The situation of the Palaung people

[palawa@xxxxxxxxxxxx]

The situation of the Palaung State 

Before  PSLA cease-fire with the SLORC(DPDC)

>In 1990, the SLORC put pressuer on the Palaug people to force the PSLA to
>negotiate with them. First, they cut of communications between the PSLA and
>the Palaung villagers. They forcibly relocated villages around Nam San and
>Man Tong into relocation sites. In the Nam San area, they moved about 10
>villages to the village of Aram, which had a SLORC military base, and which
>is about 4 miles from Nam San Toungship. In the Man Tong area, they moved
>about 10 villages to the village of Ho Ko, which is only 2 miles from Man
>Tong toungship, which had a SLORC military base. They were relocated at the
>time when tea leaves were being harvested, the main cash crop of the
>Palaung, so the villagers could not harvest tea, and they had nothing to
>illness and malnutrition. It was mostly old people, mothers and pregnant
>women who died.
>Several months after the relocation, villagers were allowed back to their
>tea plantations, but only if they had written permission. They were
>forbidden to take any rice with them to eat when they went  to work, in case
>they gave it any to the Palaung soldiers.Most of the tea was no longer able
>to be picked by the time the villagers were able to return to their
>plantations.The villagers could only collect a small amount of tea,but they
>wer forced to give half of it to the SLORC soldiers,who sold it to Chinese
>traders.
>Because the local people could no longer get any income from their tea,they
>suffered great difficulties.They therefore begged the PSLA to negotiate with
>the SLORC.The LSLA felt that they had to heed the wishes of the people,and
>they feared that the situation of the villagers would get worse,so they
>agreed to negotiate with the SLORC.They reached a ceasefire agreement in
>1991.After the ceasefire agreement,the relocated villagers were allowed to
>return home.
>
>Conditions after the ceasefire
>
>After the Palaung villagers were allowed to return home in 1991,they could
>return to tend their tea-plantations.The situataion for the villagers was
>more stable,since the SLORC stopped collectingportrs,and no longer raided
>the villages searching for the Palaung soldiers.They were able to set up
>more pemanent tea-factories.However,they had to pay a lot of taxes to the
>SLORC.For example,they had to pay a tax to set up the factory;also tax on
>the amount of tea they purchased;tax on the tea they transported;tax on the
>amount of firewood used;tax on the amount of dried tea produced.The total
>cost of the taxes amounted to about 70% of the total income earned from the
>tea.Thus the SLORC have managed to make a lot of money from the Palaung
>villagers following the ceasefire.
>there have been no major benefits for the Palaung people following the
>ceasefire.The SLORC has not initiated any development projects in the
>area.Only the PSLA has carried out any development for the Palaung villagers.
>
>Development situation 
>
>After the ceasefire agreement ,the SLORC called the PSLA-controlled area
>"Special Region 7." the SLORC agreed to develop this area,but they did not
>in fact do anything.All of the development in the Palaung area has been done
>by the PSLA and the Palaung people themselves.The car roads have been built
>by the villagers,who brought their own food to eat when working.Now,there
>are roads to most of the villages in the Palaung area.They have also created
>their own hydro-electric plants.
>
>The SLORC agreed to pay 3 million kyat for the development of the Palaung
>area,but they have not spent anything up till now.However, one of the
>Palaung leaders said" If the SLORC cannot develop our area,we have to
>develop it ourselves,as it is our area.In the future,every village must have
>a road and electicity for their survival.This is what we can do to develop
>our area.The SLORC does not develop the border areas in the same way as
>Central Burma.Even though we have joined with the SLORC,they are not clearly
>contributing to our development.They have only given the opportunity to
>people to carry out their personal business,to distract them from politics."
>
>Education situation
>
>After the 1991 ceasefire,the SLORC have allowed the PSLA to set up a Health
>Committee and an Education Committee to improve the health and education
>conditions in the Palaung area.The Education Committee has organised the
>seting up of primary schools in every village in the PSLA- controlled
>area.The teachers are chosen from each village.The villagers provide the
>salary and food of the teachers.The children who have completed 4th standard
>in the villages to go beyond 4th standard,and have sent teachers to some
>villages for this pirpose.Some of the teachers are govemment teachers is not
>sufficient,so the villagers have to help support them with housing and food.
>To cope with the problem of poor students who need to further their
>schooling in the towns,the Education Committee has built boarding hostels in
>Tsipaw,Nam San and Man Tong.
>
>Health situation.
>
>The health situation is very bad in the Palaung area.Most of the villages
>have no health centre.Only the big villages with populations of over 200
>houses  have health centres.Where there are no health centres,the villagers
>have to rely on traditional medics,or people with some health knowledge.If
>anyone is very sick,they must be sent to the hospital in the closest
>town,but since owing to difficulties in transport,patients commonly die on
>the way.
>Following the ceasefire,the PSLA Health Committee has been trying to address
>the health preblems by training basic medics and midwives from each
>village.They are hoping to try and arrange for clinics,or at least health
>centres in each village in the future.
>
Bussines situation

>PSLA and ceasefire with the SLORC, the PSLA were allowed to conduct some
>logging business,and were allowed to buy Chiness goods to trade in
>Burma.General San Pwint gave them a permit to do this.However,in 1996,this
>permit was tevoked. This caused many financial problems for the PSLA.One
>PSLA leader continued to try and trade Chinese goods after the permit was
>revoked .He brought 10 Chinese mechanised tractors filled with Chinese goods
>to Mandalay,but was arrested there,together with his vehicles and goods.He
>was later freed,but all the goods were confiscated.
>The PSLA  is still allowed to operate some tea-factories and some
>whiskey-distilleries in their area,but they have to pay taxes to the SPDC.
>
>SLORC support for the PSLA
>
>After the ceasefire agreement,the SLORC provided 900 sacks of rice and
>200,000 kyats a month to the PSLA to support their army.Hewever, in
>1998,this assistance has been reduced and is not given every month.PSLA
>spokesman said; "In the future,they will probably not help us
>anymore,because everything is getting more expensive,including rice, and the
>situation ot the regime is not good.In April 1998, the SPDC gave the order
>forbidding anyone in Central Burma to transport rice to sell in Northern
Shan State.This
>immediately caused everything to become much more expensive in Nam San.Rice
>is now 3,200 kyats per small sack,and will probably go up to 3,500 kyats a
>sack this week.Before,it was about 2,500 kyats a sack.The villagers are now
>getting worried that the SPDC will put pressure on them again like before
>the ceasefire,to make the PSLA surrender."

more information please contact Phone (053)262008


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