• Burmese
Monday, December 11, 2023
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Irrawaddy
27 °c
Yangon
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • Features
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • Features
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
No Result
View All Result
The Irrawaddy
No Result
View All Result
Home News Burma

Thousands of IDPs Sign Petition Urging Shan Groups to Stop Fighting

by Lawi Weng
January 28, 2019
in Burma
Reading Time: 3 mins read
A A
People displaced by fighting in northern Shan State shelter in Hsipaw on Dec. 10, 2018. / Nan Lwin Hnin Pwint / The Irrawaddy

People displaced by fighting in northern Shan State shelter in Hsipaw on Dec. 10, 2018. / Nan Lwin Hnin Pwint / The Irrawaddy

5.8k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Over 3,000 ethnic Shan IDPs in Hsipaw, northern Shan State have signed a petition calling on two rival Shan armed groups to stop fighting and enter peace negotiations, according to local sources. The IDPs sent the petition to the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD)’s office in Hsipaw town on Jan. 22. It is the second such petition sent to the groups this month.

Sai Lao Hseng, secretary of the SNLD office in Hsipaw, told The Irrawaddy on Monday that “Local people often have to run away from fighting. In their villages, they cannot work to earn enough money to eat. They want to go back to their villages as soon as they can. Therefore, they signed a petition asking the two armed groups to stop fighting, and to enter peace negotiations.”

RelatedPosts

Myanmar Junta Chief Uses Injured Soldiers and IDPs for Propaganda Splash

Myanmar Junta Chief Uses Injured Soldiers and IDPs for Propaganda Splash

December 11, 2023
502
China Says Peace Talks Held Over North Myanmar Conflict With ‘Positive Results’

China Says Peace Talks Held Over North Myanmar Conflict With ‘Positive Results’

December 11, 2023
718
Major Myanmar Junta Base Near Indian Border Seized

Major Myanmar Junta Base Near Indian Border Seized

December 11, 2023
607

Fighting between the Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS) and Shan State Progress Party (SSPP), the two Shan armed groups, escalated recently in Hsipaw Township over a territorial dispute. Previously, the RCSS had fought only against the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) in northern Shan State, but fighting broke out between the RCSS and SSPP last year over disputed territory.

Some local Shan were killed and some wounded, included children, in fighting in the township in December. At least two clashes have broken out this month in Hsipaw Township between the two armed groups, leaving local people feeling unsafe in their homes.

“We want them to sit down together at the negotiating table, because our people have been suffering a lot,” Sai Lao Hseng said.

There are five IDPs camps in Hsipaw catering to over 1,000 people. Some IDPs are sheltering at Buddhist monasteries. Sai Lao Hseng went to some IDP centers on Monday to distribute supplies along with a group of local donors from Kyaukme Township.

Sai Lao Hseng said it saddened him to see the conditions in the camps. “I only visit the camps occasionally. I cannot bear to see the condition of the IDPs in the camps,” he said. “When you look at their faces, you feel bad for them.”

The Committee for Shan State Unity (CSSU) is the main group working to broker peace between the two armed Shan groups. Other Shan organizations including the SNLD are working with the CSSU to help find a political solution to the conflict in Shan State.

On Jan. 11, more than 4,000 IDPs signed the first petition calling for peace between the groups, according to the SNLD. The signatures were first sent the SNLD’s headquarters in Yangon, and from there to the two Shan armed groups.

Sai Leik, a senior leader of the SNLD who has worked to try to bring the two Shan groups to the negotiating table, told The Irrawaddy on Monday that his party had sent the signatures to the two armed groups but had yet to receive a reply.

“We sent them to the two armed groups. The first time we sent over 4,000 signatures. We sent over 3,000 the second time,” Sai Leik said.

According to the SNLD, neither armed group has responded with even so much as a phone call. Nor have they offered proposed dates for a meeting. The CSSU wants the two groups to meet in early February.

“We want them to stop fighting each other. Mainly, we are worried about the children and elderly people who are IDPs,” Sai Leik said.

The children need to study, but they cannot go to school, as they have to stay at the IDP camps, he said.

The SNLD leader added that the group wants the EAOs to resolve their territorial dispute in order to stop fighting.

For a long time the RCSS’s base has been in southern Shan State. After signing the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) in 2015, the group tried to move its troops to northern Shan State. To do this, it needed to take territory around Namtu Township, but this territory is claimed by the SSPP, leading the groups to attack each other.

