Palaung Political history

Traditional self-rule
The Palaung people were traditionally ruled by a hereditary Sawbwa, or Prince, who had his capital in Namhsan Township. During various periods of their history, the Paluang were forced to pay tribute to the Burmese kings. However, they were enjoying a period of independence when the British annexed Shan State in 1886. Even though the Palaung had limited autonomy during the colonial period and during the period of Burma’s democratic rule from 1948 to 1962, it was not until the military coup by General Ne Win in 1962 that a serious political and armed movement began in Palaung lands.

Formation of the Palaung resistance movement

After the 1962 coup, the Burma Army committed many injustices against the people, and the Palaung people, along with many other nationalities, took up arms against them. The first Palaung resistance group, the Palaung National Front (PNF), was formed in 1963, at the time when national leaders from different parts of Shan State were being executed or imprisoned. The PNF later merged with the Shan State Army (SSA).

In 1976, Tar Khon Toung, one of the military commanders of the PNF, set up a new group, the Palaung State Liberation Organization (PSLO) and its armed wing, the Palaung State Liberation Army (PSLA), which aimed to continue struggling for self-determination for the Palaung people. The 1,000-strong army based itself in the Palaung heartland in the mountains between Namkham, Lashio, and Maymyo. In October 1986, the PSLO was renamed the Palaung State Liberation Party under the chairmanship of Mai Aik Mong. The PSLP cooperated with other ethnic resistance organisations under the National Democratic Front.
During the decades of civil war many Palaung became internally displaced and struggled to survive in remote areas in the hills. Some fled to take refuge at the China border and in the northern border areas of Thailand.

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