Tatmadaw demands Shan forces pull back
By Ye Mon | Friday, 09 October 2015
Tensions are building in ruby-rich Mong Hsu township after the Tatmadaw warned that it would attack the headquarters of the Shan State Progressive Party/Shan State Army (SSPP/SSA) unless the armed ethnic group withdrew from a key base camp.
The SSPP says it is being targeted by the military because of the group’s decision to join about 10 ethnic forces, mostly in Shan and Kachin states, that are refusing to sign a nationwide ceasefire agreement with the government.
SSPP spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Sai La told The Myanmar Timesthat a military officer telephoned him to deliver the ultimatum yesterday. He said the SSPP would not withdraw.
“The camp is located near our headquarters. We can’t withdraw. If we do, the Tatmadaw can fire on or easily attack our headquarters. We would never withdraw from the security camp,” he said.
Eight armed ethnic groups have so far declared their intention to sign the nationwide ceasefire agreement with the government on October 15, following nearly two years of negotiations that failed to heal divisionsamong the diverse ethnic armies.
The latest to join the pact is the Restoration Council of Shan State/Shan State Army (RCSS/SSA), which committed itself on October 7 after a leadership meeting. It called for the resolution of political issues through dialogue and listed a dozen townships in Shan State where it called on the government not to deploy its forces.
The eight groups joining the ceasefire are mostly confined to areas along the southeast border with Thailand. Those refusing to join the pact, plus three groups excluded by the government, mostly control pockets of territory along Myanmar’s eastern and northern border with China.
The SSPP spokesperson noted that U Aung Min, chief government negotiator in the ceasefire talks, had declared last weekend that the door was open for more groups to join the agreement and that the Tatmadaw would not use their refusal to sign as a pretext for attack.
“If they really want peace, they should not make any attacks at this time. Some groups will sign the NCA soon, but not others. The Tatmadaw is attacking us, so how can we trust the peace process?” the SSPP officer said.
The SSPP believes more than 400 Tatmadaw troops are stationed close to their camp. The SSPP says it has contacted the government’s Union Peace-making Work Committee conducting ceasefire talks, but received no reply.
The Tatmadaw could not be reached for comment.
There is concern that the fighting will have an impact on campaigning in the run-up to the November 8 election.
The Shan Nationalities League for Democracy, one of two main ethnic Shan parties, yesterday called on the military to immediately stop its offensives against the SSPP and Kachin Independence Army (KIA).