Shan National Day Shan National Day Dear Shans, Today, on the 7th, of February we have again arrived at the anniversary of our Shan National Day. A National Day should be a day of joy, a day of celebration and a day of unity but unfortunately its significance has become meaningless and empty. The peoples in the Shan State have become divided, confused and don’t know which way to turn and our mother land is being occupied by a dictatorial group of terrorist who elected themselves as a government. I ask myself why the Shans have let themselves into such a situation of dire political, human rights and economic situation for the last fifty years when they had once achieved greatness, freedom and peace. Then I began to look back at our history with the hope that I can draw some conclusions and perhaps we, Shans can learn a few lessons and never let such a situation to occur again. Past history tells us that whenever the Shans became involved with Nationalistic Burmese kings or politicians there were always disaster and calamity. It started when in the late 15th Century when Tai society in the Upper Irrawaddy valley was rapidly breaking up into small units. The successors of the Shan Brothers and their desc 借貸endents adopted the culture and society of the people they ruled and had become more and more Burmanised by inter-marrying with the old royal house of Pagan. They also adopted Burmese scripts and appointed Burmese Officers in their administration. They gradually became isolated from their kinsmen on the Shan Plateau. In 1554 Bayinnaung set out against the Shan Sao Hpas, who occupied the ancient capital of Burma, Ava. He captured it the following year. The Shans were placed under Burma suzerainty, and Bayinnaung was consequently in a position to attack his most powerful enemy, Siam. He unified his country and conquered the Shan States on the plateau and Siam (now Thailand), making Burmar the most powerful kingdom in mainland of Southeast Asia.Bayinnaung was determined to wipe out the feudal power of the rulers of the Shan mongs which had dominated several parts of Burma since the fall of Pagan in 1287, and later the Kingdom of Ava. He took his revenge until it was impossible for the Shan to recover from their fall in Lower Burma, and later in the Shan States on the plateau.By this period the Burman Politicians had laid down the foundation of their 西服political ideology to conquer neighbouring countries by any means, which had been passed down from one generation after generation until today. The Shans on the other hand had become weak and tired, lost their drive to fight and opted out for a peaceful living. Some Shan Sao Hpas on the Shan Plateau also became mixed up in the Burman game of politics; the Shan states were used as a bargaining chip by the Chinese or the Burmans in their many wars. Although the Shan Sao Hpas retained their autonomy the Kings tried to interfere in every aspect of their and their citizens’ lives. In 1782 – 1819 some monks in the Shan States adopted the Yuen Sect of Buddhism and were teaching it in their monasteries, but Bodawpaya sent his men to enforce his own belief on the monks and citizens of the Shan State. They sought out and threatened Shan Monks, like in the case of Sao Garng Hser, a Shan monk w ho was a staunch believer in the Yuen Sect to adopt the Thudhamma sect of Buddhism. Sao Garng Hser had to flee from his home town of Weing Lao. They still didn’t leave him alone; they harassed him until he had to disrobe.Mrs. Lesley Milne in her book “Shan at Home”, wrote that in 21世紀房屋仲介 the late eighteenth century when the Shan States were vassals to the Burmese Kings the Burman officials tyrannised the Shans. The Shan State was reduced to chaos and destruction due to oppression and misrule. Robbers and bandits infested the Tai country. The final blow came when the three wars took place between Burma and Britain. The Sao Hpas were forced by the Burman officials to supply men to fight with them against the British. Just before Britain annexed the Shan States, most of the Sao Hpas were already beginning to rebel against the Burman rule because of the above reasons. Some of the Sao Hpas joined the Limbin Confederacy and resisted the British but the majority regarded the arrival of the British as a blessing. In 1886 the Shan States became an autonomous country under the protection of Great Britain. The British enforced law and order, creating peace and harmony amongst all the Sao Hpas especially after the formation of the Federated Shan States in 1922; and amongst all groups of the population in the Shan State. The Shans lead a simple way of life but they were happy and contented with what they had. They enjoyed basic human rights, especially freedom from fear. 襯衫 At the end of the Japanese Occupation in 1945 many Sao Hpas had to flee from their own mongs and evacuated to Bhamo. When they returned home, before they had time to recover from their ordeal they found that trouble was brewing in the Shan States. After World War II while the Burmans were planning for political movements and independence the Shan Sao Hpas were unprepared for the change that was to come. Burmese politics had penetrated into big towns like Taunggyi and Lashio through a handful of Shan political activists. They were influenced by the Burmese AFPFL, and they formed the SPFL, with a policy to drive the British out and dismantle the Sao Hpa’s administration without having forethoughts on what the consequences would be.In 1947, the Sao Hpas yielded to the pressure of the SPFL and Bo Gyoke Aung San, and they signed the Panglong Agreement, with a vision that perhaps the Shan State was due for a change. It was a change, but not for a better but a diabolical condition for Shan State. Again, the Shans had allowed the Burman politicians to influence their way of life and administration. Perhaps the Sao Hpa administration was unfair but it had been the Shan’s socio- political organisa 商務中心tion for centuries. The Sao Hpa themselves recognised that the Feudal System of Government had to in modern times give way to democracy. Hence, they