making
process, and that discussions had
been made during the previous
occasions in Kengtung for the
future ceasefire plan.
During that meeting, both
sides thoroughly discussed to
stop recent armed conflicts. As
a result, the attacks had significantly
become fewer along
the Union Road despite small
remaining clashes in some areas.
The three northern ethnic
armed groups made a ceasefire
announcement as proposed by
the government. This situation
was recognized as a progress in
the ongoing ceasefire attempts.
Both sides need to maintain this
momentum.
The government discussed
the draft proposal of the northern
four ethnic armed groups
to sign the bilateral ceasefire
agreement. Although there were
no notable controversies, there
were still pending issues on monitoring
processes. He was hopeful
that this agreement would
be signed after both sides had
reached agreement..."
Source/publisher:
Myanmar Ministry of Information via "The Global New Light of Myanmar"
Date of entry/update:
2019-09-18
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State, 2019 - Burma/Myanmar Government sources (pages from "The Global New Light of Myanmar"), Shan State
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
232.06 KB
Local URL:
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Description:
"It has a standing army of 25,000, manufactures its own guns and conscripts at least one member of each household -- meet the United Wa State Army: Communist, reclusive, China-backed rebels determined to protect their supremacy over Myanmar's badland border zone.
Thousands of soldiers, including a company of women and a sniper platoon in combat webbing, marched early Wednesday alongside armoured vehicles in Panghsang, the capital of the ethnic Wa, which borders China's Yunnan province.It was a show of force marking 30 years since Communist Wa rebels prodded Myanmar into a ceasefire leading to the establishment of special, semi-autonomous zone, marshalled by Bao Youxiang, chief of one of the world's largest non-state armies.
This week the normally inscrutable Wa extended a rare invite to foreign media to their isolated territory to show off their military muscle and deliver a defiant message of self-sufficiency within Myanmar's borders..."
Source/publisher:
"Bangkok Post" via AFP
Date of entry/update:
2019-09-15
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Shan State, Wa (cultural, political, economic), Peace processes, ceasefires and ceasefire talks (websites, documents, reports and studies)
Language:
Local URL:
more
Summary:
"Columns of soldiers goose-stepped in perfect formation on a parade ground. Trucks towed heavy weaponry while armored fighting vehicles drove past a grandstand of observers.
The ceremonial show of...
Sub-title:
UWSA leader Bao Youxiang tells Asia Times in an exclusive interview why the world’s arguably largest and best-equipped non-state army is reluctant to lay down its guns
Description:
"Columns of soldiers goose-stepped in perfect formation on a parade ground. Trucks towed heavy weaponry while armored fighting vehicles drove past a grandstand of observers.
The ceremonial show of force along the Myanmar-Chinese border in mid-April was similar to military muscle-flexing in many places in the world. But this was no normal fighting force; it was the United Wa State Army (UWSA), arguably the largest and best-equipped non-state army worldwide.
The ethnic Wa were celebrating the 30th anniversary of the founding of their own military force in what effectively amounts to a self-governing buffer state between Myanmar and China. Myanmar security authorities prevented foreign journalists from attending the celebrations at the UWSA’s Pangkham headquarters, which was attended by thousands of tribesman from both sides of the China-Myanmar border.
Source/publisher:
"Asia Times"
Date of entry/update:
2019-09-09
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Peace processes, ceasefires and ceasefire talks (websites, documents, reports and studies), Armed conflict in Shan State - ceasefires and ceasefire talks, Shan State, Wa (cultural, political, economic)
Language:
Local URL:
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Sub-title:
Myanmar’s United Wa State Army, a militia long known for drug trafficking, has emerged as the core of resistance to the government’s peace plan
Description:
"After nearly six years of fruitless peace talks in Myanmar, the United Wa State Army (UWSA), the country’s largest and most heavily armed ethnic force, has asserted its until now dormant power over the process. Behind the UWSA looms China’s security services, a key but often unspoken actor in Myanmar’s northern ethnic wars.
