Yawdserk: We must return to Panglong
On 7 December, SHAN interviewed Col Yawdserk, Chairman of the Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS) and Commander-in-Chief of the Shan State Army (SSA) South, at his base in Loi Taileng. The following are excerpts:
On the September crackdownBurma has been an ash-covered cinder for a long time. It only needs something to blow away the ashes so the flames are rekindled. The generals, by their brutal suppression, only managed to cover the cinder again with ashes, but if they think the fire has been doused, they are deadly wrong.
Col Yawdserk
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Opposition solidarity
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One significant result of the September incident is that the Burman democratic movements and the non-Burman ethnic nationalities have become more united. However, we are totally united only on the questions of the overthrow of SPDC and the restoration of democracy. We still need to work together harder on the question of federalism. Perhaps it should be put off until the SPDC relinquishes its power.
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UN role
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What the UN and its envoy Ibrahim Gambari should bear in mind is that the genesis of today’s Burma is Panglong (when Aung San signed treaty with non-Burmans in 1947 for a union where each state would enjoy full autonomy, democracy and human rights). It was because the Burmese military could not swallow Panglong that all the present problems had started and have worsened each day. A new Burma cannot arise out of the ashes until and unless all those concerned return to Panglong.
The Military holding the country together?
That is a very mistaken view. You cannot hold the country together without the consent of the people. If they could hold it together, why did the people vote for the NLD, SNLD and others in 1990? What’s new in the upcoming annual RCSS meetingWe are going to include representatives of each village tract in the Council. The aim is 4-fold:
To report to the Council any excesses committed by members of the resistance
To propose development projects for their respective localities
To advise the Council
To participate in the decision making
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