signed the Panglong Agreement in 1947, and then handed over their power to the Shan Government in 1957-1958 without any fight. They would have been happier if they knew that they were handing it over to people with experience in governance and administration. The rural citizen had great regard and respect for the Sao Hpas and visa versa. When the Sao Hpas were put in prison the military regime the people especially those in rural areas were in great shock. There was a vast vacuum and emptiness. Instead of filling it with experienced administrators it was filled with soldiers in every town and village to carry out the military regime’s most atrocious human rights violations against the citizens, behind closed doors. This went on for decades and is continuing until today. We may regard the Panglong Agreement as a mistake, or feel great misgivings about it, but it is a legal agreement that we must keep alive. The Junta having refused to abide by the Panglong Agreement had therefore broken up the Union of Burma. If there is no Panglong Agreement then there is no Un 酒店兼職ion of Burma. The Panglong Agreement is the only legal tie between the different ethnic states in Burma. With the destruction of the Agreement and resultant destruction of the Union all the ethnic states that formed the union are reverted back to each of its previous status before the Agreement was signed; they are independent nations in their own right, but forcibly occupied by the aggressor. After the Opium War between China and Britain in 1841 China agreed to lease Hong Kong to Britain. In 1997 Britain honourably returned Hong Kong to China. The agreement was valid even after a hundred or more years of signing. This was an agreement honoured by two civilised countries. We cannot go back but past mistakes should be taken as a lesson to us all. We should be prepared and be wise when dealing with chauvinistic politicians and dictatorial rulers especially in times of election, when casting votes or signing any form of documents. This brings me to the 2010 election planned by the junta. The Constitution drafted by the junta and the election to be held in 2010 do not provide a promising change for the peoples of Burma and I can foresee that there will be more suppression, and pressure put on non-Burman ethnic nationalities 借貸to abandon their literature, language, culture and religion; the Generals are obsessed with bullying people to conform to their own image. If we love our mother country and have enough compassion for our people we should not be defeatists. We must fight for our rights:1. freedom from the domination of the tyrannical, dictatorial regime so that all citizens can enjoy basic human rights 2. Can be able to return to our ancestral land and claim our citizenship3. have the right to determine the future of own country4. be able to democratically elect members of government, who would be fair, just and work for the benefit of the people . 5. be able to work with the government for the common good of all the citizens regardless of colour, race, religion or culture 6. Be able to live in peace and harmony with each other, thereby achieving contentment happiness and satisfaction in life. We can no longer be indifferent and say, “there is nothing we can do” or “it is politics” and leave it for others to do it for us. Please do not allow fear to restrict your freedom to reason and to act. The Generals have planted fear in the minds of all their opponents; and they being the biggest 土地買賣bully of all bullies will continue to bully their victims until the victims can show that they are not afraid of them. The Wa –s seem to be strongly resisting the demand of the Junta and holding their ground. Good for them!Having identified our common goal, we can come together to strengthen our voice and actions. If we are determined and passionate enough we can do it. Let’s give each other hopes, encouragement, support and appreciation I congratulate RCSS for initiating the idea of and successfully forming “The interim Executive Committee for Shan State Congress with an objective of working together for the common good of all citizens of the Shan State. It is also pleasing to know of the establishment of Shan State Coordinating Committee (SSCC). As it name indicates I hope it will not only co-ordinate between big players but also smaller Shans Organisations and individuals through out the world.Unity can only be formed if we can communicate regularly and openly. We must have discussion and exchange ideas; we must be free to give and accept other people’s opinion. By examining the for and against of all opinions we can then decide which opinion is right, and should not let false pride come in the way of changing our own for a better one.. No human 長灘島beings are perfect and we learn by experience and from others to better ourselves. By understanding each other’s feelings we can together create a strong civic society to fight for all our rights. In this modern, civilized era, the free will of citizens to fight for a sensible common cause can make the impossible become possible. We need a strong army too. Our army is well trained but to become stronger all the armies in the Shan State, ceased- fire groups as well as resisting armies must come together under the same roof and undertake their duty to defend and protect the citizens of the Shan State against enemies. They must learn to work together in harmony, as well as with other ethnic armies. A united army is stronger than various small ones scattered all over the place. A strong civic society together with a strong army will give us strength to fight for all our rights. May we all be successful in playing our small part, no matter how small? Every little bit helps. Myy Soong Mong Tai S. N. OoThe author is from the former illustrious State of Lawkzawk in the Federated Shan States, as today's Shan State of Burma was known until 1948. Opinions expressed here are those of the author – Editor http://www.shanland.org/Mailbox/2009/shan-national-day-messag 買房子e  .
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