UWSA releases Wei after 5 years
A former commander of the United Wa State Army (UWSA), who was forcibly ousted by his own outfit, has been released from his 55-year prison term after being locked up for five years, the Chiang Mai-based Shan Herald Agency for News reported yesterday.
Wei Hsaitang, 47, former commander of the UWSA's 417th Brigade, had been serving a 55-year jail sentence in the Wa capital of Panghsang on the Burma-China border since May 2002. Wei had been accused of several offences, including printing counterfeit bank notes. His release came amid growing pressure from the Burmese military government on the UWSA to surrender their weapons in exchange for permanent peace. UWSA and the junta signed a cease-fire agreement in 1989 in exchange for Wa limited self-rule in the so-called Special Region 2, an area in Burma's northern Shan State bordering the Chinese province of Yunan. It was not clear if Hsaitang's release was connected to the Burmese pressure on the UWSA. Sources in the UWSA and on the China border said the pressure on the 20,000-strong UWSA to give up their arms began after former Burmese prime minister Khin Nyunt was ousted from power. Khin Nyunt was the main player in the junta that had orchestrated the 1989 cease-fire agreement with the UWSA. Thai military sources said Wei was ousted because he was trying to enter a separate peace deal with the Thai army as part of his plan to break away form the UWSA leadership. Wei is said to be an arch enemy of another UWSA commander, Wei Hsueh-kang, who is wanted in Thailand and in the US on heroin trafficking charges.
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