Panglong Agreement

Panglong Agreement

A significant breakthrough came when an agreement was signed between the Shan, Kachin and Chin leaders, and Aung San as leader of the Governor's Executive Council at the second Panglong Conference on February 12, 1947. The Karens sent only 4 observers; also absent were the Mon and Arakanese representatives as they were not considered separately, but within Ministerial Burma.^[1] There were 23 signatories in all expressing their willingness to work with the 'interim Burmese government' in order to achieve independence speedily, and agreeing in principle the formation of a 'Union of Burma'.

• The Agreement proposed a Counsellor to the Governor to be appointed and co-opted as a member of the Executive Council, on recommendation by the Supreme Council of United Hills Peoples, in order to deal with the Frontier Areas, thus bringing the subject 'within the purview of the Executive Council', and the Counsellor to be assisted by 2 deputies who should also be allowed to attend relevant meetings of the EC.
• Full autonomy in internal administration of the Frontier Areas was to be accepted in principle.
• A separate Kachin state was agreed to be desirable, subject to discussion in the Constituent Assembly.
• Citizens of the Frontier Areas were to enjoy the rights and privileges regarded as fundamental in democratic countries.
• The financial autonomy of the Federated Shan States was not to be affected.
• Financial assistance to the Kachin and Chin Hills likewise was not to be affected, and the feasibility of the same arrangement for them as existed with the Shan states to be considered.^[3]

The British were left in no doubt that Aung San and the Burman dominated AFPFL were able to mediate with the leaders of the hills peoples. Sao Shwe Thaik was appointed Counsellor to the Governor, with Sinwa Nawng and Vumthu Mawng as his deputies. Aung San's assurance on the day, "If Burma receives one kyat, you will also get one kyat", has often been quoted by ethnic nationalists since.^[1]

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Shan representative office inaugurated to mark 61st National Day

Shan representative office inaugurated to mark 61st National Day
Solomon & Phanida Mizzima News (www.mizzima.com) February 7, 2008 In commemoration of the 61st National Day and in order to highlight the struggle of ethnic Shans for freedom, equality, democracy and human rights, a Shan representative office was inaugurated today in Germany.
Spearheaded by a volunteer, Nicholas Ganz, the representative office will act as a liaison office for Shans and highlight the sufferings and struggles of Shans in Burma. Nicholas Ganz, in an interview with Mizzima said, the representative office, which he named "Shan Embassy" will mainly deal with Public Relations in regard to the Shan people's political struggle and will represent the Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS). "The main purpose of the embassy [liaison office] is to represent the Restoration Council of the Shan State in Europe and in other countries politically," Ganz told Mizzima news. Ganz, who will be heading the office said, the office came into being after discussions with leaders of RCSS, a political wing formed in 1998, and several visits to the Thai-Burma border, where thousands of Shan refugees continue to suffer as refugees and migrants after fleeing their homes in war-torn Shan state. "The situation in Shan State is really one of despair because the whole Shan state is occupied by the ruling Burma Army and it has unleashed real war on them so the people are really suffering a lot," said Ganz. In his statement on the inauguration of the Shan representative office released on Wednesday, Ganz said, "Now it is time, to transform some of the bullets into words and spread the words around the world. Words, that speak about the desire for freedom, equality, democracy and self-determination and the culture of the Shan people." Ganz said the office will also act as a source of aid that will raise funds and donate to Shan people who are suffering such as refugees, orphan and farmers. The office was inaugurated on the 61st Shan National Day to make a difference in the history of the struggle of the Shan people, Ganz said. Meanwhile, Shans in Thailand and other countries today held separate ceremonies in commemoration of the National Day, which symbolizes the unity of the people of Shan State. On February 7, 1947, four days prior to the Unions Day of Burma, the leaders of different ethnic groups living in Shan State came together to adopt a common flag and national anthem as a symbol unity as a nation. "This is a significant day in the history of the people of Shan State. Wherever we are, we will always maintain the same spirit and observe this day," a Shan youth told Mizzima on the sidelines of the National Day ceremony in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Along with ethnic Chin and Kachin, the people of Shan on February 12, 1947 joined hands with ethnic Burmans, represented by General Aung San, and signed the historic Pang Long agreement, which eventually led Burma to independence from British colonial rulers. However, the people of Shan state were among the earliest ethnic groups that rose against the Rangoon regime, when the spirit of the Pang Long agreement was violated after the death of General Aung San, who is regarded as the Independence father of Burma.

