The recent tension between government troops and the Kokang ceasefire group in northern Shan State is seen by observers as a tactic to pressure the Kokang into joining the junta’s border guard force.
After junta troops entered the Kokang-controlled area on Tuesday, Lt-Gen Ye Myint, chief of the military affairs security unit, arrived in Lao Kai and met with newly appointed Kokang leaders, said Aung Kyaw Zaw, an analyst on the Sino-Burma.
Nyo Ohn Myint, a Burmese politician in exile, said the regime is trying to show that the Kokang and the Wa ceasefire groups are heavily involved in drug production and sales, in an effort to discredit current leaders and to replace them with leaders who may be willing to cooperate with the regime.
“I think the regime is using a clever mechanism to handle the crisis with the ceasefire groups,” he said.
He noted that the United Wa State Army (UWSA) has been identified by the United States as an organization deeply involved in the drug trade.
Observers said the junta sees the Kokang as one of the weakest ceasefire groups, and one it may be able to convince to transition into a border guard force.
“The scenario for the Kokang is not good,” said Aung Kyaw Zaw. “They may end up complying with the junta.”
Burma watcher David Scott Mathieson noted that the regime wants all ethnic ceasefire groups to join the border guard force by October.
Tension mounted last week when junta troops raided the home of a Kokang leader, Peng Jiasheng, in a search for drugs. He is said to have left the area and be in a UWSA-controlled area.
Meanwhile, the state-run newspaper, The New Light of Myanmar, reported that a large amount of illegal drugs was seized on Monday in Tachileik, located opposite Mai Sai, Thailand.
irrawaddy
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