THE SHAN STATE ARMY'S PROPOSAL TO END THE OPIUM TRADE
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BACKGROUND NOTES
collected by Chris Menges and Adrian Cowell, while filming in the Shan State of Burma, for ATV,
between June 1972 and July 1973.
DETAILS OF THE TRIP
Previous visit
Chris Menges and I spent 5 months in 1965 filming the Shan
Resistance forces east of the Salween. Since then the Shans have often complained about the cordon of censorship round Shan State and that
no other journalists have been into their resistance areas.
In the autumn of 1971, we agreed to make another film this time west of the Salween with the Shan State Army.
Film Unit
a. 16mm colour cine film and 35 mm still film.
b. When we were forced to retreat northwards from Mong Pan
we had to leave behind two thirds (16 mule loads) of our unexposed film and equipment. We were re-supplied after that only very erratically by truck.
c. Our unit usually consisted of one S.S.A. sub-lieutenant, 3 muleteers and 4 men who helped with the cameras and recorders. But this varied depending on the campaign or the army unit we were with.
The Shan State Army
The S.S.A. was founded by a group of students who ran away from Rangoon University in 1959 to fight for the autonomy of Shan State. They joined what was then the first large resistance force under Sao Noie (Num Serk Han), and tried to introduce a political programme and a better organisation. This led to a break with Sao Noie, and in March 1961 they founded the Shan State Independence Army which had its centre in the Hsipaw-Hɛenwi area. Though there have been various changes since then, the Shan State Army is essentially the same organisation run by the same ex-students. (Appendix A - History of "han Revolution).
Today the S.S.A. has an army of a thousand men, a political party, a youth movement, and a 'civil' administration with 95 schools, medical and propaganda units etc. It is the most stable political force in Shan State and the closest that any Shan group comes to the usual idea of a revolutionary movement. (Appendix B The S.S.A.)
In February 1972, the S.S.A. sent 200 men under Lt.Col. Pan Aung to escort us into their area.
Fighting in Mong Pan
In February, the S.S.A. was still at peace with the ex-K.M.T. army west of the Salween (known as No.3 K.M.T.) which is commanded by Genral Lee Wun Huan from Tam Ngop in Thailand. (Appendix C No.3 K.M.T. and the S.U.R.A.) Since 1969, however, the K.M.T. have been infiltrating the Shan Resistance group which controls the Southern area of Shan State
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