A coalition of nine groups in Namkham Township on Sunday put out a statement condemning the Ta’ang National Liberation Army/Palaung State Liberation Front (TNLA/PSLF), who they hold responsible for deliberately burning homes last week in a village in northern Shan State.

The strongly worded statement claimed that TNLA troops, who in recent have taken part in a series of clashes in the area with the Restoration Council Shan State/Shan State Army (RCSS/SSA), entered Hopang village on May 6th and started fires that led to the leveling of many homes.

On May 7th, the TNLA released a statement denying that they were responsible for the fires in Hopang village. The group instead suggested that heavy weapons fired in the vicinity of Hopang village could have triggered the fires or that they could have been lit by another armed group.

A resident of Namkham Township who claims to have witnessed the incident contradicted the TNLA’s denial. “The fighting between the two groups began on May 1st and lasted until May 5th. The next day, the TNLA troops entered the village and burnt down houses,” this individual claimed. “They also killed villagers’ animals and took their property,” added the eyewitness.

This individual also claimed that some of the TNLA soldiers spoke Kachin.

According to local aid workers, 62 homes were burnt down in Hopang village causing more than 300 people to flee the village. These displaced villagers are now staying in the Wongwee sub-township of Namkham.

The joint statement was issued by representatives of several groups based in Namkham. The groups that signed on were the Shan Sangha Youth, Campaign for Unity Preservation (UP), the People of Namkham, Shan National Democratic Party (SNDP), Shan Literature and Cultural Association, the Farmer’s Association, Tai Youth, Shan Women’s Organization and the Committee of the Quarters and Villages of Namkham.

The joint statement called on the TNLA to take responsibility for the fires and help rebuild the houses of civilians who lost their homes and compensate them for the damage

“If the demands and compensation are not implemented, the PSLF/TNLA will be announced widely as a ‘Terrorist organization in the Republic of the Union of Myanmar,’” the statement claimed.

One of the signatories to the statement, Sai Lurn Myat, the Chairman of the Campaign for Unity Preservation (UP) told SHAN that the reason they sent the letter to the TNLA is that he and his fellow signatories don’t want this kind of thing to be repeated.

“We don’t want problems like this to happen to Shan people in Hopang Village but also to every ethnic group across Burma,” he said.

Fighting between the TNLA and the RCSS/SSA in northern Shan State began late last year. While the TNLA stands accused of burning Shan villagers homes, the TNLA has in turn accused the RCSS/SSA forces of entering their territory and violating the rights of Palaung villagers. In a statement sent out on May 2nd the TNLA accused the RCSS/SSA of extorting money from Palaung villagers, confiscating property and farm animals and setting up check points to restrict villagers travel.

The letter denouncing the TNLA was sent to a number of government and military officials. Included on the long list of recipients were Burma’s new president, the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, the Minister of Ethnic Affairs, the Chief Minister of Shan State, the Command Commander of the Northern battalion in Lashio, Division Commander (33) Army Division of Namkham, the Chairman of the District Council of Muse District, the Police Chief of Muse District, the Chairman of the Town Council of Namkham, Police Chief of Namkhm, the Restoration Council of Shan State/Shan State Army (RCSS/SSA), the Shan State Progress Party/Shan State Army (SSPP/SSA), the Sengkaew’s People’s Militias and the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC).

BY SAI AW / Shan Herald Agency for News (SHAN)