Two pieces of news concerning the 76th Anniversary Pa-O National Day made headlines quite recently. One is dwelling on the importance of Pa-O unity, which is crucial that the Pa-O National Organization (PNO) makes an about turn to abandon the alliance with the junta or State Administration Council (SAC) and joining the revolutionary groups of Pa-O National Liberation Organization (PNLO) and Pa-O National Federal Council (PNFC).

The other is the PNLO leader Khun Thurein making announcement that those who advocate for negotiation or dailogue is in fact prolonging the lifeline of tyrannical military dictatorship system. A clearcut position of uprooting the military junta by all means in order to be able to establish federal democratic union.

Both issues, including the aspirations of a Pa-O State carving out of the Shan State, were made known in joint statement during the 75th Anniversary Occasion of Pa-O National Day on the 11 March, 2024, by the PNLO and PNFC.

The 76th joint statement also echoes the same sentiment with a slight alteration.

The joint statement vowed to work together with all other ethnic nationalities including the Bamar, to end the military dictatorship and emergence of new ethnic states.

PNFC Chairman Khun Myint Tun said: “During the first and second revolutionary periods as we Pa-O were considerate to the Union (probably because of political instability at that time), we didn’t mention our desire . We didn’t want to be blamed that it was because of Pa-O State issue, even though we have it in our heart we refrained to make it known. Today at this third revolutionary period we openly said that we want the emergence of Pa-O State and will try to achieve it through political means.”

The 7-point joint statement gist includes the following:-

1. Vows to work with all the people, revolutionary forces and all stakeholders to achieve federal democratic union, freedom and liberation;
2. Will actively collaborate to achieve a strong and comprehensive political consensus as soon as possible;
3. Based on the principle of establishing a federal union that allows for the emergence of new federal states, political issues must be resolved through political means;
4. PNLO and PNFC will collaborate in public welfare, politics, military, administration and, and humanitarian issues;
5. PNLO and PNFC will adhere to the principle of avoiding armed conflict as much as possible either between the Pa-O groups or other ethnic nationalities, while right to self-defense will be maintained;
6. Urges the PNO to reaffirm Pa-O National Solidarity commitment of 2017 and joined the people’s revolution opposing and ending the military dictatorship, to build a federal democratic state; and
7. Urges not to be against the public as the people are father and mother of the revolutionary groups.

The 76th Anniversary joint statement especially emphasized that the PNO collaboration with the junta as its ally and militia role makes the other ethnic nationalities, including the whole country’s population, hated the Pa-O people in general.

Besides, after giving only a short military training to the forcefully conscripted Pa-O youth and sending to frontline and sacrificing them, using them as human shield, also makes the Pa-O people hated and mad at the PNO.

Thus, the PNO should reconsider its stance and return back to its 2017 Pa-O National Solidarity original goals of uprooting the military dictatorship and fight for the restoration of freedom.

Reportedly, some eighteen revolutionary groups sent felicitation letters on the occasion of Pa-O National Day. Included among them are Chin, Kachin, Shan, Karenni, Karen, Ta’ang, Mon, All Burma Student Democratic Front (ABSDF), Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH) revolutionary forces and so on.

The two anti-junta Pa-O armed organizations are on the right track to demand for its rights of self-determination, as an ethnic state, accordingly through negotiation and political means when the establishment of federal democratic union is in place.

Unlike the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) which considered that captured territories from the junta belongs to it exclusively, even though there are other ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) that were operating or settled there in the areas for decades well before the TNLA was even founded.

Moreover, the TNLA has multiplied its self-administered zone area six or seven folds to be included into its aspired ethnic state, at the expense of other ethnic groups, which is pure territorial expansionism, contrary to the federal democratic union principles. It conveniently also ignored the fact that sovereignty belongs to the local people and not any armed group. Beides it has no rights and authority to do the political mapping and creation of new federal constituent units on its own, as the responsibility is with the to be formed federal and local authorities in the near future.

In the same vein, Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) also expanded its self-administered zone into Kutkai and Hsenwi areas, at the expense of the local people.

In comparison to the TNLA and MNDAA, the PNLO and PNFC are politically mature and knows how to project the Pa-O State aspirations in a federal democratic way, through negotiation and political means when the time is ripe.

In sum, the TNLA and MNDAA should follow the example of PNLO and PNFC, rather than entertaining the assumption of might is right, with territorial expansionism urge, which will lessen the inter-ethnic conflict and promote unity in uprooting the military dictatorship system and establishment of the federal democratic union as aspired by the people.