The Pa-O National Liberation Organization (PNLO) split into two factions over a dispute on whether to adhere to the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) with the military following its Central Executive Committee meeting on Sept. 11. The PNLO signed the NCA in 2015.
A faction led by PNLO Patron Khun Okkar left in protest over Chairperson Khun Thurein’s opposition to the NCA. But 10 percent of the PNLO Central Executive Committee resigned to join Khun Okkar, who was also dissatisfied with the PNLO concentrating power in the hands of five of its senior leaders.
“[Khun Okkar’s faction] are not satisfied with the decision we made during the meeting which aims to bring the [PNLO] together under effective leadership,” Khun Aung Man, a PNLO spokesperson told DVB.
During the meeting, five officials – including three chairpersons, one general secretary, and one member of the Central Executive Committee – were appointed to lead the PNLO.
Spokesperson Khun Aung Man reiterated that the armed wing of the PNLO, the Pa-O National Liberation Army (PNLA), will remain under the command of Chairperson Khun Thurein’s faction and not the one that split to join Khun Okkar.
In his resignation letter, Khun Okkar claimed that the PNLO under Khun Thurein’s leadership violated the NCA when it joined forces with resistance groups, such as the Karenni Nationalities Defense Force (KNDF), to launch an offensive against the military and pro-regime Pa-O National Organization (PNO) in Hsihseng Township, located in southern Shan State, in January.
Hsihseng is located 53 miles (85 km) south of the Shan State capital Taunggyi and 38 miles (61 km) north of the Karenni State capital Loikaw. The military and PNO retook control of Hsihseng town by March, but fighting continues in the rural parts of the township.
Khun Okkar’s resignation letter accused Khun Thurein of using the PNLO to further his personal ideology instead of the will of its collective leadership. Khun Okkar told DVB that he will continue working with other NCA signatories such as the PNO on issues related to humanitarian aid and the development of the Pa-O Self-Administered Zone (SAZ) in southern Shan State. The SAZ consists of Hsihseng, Hopong, and Pinlaung townships.
PNLO Chairperson Khun Thurein has urged other NCA signatories to abandon the military and join forces with the anti-coup resistance. Three other NCA signatories – the Karen National Union (KNU), Chin National Front (CNF), All Burma Students’ Democratic Front (ABSDF) – have returned to the battlefield to fight since the 2021 coup.
The New Mon State Party (NMSP), another NCA signatory, also split into two factions over disputes on whether to take up arms against the military. The NMSP-Anti Dictatorship faction joined arms with resistance forces on Feb. 14.
Khun Okkar and other PNLO officials who support the NCA have participated in several rounds of peace talks with regime leader Min Aung Hlaing in the capital Naypyidaw since Feb. 1, 2021.
The modern iteration of the PNLO was founded in December 2009 to represent the Pa-O ethnic nationality. It is primarily active in the Pa-O Self-Administered Zone as well as Mawkmai, Langhko, and Namhsan townships of southern Shan State.
