The comments were made by a group of RCSS/SSA delegates as they were on a tour of over half the townships in Shan State, according to a 353 page report on the tour which was read by the SHAN News Agency.

The 19 strong delegation, made up of 6 men and 13 women, toured 39 towns and 35 townships (two of which were in Mandalay Region) from 21 June to 22 July.

“We are not siding with any parties,” said Lt-Col Sai Harn, the leader of the delegation. “We will not persuade anyone to cast votes for any candidates. And we will not consider setting up any political parties until the 2008 constitution is amended.”

The Shan State Progress Party/Shan State Army (SSPP/SSA) ethnic armed organisation from Northern Shan State has allied itself  to the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD). Many people had assumed that the RCSS/SSA, its sister ethnic armed organisation from Southern Shan State, would also either declare its support for the SNLD, or its rival the Shan Nationalities Democratic Party (SNDP).
Many people in Shan State have also complained that because there are two Shan parties (the SNLD and the SNDP) it is hard for them to decide who to vote for. Last year thousands of people signed a petition calling on both parties to merge, but both parties rejected the idea.

"We want them to be a single party," said one of the petitioners, "now we don't know which party to vote for."

Others criticised the parties for not being flexible enough. The main point of contention is that the SNLD is fielding candidates in eight states and regions (One Burman region and seven ethnic states.) whilst the SNDP is contesting in all 14 states and regions (seven Burman regions and seven ethnic states.)

The RCSS/SSA, after trying to reconcile the two political parties last October, gave up. “It is a matter of priorities,” said Sao Yawdserk, the leader of the RCSS/SSA. “We want them to be one party, but they can’t. On the other hand, both are willing to negotiate with Naypyitaw on a state-based platform by co-founding a Committee for Shan State Unity (CSSU). In my opinion, that should come first.”

One RCSS/SSA leader, who wished to remain anonymous, said: "Now that there are three Shan parties we can’t support any party without hurting the CSSU cause."

According to the report of the RCSS/SSA delegates tour the people they met are mainly concerned with issues that affect their day-to-day lives, such as: drug abuse, land confiscation, children's education, coal mining, deforestation, taxation, recruitment of new fighters, extrajudicial killings, and continued fighting despite ceasefires being signed.

Some of the other issues discussed at the public consultations on the RCSS/SSA delegates tour included constitutional amendment, dam projects on the Salween and the Wa's demand for a separate state.

Edited in English by Mark Inkey for BNI