The Restoration Council of Shan State/Shan State Army (RCSS/SSA) has accused the junta of trying to sow discord and division among the ethnic groups in Shan State.
The RCSS made the criticism after the junta’s allies pressured residents in southern Shan State to protest against the Three Brotherhood Alliance, a coalition of three ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) resisting the coup military regime.
On August 18, pro-junta groups held rallies in Mongnai, Mong Pan, and Kunhing towns in southern Shan State, targeting member EAOs of the Three Brotherhood Alliance, the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA). Locals, pressured by these pro-junta groups, also joined the protests.
The RCSS has categorically denied any involvement in the protests, claiming they were orchestrated solely by the junta. Major Sai Kham San, the RCSS’s secretary 2, accused the junta of staging the protests to create divisions among the ethnic groups that live harmoniously in Shan State.
“The pro-junta organizers compelled locals to participate in the protests wearing traditional Shan costumes and carrying Shan flags during the marches. The apparent aim was to create division and conflict between ethnic groups, likely to gain political advantage. In reality, the locals in southern Shan State have no reason to protest against the TNLA and MNDAA,” he told Shan Herald.
Although the MNDAA and TNLA have seized large territories in northern Shan State, there have been no visible signs of their military activity in southern Shan State.
Residents of southern Shan State were pressured by junta-appointed administrators and pro-junta groups to join the protests, and placards denouncing the TNLA and MNDAA were distributed. Security for the marches was provided by the junta’s command police.
“Let me be clear, these junta-sponsored protest marches had nothing to do with the RCSS. The main organizers were the junta’s staff and its affiliates. Some villagers ended up there because they were suddenly summoned, but they didn’t even know beforehand that they were supposed to take part. When they got there, they were handed placards and forced to join the marches,” said Major Sai Kham San.
Participants in junta-sponsored marches in three junta-controlled towns in southern Shan State denounced the TNLA and MNDAA. The placards they carried and the slogans they shouted labeled the TNLA and MNDAA as terrorist groups and enemies of peaceful civilians.
A woman from Mongnai said that around 300 villagers from nearby rural communities were summoned to join the protest, while residents of the town itself received no calls from pro-junta groups.
When the TNLA and Shan State Progress Party (SSPP) jointly attacked the RCSS in recent years, the RCSS issued a statement in Shan urging them to avoid actions that could fuel hatred between the ethnic groups living together in Shan State.
Major Sai Kham San urged the Shan public to stay politically aware and not be exploited by unscrupulous organizations.
Furthermore, pro-junta groups also planned to hold anti–Three Brotherhood Alliance rallies on August 19 in Panglong and Laihka in southern Shan State, and on August 20 in Mongyai and Namlan in northern Shan State.
Lieutenant General Yawd Serk, head of the RCSS, is currently serving as chair of the 7 EAO Alliance, a coalition of seven Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) signatory EAOs.