Together they have outmaneuvered and marginalized the Western governments, peace promotion outfits and think tanks that have been intimately involved in Myanmar’s peace process since it was first launched by then President Thein Sein in 2011 and since sustained by Aung San Suu Kyi’s nearly one-year-old elected National League for Democracy party-led government.
Western government-sponsored seminars, workshops and “capacity-building” peace projects have been overshadowed in the past year by the UWSA’s more concrete and impactful initiatives. Those have included meetings held at its Panghsang headquarters in the autonomous area it controls near the Chinese border, where ethnic armed groups have agreed on common strategies to deal with Myanmar’s central, civil and military authorities. The UWSA has also impacted the battlefield by providing its ethnic allies with munitions to fight against the Myanmar army..."
Source/publisher:
"Asia Times"
Date of entry/update:
2019-09-09
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Peace processes, ceasefires and ceasefire talks (websites, documents, reports and studies), Armed conflict in Shan State - ceasefires and ceasefire talks, Shan State, Wa (cultural, political, economic)
Language:
Local URL:
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Description:
"Myanmar authorities seized large haul of narcotic drugs including 454,670 stimulant tablets and 4 kilograms of marijuana in Rakhine state, according to the Central Committee for Drug Abuse Control (CCDAC) on Saturday.
Stimulant tablets worth over 909 million kyats (606,227 U.S. dollars) were confiscated from two houses in Maungtaw township late Friday.
Three suspects were charged under the country's Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Law while searching for one suspect who fled the scene was underway.
Meanwhile, four kilograms of marijuana was confiscated at a highway bus station, along with a suspect in Ann township, Rakhine state on Thursday, the committee's release said.
On the same day, 1,950 kilograms of caffeine worth 195 million kyats (130,000 U.S. dollars) were seized from two cars in Tachileik town, Shan state.
Also, the anti-narcotic taskforce seized 39,900 stimulant tablets worth 79.8 million kyats (53,200 U.S. dollars) and 660 grams of heroin worth 66 million kyats (44,000 U.S. dollars) in Momauk township, Kachin state, said the Saturday's release..."
Source/publisher:
"Xinhua"
Date of entry/update:
2019-09-08
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Shan State, Drugs in Shan State, Drugs: regional and global
Language:
Local URL:
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Description:
"Kyar Yin Shell is a 26-year-old young man from Kengtung, the ?dark and dirty? capital city of eastern Salween in the Shan State. While Kengtung has not seen civil war for over two decades, development is non-existent and electricity scarce. Kyar Yin Shell is Lahu, a little known ethnic group that lives scattered around the mountains of Burma, China, Laos, and Thailand. As most Lahu people, Kyar Yin Shell grew up in a village, but unlike many others he was lucky enough to go to school. As a teenager, hard-working Kyar Yin Shell had great hopes for his future until it all seems to end one day; wrong medical treatment left Kyar Yin Shell paralyzed. Kyar Yin Shell lost all hope for his future and like so many others in the Shan State, he became addicted to drugs. During those dark times, Kyar Yin Shell could never have known that he would not only survive and learn to live with his disability, but work actively for his people and travel overseas to represent his country. Kyar Yin Shell?s story shows how much life can surprise you. If you take the chance."...See the Alternate link for part 2.
Source/publisher:
Burma Link
Date of publication:
2015-07-30
Date of entry/update:
2016-03-20
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Lahu (cultural, political), Children and armed conflict, Shan State, Armed conflict in Shan State - general articles, Education in Burma/Myanmar - general, Education in Shan State (general)
Language:
English
Local URL:
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Description:
"Tar Aik Bong is a leader of the Ta?ang (Palaung) people, one of Burma?s ethnic nationalities that continues a daily struggle for survival in largely inaccessible areas in northern Shan State. He joined the Ta?ang liberation movement in 1987, and currently serves as Chairman of Palaung State Liberation Front (PSLF) and Head of the military commission of Ta?ang National Liberation Army (TNLA). TNLA is one of the few ethnic armies that continues to fight against the Burma army and vows not to lay down arms until equal rights and a lasting political solution is achieved. TNLA fights to ?obtain freedom for all Ta?ang nationals from oppression, to form Ta?ang autonomous regions that guarantee democracy and human rights, to oppose and fight against dictatorship and any form of racial discrimination, to attain national equality and self-determination and to establish a genuine Federal Union that guarantees Ta?ang autonomy and to eliminate cultivation, production, sale and use of narcotics.”