Your Thoughts …
Tags: CSSUEAOsIDPsNCARCSSShan StateSNLDSSPP
Previous Post

2018 Tourist Numbers Rise Slightly, Chinese Up 38%

Next Post

Military Column Detains Villagers, Loot Valuables in N. Rakhine

Lawi Weng

Lawi Weng

The Irrawaddy

Similar Picks:

Exodus: Tens of Thousands Flee as Myanmar Junta Troops Face Last Stand in Kokang

Exodus: Tens of Thousands Flee as Myanmar Junta Troops Face Last Stand in Kokang

November 28, 2023
80.3k
Another Entire Junta Battalion Raises the White Flag in Myanmar’s Northern Shan State

Another Entire Junta Battalion Raises the White Flag in Myanmar’s Northern Shan State

November 29, 2023
72.5k
Has China Lost Control of Ethnic Armies in Myanmar’s War-Torn Borderland?

Has China Lost Control of Ethnic Armies in Myanmar’s War-Torn Borderland?

November 6, 2023
19.9k
‘Midnight Massacre’ at IDP Camp in Myanmar a War Crime: KIA

‘Midnight Massacre’ at IDP Camp in Myanmar a War Crime: KIA

October 10, 2023
17.3k
Chinese Evacuate Border ‘Scam Town’ Besieged by Myanmar Resistance 

Chinese Evacuate Border ‘Scam Town’ Besieged by Myanmar Resistance 

November 7, 2023
10.1k
The Junta is Losing Control of Southeastern Myanmar: Report

The Junta is Losing Control of Southeastern Myanmar: Report

September 28, 2023
9.9k
Load More
Next Post
The wounded child who is being transferred from Sittwe to Yangon General Hospital as of Monday evening, photographed at Sittwe General Hospital on January 28, 2019. / Min Aung Khine / The Irrawaddy

Military Column Detains Villagers, Loot Valuables in N. Rakhine

U Thant House chairman Dr. Thant Myint-U, a grandson of former UN Secretary General U Thant, gives a speech at the museum in Yangon on Jan. 27, 2019.  / supplied

U Thant House, Unicef to Bring Late Diplomat’s Message of Tolerance to Young People

No Result
View All Result

Recommended

The Existential Threat Facing Myanmar’s Junta 

6 days ago
4.6k
Putting the Myanmar Military’s Recent Losses in Perspective

Putting the Myanmar Military’s Recent Losses in Perspective

1 week ago
6.6k

Most Read

  • In Its Seventh Week, Operation 1027 Continues Expanding in Myanmar 

    In Its Seventh Week, Operation 1027 Continues Expanding in Myanmar 

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta Loses Over a Dozen Troops, More Bases in Three Days of Resistance Attacks

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • UK Hits Myanmar Border Guard Force Colonel, Two Others, With Sanctions

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta Sees No Fuel Crisis Even as Its Capital Runs Out of Gas

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Karenni Resistance Marks Successful Month of Attacks on Myanmar Junta 

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Newsletter

Get The Irrawaddy’s latest news, analyses and opinion pieces on Myanmar in your inbox.

Subscribe here for daily updates.

Contents

  • News
  • Politics
  • War Against the Junta
  • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
  • Conflicts In Numbers
  • Junta Crony
  • Ethnic Issues
  • Asia
  • World
  • Business
  • Economy
  • Election 2020
  • Elections in History
  • Cartoons
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Commentary
  • Guest Column
  • Analysis
  • Letters
  • In Person
  • Interview
  • Profile
  • Dateline
  • Specials
  • Myanmar Diary
  • Women & Gender
  • Places in History
  • On This Day
  • From the Archive
  • Myanmar & COVID-19
  • Intelligence
  • Myanmar-China Watch
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Food
  • Fashion & Design
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • Photo Essay
  • Donation

About The Irrawaddy

Founded in 1993 by a group of Myanmar journalists living in exile in Thailand, The Irrawaddy is a leading source of reliable news, information, and analysis on Burma/Myanmar and the Southeast Asian region. From its inception, The Irrawaddy has been an independent news media group, unaffiliated with any political party, organization or government. We believe that media must be free and independent and we strive to preserve press freedom.

  • Copyright
  • Code of Ethics
  • Privacy Policy
  • Team
  • About Us
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Burmese

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Letters
  • Ethnic Issues
  • Features
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Business Roundup
  • Donation

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.