THE "FIGHTINGEST" GROUP IN THE SHAN

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Subject: THE "FIGHTINGEST" GROUP IN THE SHAN STATES 


THE "FIGHTINGEST" GROUP IN THE SHAN STATES 

29 October 98, S.H.A.N. 

Which group in the Shan States is fighting the most against the junta troops?

The answer, to many people, is all too plain: "Can there be any group other
than Yawdserk?s Shan States Army?" would have been the  answer. And it
would be completely wrong, according to Wa sources. 

Instead it is the United Wa State Army that signed a ceasefire pact with
the junta in 1989 and believed to be the only group apart from Kokang that
is getting the most out of the 9 year old armistice, that is being argued
to be fighting more than the SSA. 

?During Khun Sa?s heydays, the junta needed the UWSA to fight for it. So
the latter?s numerous convoys going to and fro between Pangsang, its HQ
near the Chinese border, and Sanluyao, its southern command?s HQ, were
conveniently overlooked,? said the source. ?But since then, the UWSA?s
importance as an ally, has been dwindling. Instead its potentiality as the
next enemy to be reckoned with has been increasing. As a result, their
troop movements between the two HQs are no longer tolerated. Hence a sort
of Undeclared War is being waged with neither side giving or expecting
quarters from the other?. 

Another source, however, puts it differently. ?It?s a war for drugs, and
not on them,? he said. 

?The Was are transporting drugs down while the Burmese are trying to
intercept them. The common aim of both sides is profit not the credit of
handing the shipments over to the drug officials. That applies especially
to the junta troops, who are acting more like today?s Jean Lafittes and Sir
Francis Drakes more than the champions of War on Drugs?. 

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S.H.A.N. (Shan Herald Agency for News) 
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