( S.H.A.N. & Burma's News Published by Burma's Chinese 貌强 21-6-05)

   Kachin

    The leaders of Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO), on 3June, explained their experiences of attending the constitution draftingNyaung-Hnapin ‘National Convention’ organised by Burma’s military junta,State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), to local Kachin population. Moreover, it was hinted that pressures have been put onceasefire groups by the junta, to surrender their weapons.

   Burma’s military junta ordered the Kachin Independence Organization tocancel a public briefing scheduled for last Saturday in Nam San Yang—avillage in Kachin State—to explain its policy with regard to the NationalConvention, according to a high KIO official.

   Dr La Ja, General Secretary of the KIO, told The Irrawaddy by phone fromKachin State that the public meeting, which was originally reported to theBurmese authorities in order to obtain permission to hold the event, wasplanned to discuss the organization’s attendance at the government-sponsoredNational Convention—charged with the task of drafting a new constitution—andto review the current status of the convention. Dr Tu Ja, a vice chairman ofthe KIO and the leader of Kachin delegates to the national convention, hadbeen scheduled to give a speech at the public meeting.

   On June 11, however—just a few hours before the meeting was to start, andafter more than 1000 people had already arrived—the Burmese northernregional commander Maj-Gen Maung Maung Swe instructed the KIO’s liaisonoffice in Myitkyina, the capital of Kachin State, to cancel the meetingwithout giving any reason, said Dr La Ja, who added that he had no idea whatmight have prompted the move.

   The KIO has held similar public briefings since the National Conventionadjourned at the end of March, amid growing doubts within the Kachincommunity about the ethnic ceasefire group’s attendance of the convention.

   Past meetings have been held in many towns that have large Kachinpopulations, as well as in Lashio, Bhamo and Maija Yang. The most recentpublic briefing took place in Laiza, a town on the China-Burma border.

   Karenni

   According to a senior KA commander, General Aung Htay, the buildup of SPDCtroops close to Nya Moe began in mid-December. Four SPDC battalions (totalingabout 650 troops) were brought into position. Crucially, they were combinedwith some 700 troops from the Karenni National People's Liberation Front(KNPLF), an armed group that split many years ago from the Karenni NationalProgressive Party (KNPP). A recently constructed road through the remote hillsof Karenni state has enabled the SPDC and its allies to bring in heavyartillery. With the new troops in place, the attack on Nya Moe was launched.According to Aung Htay, the fighting has been intense, with artillery attacksalmost daily and a total of more than 60 clashes. Heavy shelling brieflydisrupted humanitarian aid work in the area in January.

    The Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP) which has beenfighting against successive Burmese governments for a separate Karenni Statefor more than 50 years, is to abandon its claim for a separate state andaccept the building of a federal Burma which includes all the states. The official declaration was made at the end of the 10th KNPPConference which was held from 27 May to 2 June at a location on theThai-Burma border.

   Rakhine The 28th anniversary of Khaing Moe Lun Day was observed bymembers of the ArakanLiberation Party (ALP) in a border area on 4 June 2005, said a statementreleased by the ALP.Khaing Moe Lun is a very famous revolutionary leaderamong the Arakanese people because he was a founder of the Arakan LiberationParty (ALP) and he died in battle with the Burmese army in 1977. Thewell-known battle took place during the 2000 mile march to Arakan from Karenstate across several Burmese ethnic revolutionary areas including Karenni,Shan and Kachin states.

   Shan State

   * Facing pressure both from the inside by the pro-Rangoon United Wa StateArmy and from the outside by the Thai Army, the besieged Shan State Army haddecided to relocate the 200 refugees under its protection away from theThai-Burma borderline

    * Hkun Htun Oo, leader of Burma's second largest party, is still alive andwell in Insein prison, four months after being detained along with nineother activists, according to sources close both to the family and theceasefire groups.A military officer with the rank of second lieutenant has been assigned tolook after him, said the sources.But he is not allowed to appoint his own legal counsel but instead forced to work with the government designated lawyers.

   * Commander of the northeastern military command Lt. Gen. Myint Hlaingsummoned on June one the leaders of the Shan State Army (North), a Shanethnic arm rebel group, led by Lt. Gen. Loimao, to Lashio town and askedthem to "exchange arms for peace", a source close to the rebel group said.Moreover, the military have reportedly been reported looting the property ofthe SSA (N).

    Leaders of one of the ceasefire groups, Shan State Army - North (SSA-N)which signed the cessation of hostility with Burma’s military junta, StatePeace and Development Council (SPDC), was told by the junta to cut off tieswith their former allies, members of Shan State National Army (SSNA) whodecided to fight against the junta again.

    Lt. Gen. Myint Hlaing's assistant Maj. San Shwe Tha and his troops werereported to have gone to the piggery, run by the SSA (N), in Phwe Hongvillage in Muse township on June six to arrest the owner of the farm. Butwhen the owner escaped the arrest, the military personnel then turned to thepiggery and took away some pigs and seized a medical clinic.

   Former units of the Shan State National Army that had been forced tosurrender during the past two months have been permitted to set up localmilitia forces, according to sources in northern Shan State. On 15 May, Ganna, ex-commander of the SSNA's 11th Brigade who surrenderedin Hsenwi a month earlier, was told by Maj-Gen Myint Hlaing, Commander ofLashio-based Northeastern Region Command, that the Burma Army would like himto form a 60-men militia force "for your own personal security and to assistthe Army in defending the area."

   Mon A Mon National Revoulation Army founder, Nai Pan Htar, passed awayJune 4 in Rangoon capital of Burma in his son house. Nai Pan Htar 84, whoinvolved in founding of Mon National Revolutionary Army since 1947 with BoThein who led and started founding Mon National Army.

   Karen Rangoon's demands on 14-15 March to KNU were1. The KNU would be confined to three areas decided by the SPDC;2. It would not be allowed to set up an administrative body3. It would not be allowed to involve itself in political work, but would beable to conduct business and keep their weapons.

   On 5 May, KNU representatives informed Lt-Col Myat Htun Oo that they couldnot accept the terms imposed by the Burma Army. (Khit Pyaing).

   The Burma Army continues to uproot civilians in itscounter-insurgency campaign against rebels in Karen State, a global watchdogsays in its latest report issued on Thursday. The New York-based HumanRights Watch says Rangoon’s troops still commit human rights abusesincluding extrajudicial killings, sexual violence and forced labor

   As of late 2004, as many as 650,000 people were internally displaced inKaren areas, eastern Burma. Since the end of 2002, 157,000 civilians havebeen displaced and at least 240 villages destroyed, relocated or abandoned.

   Wa Rangoon has postponed a ceremony scheduled for June 24 to announcethat United Wa State Army-controlled territory is officially “drug free.”According to an officer of the UWSA, Rangoon stated that the beginning ofthe rainy season was the reason for the delay.

   The once rebellious Wa reached a peace agreement with the militarygovernment in 1989, allowing the ethnic group to exercise a measure ofautonomy in its region and even maintain a well-armed force.

   Sources within the diplomatic community say the ceremony was postponeduntil after the monsoon rains because the junta was displeased with thewording on the invitation which called the Wa organization the "People'sGovernment of the Wa State." The military did not want the Wa army todescribe themselves as a government, diplomats say.