Tar Aik Bong is also a member of the ethnic alliance United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC) council and Foreign Affairs Department. In an exclusive interview with Burma Link, Tar Aik Bong talks about the causes and current situation of the Ta?ang conflict, the role of the UNFC, and the brutal tactics that the Burmese military uses against Ta?ang civilians in order to cut the opposition movement. Tar Aik Bong also discusses the Burmese military?s instrumental role in the epidemic drug usage in Ta?ang areas, and TNLA?s plan to eradicate the drugs."
Source/publisher:
Burma Link
Date of publication:
2014-11-11
Date of entry/update:
2016-03-18
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Various groups, Non-Ceasefire Groups, Armed conflict in Shan State - general articles, Drugs and conflict, Shan State, Dialogue/reform/transition in Burma/Myanmar - analyses and statements
Language:
English
Local URL:
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Description:
"The Ta?ang, also known as Palaung, are one of Burma?s myriad ethnic groups who have been fighting for basic human rights and autonomy for decades. Despite the international enthusiasm over Burma?s reform process, the reality in Burma?s ethnic borderlands remains dire, and the Burmese military continues its brutal offensive against ethnic civilians. Tar Aik Bong joined the Ta?ang struggle in 1987, and is now the Chairperson of the Palaung State Liberation Front (PSLF), the Head of military commission of the Ta?ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), as well as a member of the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC) council and Foreign Affairs Department. The PSLF/TNLA is one of the few prominent ethnic armed groups yet to sign a ceasefire with the Burmese government. The following is Tar Aik Bong?s message to the international community."
Source/publisher:
Burma Link
Date of entry/update:
2016-03-18
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Armed conflict in Shan State - general articles, Armed conflict in Burma - Impact on village life, including health and education, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, Non-Ceasefire Groups, Armed conflict and peace-building in Burma - theoretical, strategic and general, Shan State, Dialogue/reform/transition in Burma/Myanmar - analyses and statements, Decentralisation (Decentralization) in Burma/Myanmar
Language:
English
Local URL:
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Description:
"Ta?ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), the armed wing of Palaung State Liberation Front (PSLF), is one of the ethnic resistance armed organisations that vows not to lay down arms until there is a guarantee of political negotiations. Burma Link spoke with two TNLA soldiers, Mai and Mai Main, who were sent by their leaders to study human rights and politics in Mae Sot, so that they could go back to Ta?ang land and educate other soldiers. These two soldiers studied in Mae Sot for a year, and believed it is their responsibility to go back to Burma to educate others and safeguard their people?s rights. In this interview, they share their story on how and why they became involved with the TNLA and why the Ta?ang people so strongly support their army. Mai and Mai Main, aged 23 and 26, are now back in the battle fields of northern Shan State."
..."END NOTE: Although TNLA is a member of the ethnic alliance United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC), the government has tried to exclude the group from the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) talks. TNLA is an ally of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), and fights alongside the Arakan Army (AA) and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) in northern Shan State, to obtain freedom and to establish a genuine federal union. TNLA also fights to eliminate cultivation, production, sale and use of drugs in their traditional lands. Read more."
