SSA Denies Bangkok Post Report:

[shan@xxxxxxxxxxxx]

3 September 1999 

Drugs 
SSA Denies Bangkok Post Report 

Commanders of the Shan States Army flatly rejected the report made by Bangkok
Post that it had offered 100,000 baht to Burmese soldiers for the return of
lists naming people involved in the drug trade, said the SSA's public
relations
officer yesterday. 

Captain Htoon, Chief Public Relations Officer of the Shan States Army, told
S.H.A.N he had sent inquiries both to Yawdserk, Commander of the SSA, and
officers in the field as soon as he received the report. 

"At 09:30 on 18 August, a 40-strong unit of LIB 525 Commanded by Maj. Khin
Maung Nyo, staged an ambush on the Township No.1 Administration Unit led by
Sgt. Khurhsang. His 8-man team was bivouacking in Doisaeng, southeast of
Homong, 1-½ hour walking distance from there. They were able to extricate
themselves intact from the battleground after a fierce 20-minute engagement,
which left 2 Burmese soldiers killed and 7 wounded. The SSA, however, lost 1
carbine with 20 rounds of ammo, and Sgt. Khurhsang's backpack which contained
tax forms both used and unused", reported Captain Htoon. 

"According to the Khunsang Tonhoong Column, (the unit that operates in the
area), no effort was made to recover the contents of the bag by the SSA. But,
since names of businesspeople living in Homong and paying car and timber taxes
to the SSA were contained in the books seized by the Burmese, Mahaja (ex-MTA
officer-turned-businessman) was worried they might suffer consequences from
the
junta and tried to buy them back, before the booty was turned over to the
authorities". 

There was no news whether or not Mahaja succeeded in retrieving the books,
said
Htoon.

"As for the SSA, there is no one who thinks the loss of the backpack would put
it at risk in any manner, because we are waging a vigorous campaign against
drugs". 

Captain Htoon added he also received a reply from Commander Yawdserk. "He said
he had never contacted Mahaja for anything. During talks with Mahasang
(Mahaja's half-brother, who is fighting against the junta in alliance with
Yawdserk), he asked the latter whether the two brothers communicated with each
other. Mahasang also replied in the negative". 

Yawdserk was also reported to have said, "Had we wanted to deal in drugs,
there
wasn't any need to take up arms against the junta in the first place. We could
have done it under its protection". 

/// END \\\ 
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