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Fighting for peace: Alice Coster reports on the conflict between the Shan State Army and Burmese forces.

Article Excerpt
The Chairman of the Restoration Council of the Shan State, the political wing of the Shan State Army (SSA), says the alliance of ethnic groups fighting against the Burmese army is 'stronger than ever'. He predicts that in three years they will take back control of more than half of the 160 000 square kilometres they want recognised as an independent Shan state. Colonel Yawd Serk describes himself as 'a simple man' who wants his people to come back to Burma to help him fight for independence. He is small, with a pock-marked face and spectacles. But he has a larger presence as a leader. He drums his fingers slowly as he listens to a question. He thinks carefully before he speaks. 'The Shan people have been forced to relocate and forced to work as slaves by the Burmese Army,' he says with conviction. 'We have suffered atrocious human rights abuses and violations. If we do not have people power, we cannot defend our country and we will lose our freedom. If we lose our freedom, we will have lost everything.'

Today 'the simple man' is taking his message to the people in the jungle near Loi Tai Leng, the headquarters of the SSA, just over the Thai--Burma border. The Shan...