Source/publisher:
Burma Link
Date of publication:
2015-07-13
Date of entry/update:
2016-03-17
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Non-Ceasefire Groups, Armed conflict in Kachin State - general articles, Drugs and conflict, Drugs and Burma: general links, reports and articles, Shan State, Armed conflict in Shan State - general articles
Language:
English
Local URL:
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Description:
Executive Summary: "The State of Local Governance: Trends in Shan - UNDP Myanmar 2015
This report aims to map the state of affairs and the evolution as witnessed over the past
years with regards to governance reforms and service delivery, in particular for the sectors
education, health and water supply, in Shan State. It provides a historical background to
contextualise the present governance situation in Shan, which differs from all other Regions
and States; it provides information on the various recent elections in the State; it seeks
transparency of the State budget, and, against this background, it pays particular attention
to the perceptions of citizens? regarding the changes they have witnessed. It finally tries to
make the link between good local governance and the quality of service delivery, whereby it
looks at aspects of decision-making powers in relation to budget discretion, the availability
of budget envelopes, oversight and accountability.
Shan State takes a special place amongst the fourteen Regions and States in the country as,
in terms of area the biggest of all, covering almost 25% of the entire nation, and in terms
of population by far the biggest of all States. Arguably, Shan State has the largest ethnic
diversity amongst its population of all fourteen Regions and States. Related to this diversity
- its location and the physical features of the terrain making it perfect for a natural border
zone - Shan State has played an important role in the history of Myanmar. As far as the most
recent history is concerned, this starts with the special position that was negotiated in the
Panglong agreement, where Shan State was given the right to exit the Union after a period
of 10 years if it would prefer to do so (and which it did not do).
As much as the recent serious flaring up of fighting (early February 2015) in the Laukkaing
area illustrates that peace and stability cannot yet be taken for granted, the earlier open
conflicts in Shan State, which were as much based on economic interest as ethnic differences,
seemed to have already for some time reached a situation of agreed status quo, amongst
others reflected by the number of Self-Administered Areas as enshrined in the Constitution
of 2008, and which are described as part of the local governance set-up in this report.
Shan State is distinctly different (and also more complicated), as compared to most other
Regions and States, but the mapping of local governance and service delivery also found
a number of similarities with the findings in other areas. Overall, in Shan State, as in all
other Regions and States, people clearly acknowledge the improvements in service delivery,
notably for road infrastructure, education, health and, although to a lesser extent, water
supply. People mentioned access to safe drinking water as the largest challenge in service
delivery and people also asked for enhanced investments in this sector.
As in other Regions and States,* people in Shan ask for more information from government,
whilst they bestow (also in terms of information flow) a pivotal role on the indirectly elected
Ward and Village Tract Administrators (W/VTAs), whom they consider more and more
as a local development change agent. To support this process and to be able honouring
the expectations of W/VTAs as ?intermediary? between the people and the township
administrations, some dedicated capacity development activities may be indicated, both
addressing the W/VTAs as well as the township administrations."
Source/publisher:
UNDP Myanmar
Date of publication:
2013-11-30
Date of entry/update:
2016-02-02
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Decentralisation (Decentralization) in Burma/Myanmar, Shan State, Governance in Burma/Myanmar
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
1.95 MB
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Description:
"Cosmopolitan, garish and connected to the outside world via Internet and mobile phones, visitors to Mong La wonder if they are really in Burma anymore...
For a while it seems like a road to nowhere. Only army checkpoints and small clusters of huts indicate some life. Then, quite suddenly, the view widens into a valley and the road changes from dirt to tar. At dusk the city ahead looks like a space shuttle that descended upon earth. Abundant neon lights line the buildings. Along a wide avenue, street lamps flash like fireworks. This is Mong La, the capital of Special Region Number Four in eastern Shan State.
One wonders if this is still Burma. "Yuan," demands an old woman selling water when she is given kyat. A Chinese employee in the hotel hands over the key without the form filling and other paperwork so typical of the bureaucratic control elsewhere in the country. A condom in the basket of toiletries suggests there are other freedoms to be enjoyed too..."
Joan Williams
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" Vol. 11, No. 1
Date of publication:
2002-12-31
Date of entry/update:
2003-06-03
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
Local URL:
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