In this open letter, Khuensai Jaiyen questions who created a social media page falsely attributed to the RCSS/SSA. 

Ethnic people in Shan State have suffered because of recent conflict between Shan armed groups, with many fleeing from clashes before the fighting stopped in late March.

It is my hope that the two Shan forces—the Restoration Council of Shan State/Shan State Army (RCSS/SSA) and the Shan State Progress Party/Shan State Army (SSPP/SSA)—can solve their problems peacefully.

All ethnic people in Shan State have a responsibility to negotiate for a better future for our state. We have to prohibit hate speech, posts and video clips on social media pages that can foment more conflict between the two Shan armed forces.

The so-called “RCSS ARMY” Facebook page is one such page that has created more conflict online, and boasts 50,000 followers. It has been used to post criticism of the SSPP. Some supporters of the RCSS are unaware that it is a fake page, and have “liked” and shared its posts. Others, who support the SSPP, have criticized the posts and the page.

The administrator of the RCSS ARMY page states that it is a real page affiliated with the RCSS/SSA, a claim that the RCSS has itself denied.

The RCSS officially announced on January 8 that the RCSS ARMY Facebook page is not linked to their organization, and that their only official page is “Tai Freedom.”

The issue became personal when I was informed that the administrators of the RCSS ARMY page had listed my own personal phone number as the contact number on their page. Why didn’t the page creator(s) list their own phone numbers?

In the past, some people called me and I answered. They placed blame on me and used rude language. I had to patiently listen to it. Some people called and cheered me on. I had to patiently listen that, too. I began to think that if I answered these calls from unknown numbers, they might think that I was in fact the creator of this Facebook page. So I stopped answering calls from numbers with which I was not familiar. I expect people will understand, and excuse me for doing that.

We have already reported the incident to the Thai police and filed a case at the police station. We reported it to officials at Facebook. If the RCSS ARMY Facebook page creator continues to write hate speech or contribute to conflict through their posts, we will have to seek a way to take action, because this individual’s action has contributed to further conflict among the Shan people and between Shan armed groups.

If the RCSS ARMY Facebook page creator is a Shan person, I want to urge you to understand how harmful your actions are, and that you must immediately cease to post on this page, and correct what you have done.

If the RCSS ARMY Facebook page creator is not a Shan person, I want to point out that your action is creating disunity in the Union and, if you are a military affiliate, you are even violating the national causes drawn up by the Tatmadaw.

It is the time to build unity among different ethnic groups in this Union.

If there is no unity among the Shan people, can the Union itself have unity?

If there is no unity among the Shan people, can different ethnic people in Shan State have unity?

I would like to request that our audience not visit the RCSS ARMY Facebook page and to avoid reading their posts.

If you want to read accurate news, you can visit http://www.facebook.come/officialshannews/

Moreover, I would like to ask for there to be unity among the Shan people, among the ethnic people in Shan State, and among the citizens of the Union.

Best regards,

Khuensai Jaiyen