The United Wa State Army (UWSA) and the Burma Army yesterday reached an agreement after a 15-day stand-off, caused because the Burma Army seized freshly felled UWSA timber in Mongton township, opposite Chiang Mai’s Chiang Dao district on 2 June, according to sources.
The UWSA agreed to pay the Forestry Department a large fine. “They also agreed to purchase the timber that they had logged,” said a local source. No details of the amount paid by the UWSA were released.
A Shan villager who is close to the Wa Army said: “The Burma Army, in return, agreed to free the six Chinese nationals detained at the logging site [in Mong Khid Village Tract].”
Another source close to the Wa said that both sides had withdrawn their troops from the disputed area. “Traffic and life have returned to normal,” he added.
But, on the night of 17 June 10 Burma Army armoured vehicles were seen leaving Tachilek, heading to Monghsat Township in Monghsat District, where the townships of Mongton and Mongpiang are also located. It is not known if the move was related to the logging tension with the UWSA in Mongton
Since 1993 the UWSA has been calling for a Wa State independent from Shan State, which has been one of the causes of tension between the Wa and the Shan.
But, a former resistance fighter dismissed predictions by some that the two sides may end up fighting each other again.
He told SHAN: “The Burmese [army] may hate the Wa, but the Wa are serving as a good proxy against the Shan and, unlike the Shan, the Wa have the backing of China. So I don’t think the Burma Army will start fighting the Wa yet.”
Edited in English by Mark Inkey for BNI
