Shan people believe upcoming election could resolve 25 percent of northern Shan conflict
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Phyo/ Thant Zin (NP News) – Sept 28
The upcoming general election will resolve the northern Shan conflict by 25 percent, according to information obtained by The Statesman from local ethnics in Shan State.
Due to the 1027 operation launched by the MNDAA, TNLA, and AA on October 27, 2023, many Shan ethnic people in Shan State were forced to flee their homes for a long time.
A Shan ethnic person said that the Shan people have suffered from war-torn conditions and the destruction of their homes and buildings during the fighting between the three northern groups in Shan State, and so, elections are the only way to find a political solution.
“The upcoming 2025 election is a political outlet for the Shan people in Shan State. We have suffered from war. Our homes have been destroyed by artillery fire. Now, what we want on the ground is only a political outlet and regional development. We have made a decision that politics must be resolved through political means,” he said.
It is reported that no Shan ethnic people participated in or supported any side during the fighting carried out by the MNDAA, TNLA, and AA under the name of Operation 1027.
Therefore, a Shan ethnic political analyst said that they are willing to resolve the current military conflicts through political means and believe that elections can resolve 25 percent of these conflicts.
“The current conflict is political. As long as it is resolved militarily, there will be no solution. There is a possibility that holding an election will partially resolve the conflict by 25 percent. This is quite obvious in Nawnghkio,” he said.
Furthermore, he said, most Shan ethnic people accept that the fighting in northern Shan was a result of a fascist system that exploited the political ambitions of one ethnic armed group seeking to expand its territory.
“Now, rather than calling it a fight, we should call it neo-colonial expansion. It is a fascist system that uses the political pretense of a group of people to gain territory. It is incompatible with democracy. We define democracy as a system of justice and equal rights. We see that the system that has become a dictatorship for the benefit of one group of people, rather than equality, is a backward feudal system. We want to put an end to this,” he said.
In addition to the above-mentioned opinion of the Shan nationalities regarding the election, the 7 EAO Alliance, which has signed the NCA with the Tatmadaw, will also adopt a neutral policy. –