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Bkk post - Troops transfer linked t



Reply-To: "TIN KYI" <tinkyi@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Bkk post - Troops transfer linked to new battle

Bangkok Post- Oct 31, 1999.
Troops transfer linked to new battle
Analysts predict war by proxy theory

Nusara Thaitawat and Subin Khuenkaew

Wei Hsueh-kang recently reassigned about 350 soldiers of his United Wa State
Army to border areas opposite Mae Sot district, Tak, informed Thai and
Western sources said.

 A soldier from the 2nd cavalry Regiment's 12th battalion takes a break from
his duties at the foot of the track-linking Ban San Ma ked to the new
headquarters of drug kingpin Wei Hsueh-hang. - Subin Khuenkaew
Narcotics agents and Third Army officers are closely monitoring the
movements of these troops, who were dropped off near Myawaddy township by
Burmese military trucks under Wei's personal supervision on Aug 14.

An analyst said the Burmese junta may be pulling the strings of yet another
proxy war to resolve ethnic problems by teaming the UWSA with the Democratic
Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) against Rangoon's arch enemy, the Karen National
Union (KNU).

The DKBA broke away from the Christian-dominated KNU several years back.

Analysts say the split was instigated by the Burmese junta.

"The KNU is the last ethnic thorn in Burma's side," one analyst said. "The
UWSA has more than proven its fighting skills when it brought down Khun Sa
in late 1995.

"The DKBA knows the KNU inside out and is familiar with the terrain. Teamed
together, they fit the bill perfectly for the Burmese government," he said.

Another analyst was not so happy with the war by proxy theory. He said the
military leaders in Rangoon and the UWSA did not get along that well.

"Neither side trusts the other. All that the Burmese government wants is
some level of stability. I don't believe that the Burmese government would
want to give the opportunity to the UWSA to move further south and expand
its influence," he said.

He cited the dispute between the Burmese junta and the UWSA over the Wa
refusal to return to Pangsanh after it won a battle against Khun Sa in the
Doi Lang area three years ago.

Another source pointed out that Wei's 46th Brigade should be seen as "an
almost separate entity" within the UWSA, headquartered in Pangsanh in
Burma's Shan State.

"Wei is like a golden hen for the Burmese junta. He's a drug dealer, a
businessman, a fighter and a criminal. It's not known that he has any
political ambition to free the Wa ethnic group from Burmese domination," he
said.

"The Burmese can rest assured, as long as there's money to be made," he
said.

Concerned officials are verifying where the soldiers were relocated from,
possibly Mong Yawn, opposite Ban San Ton Du, Mae Ai district, Chiang Mai,
where Wei's former 361st Brigade was based, or Ban Hong, opposite Ban San Ma
Ked, his new headquarters.

"These two sites may be a bit too far from Myawaddy. It's possible that Wei
relocated a few soldiers here and there from his units along the border,"
said one senior officer of the Third Army.

The UWSA controls most of the area opposite Mae Sai district, Chiang Rai,
down to Tha Ton district, Chiang Mai.

The sources confirmed that about 60 trucks from the Burmese army were used
to transport the soldiers down the main road linking Myawaddy to Mae Sot on
Aug 14, and that Wei was present.

The road was closed to traffic that day. A public announcement of the
closure cited "rain damage," they said.

The soldiers were dropped off just outside Myawaddy.

UWSA negotiators have made contact with the DKBA and there is a possibility
that the arrangement could be more than political.

Three, possibly four, new laboratories producing methamphetamine pills began
operation recently. One which is ran jointly with the DKBA is in the
vicinity of Oo Kay Hta village in Dooplaya, south of the town of Walay, said
one source.

Wei, whose Thai name is Prasit Chivinnitipanya, is wanted by both Thai and
US authorities on separate drug trafficking charges.

The US last year announced a US$2million reward for information leading to
his arrest and prosecution.