"They (SPDC) told us to surrender which we can't accept," said Ti Saung, the 62-year old Vice-President of SNPLO and a delegate at the junta's National Convention.

The junta plans to disarm all ethnic armed groups after the constitution drafting process, Ti Saung said quoting some senior members of the SPDC at press conferences.

The Eastern Military Commander Gen. Thaug Aye visited SNPLO's headquarters in Naung Htaung in May and told them "You do not need to go to the jungles."

"His words made us feel unsafe and we had to act urgently," said Colonel Khun Thurein (31) the General Secretary of the SNPLO. The president and the rest of the members are still in Burma.

SNPLO's press conference on returning to the jungle was held at a camp of the All Burma Students' Democratic Front or ABSDF located in the fraternal ethnic resistant group, the Karenni National Progressive Party, controlled area today.

Five M-79 launchers along with various types of assault rifles such as M-16, AK-47, AK-74, MA-1 were seen with the fresh-looking faces of the majority of the Pa-O ethnic nationality army.

The SNPLO have been known to fight the Shan State Army- South or SSA-South in the past. However, the SNPLO claimed that the junta pressurised them to fight." This was to make all of us weak," said Thurein.

The group, in a statement released today, said it revived the more than 50 year old armed struggle on June 10, 2007 after more than a decade of a ceasefire agreement with the ruling junta.

"We firmly believe that political problems cannot be discussed and negotiated with the junta in a peaceful manner… therefore we have revived our armed struggle and vow to continue under the SNPLO banner until genuine federalism is achieved," said the statement.

Membership of the SNPLO decreased to less than one third from its strength of 1,000 in 1994 when they signed the ceasefire agreement with Rangoon. It had bases in Taung Gyi, Ho Pone, Lin Khe and Loi Lin districts of Shan State.

The SNPLO, which entered into a ceasefire agreement with the Burmese junta in 1994, was reportedly not the only group to have been under pressure to surrender arms.

"I have been told by one of the groups [ceasefire] that the junta has been pressurising ceasefire groups to lay down their arms and enter into 'legal folk'," said Mya Maung an analyst based in China-Burma border.

The junta's ultimate plan is to turn the armed groups into political organizations and make them participate in the ensuing general elections, in order to effectively eliminate political opposition, Mya Maung added.

However, there have been signs of resentment from the resistant groups and there are indications that they could revive armed struggle if the junta steps up pressure on them.

Meanwhile, reports said the leader of the Shan State Army – South, one of the longest surviving ethnic insurgent group, Col. Yawdserk has welcomed the SNPLO's decision and expressed his gratitude to the KNPP for receiving them warmly.