The Forgotten People

 The Nation - February 28, 2001

 The Forgotten People

 BY SUBHATRA BHUMIPRABHAS

 THE ethnic minorities like Shan, Mon and Karen have been struggling to gain
recognition for decades now. But not too long ago, they were groups who were
looked upon to ensure peace and prosperity in the region.

 About 3,000 Mon monks were killed when King Alongphya attacked and burned
Hongsawadee in 1757. At least 200 Karens died in December 1948 during their
uprising against the Burmese government while thousands fled into Thailand.
In 1962, Ne Win killed many Tai princes (chao fah) and Tai leaders in his
coup, which replaced an elected civilian government with an authoritarian
military one.

 These are just a few examples of the stories passed down by the Mon, Karen
and Tai. These events and many more reflect the often troubled past between
these and other groups with the Burmese, who have long held the upper hand
over the many peoples of Burma. Since the 1962 coup, Burma has been ever
tightening its control over these various nations.

 One group is known as the Shan, but prefers to be called Tai, as "Shan" is a
Burmese corruption of "Syam" or "Siam", with which the Tai are associated
with, having much more in common ethnically and culturally with the Thais
than the Burmese.

 "In the past, there were 33 provincial towns in Muang Tai and each town was
governed by chao fah," said Chaiya Khongchuen of the Tai Union, a group
working to promote rights for Tai peoples and share with the world the
plight of Tai under Burmese control.

 "Burma was directly colonised by Great Britain, but Muang Tai [the Shan
State] was just a Protectorate State. It was clear that people of Burma and
Tai were in different areas. We aren't the same race or the same nation,"
Chaiya said firmly.

 Chaiya was one of many speakers at the recent seminar called Ethnic
Minorities: Struggles Along the Thai-Burmese Border organised by the
Institute of Asian Studies, Chulalongkorn University, the Thai Action
Committee for Democracy in Burma, and Asian Forum for Human Rights and
Development.

 He noted that Burmese independence hero General Aung San waged his fight to
win freedom from British colonial with the support of Muang Tai leaders.

 "Two Tai leaders, Tin Aye and Htoon Mying On, were once Aung San's
classmates in a school in Rangkoong. Aung San visited Muang Tai to persuade
Tin Aye and Htoon Mying to join the fight for independence," said Chaiya.

 In 1946, General Aung San made his second visit to Muang Tai, during the
conference held in Pang Long. The Burmese leader announced to
representatives of the ethnic groups attending the conference that Burma
would soon be free. Indeed in January 1947, British Prime Minister Clement
Atlee and Aung San signed an agreement stating that the United Kingdom would
give independence to Burma, with one condition being that Burma hold an
election in one year's time.

 "But Aung San told the ethnic groups that independence would mean nothing
for Burma if Tai, Chin and Kachin hadn't gained it," said Chaiya.

 Aung San then persuaded, Tai, Chin and Kachin leaders to join Burma in
gaining freedom from colonial rule, when the national leaders signed an
agreement to a union of states. The Pang Long agreement of February 1947
states that the ethnic groups would join together in such a union. After ten
years, the Shan State and other ethnic groups would be allowed to live
independently if they desired.

 Burma gained independence in 1948, but the Pang Long was not adhered to.

 "Therefore, on May 21, 1958, Tai leader Saw Yanda announced that he was
waging war against the Burmese government. The Tai peoples have been
guerrillas living along the border ever since," Chaiya said.

 Three year later, Tai people had to shed their tears once again when Ne Win
had many Tai leaders killed during his coup.

 Wut Boonlert, coordinator of the Karen Network for Culture and Environment,
explained how a similar stateless predicament befell the Karen people of the

 Salawin Basin. "Karen people came from the Gobi Desert, and then went away
to Yangtze Basin. The we came to Khong River, to the Chao Phya River and the
Irrawaddy Basin," he began.

 "The Karen have no country, no kingdom because we knew that we cannot build
a kingdom without the loss of human life," Wut continued.

 "We don't have heroes like King Anoratha, King Tabinshweti, or King
Alongphya of Burma, King Rajathiraj of the Mon Kingdom, or King Naresuan of
Siam. That's why the Karen have always been a passive group, divided by
history, " he added.

 Though some Karen legends tell of tense relations between Thai and Karen,
others tell of Karen enjoying close ties with Thais ever since Siam began a
policy to use Karen as buffer state more than 200 years ago.

 "A long time ago, Karen people realised that we are inferior in the eyes of
the powerful nations," Wut said.

 He told of how after the Burmese were expelled from the Lanna Kingdom in
1783, Phra Chao Kawinla of Chiang Mai wanted to create a closer relationship
with the Karen in order to bring people from the land controlled by Karenni
to Chiang Mai.

 With support from the new Chakri Dynasty in Bangkok, Chao Kawinla succeeded
in making friends with the Karenni, one of many sub-groups of the Karen.

 "Chao Kawinla held a ceremony to celebrate the new diplomatic relations
between Chiang Mai and Karenni on the banks of the Salawin River." Wut said.

 Later Chao Luang Setthi Khamphan of Chiang Mai married Chao Nang Kham Paeng,
daughter of Chao Mahawong who governed Muang Pha Poon. Chao Nang Kham Paeng
was later sent to govern Muang Kantarawadee.

 "But the Chao Muang of Chiang Mai dared not to tell about an ancestor who
came from the land of the Karenni. Chao Nang Khampaeng was the
great-grandmother of Chao Dararassamee, a wife of King Rama V," Wut
revealed.

 Pisanh Paladsingh explained that the land of the Mon was another buffer
state, and that over the centuries Mon needed to be mindful, living between
the two larger nations of the Burmese and the Thais.

 "Most Thais know only Mons in Thai society and only in terms of culture,
such as the celebration of Mon people during the Songkran Festival," he
said, adding that ancestors of these Thai-Mon people have lived for
centuries in what is now Thailand.

 Pisanh is also proud of his Mon ancestors, who were also building kingdoms
in what is now Burma.

 "Our history records that before the Buddha achieved Enlightenment, Alika
and Tapusa, two Mon merchants, had presented khao tu [sweetened rice] to
him. The Buddha in return gave his eight hairs to the two Mon merchants.
Alika and Tapusa then brought the hairs to their Mon king and the king put
the Buddha's hairs in a pagoda.

 "That pagoda is called Shwedagon, and has become a symbol of Burma today.
But all Mon and Burmese know that Burmese didn't built the pagoda. Mon
people built it," Pisanh said with pride.

 On three major occasions in history, the Mon lost their kingdom to wars with
the Burmese, most devastatingly in 1757 when King Alongphaya of Burma
attacked the Mon capital of Hongsawadee. Ten years later the Thai kingdom of
Ayutthaya was also destroyed by the Burmese.

 "Fortunately, Thais had King Taksin Maharaj and Phraya Chakri [King Rama I],
who brought liberty and freedom to Siam. If Thai kings failed in their war
with the Burmese, Thais would have shared the same fate as Mons, Karens and
Shans today," said Pisanh.

 "There are around four million Mons living in Burma and groups of Mon armed
forces have been fighting for independence like Shans and Karens," he added.

 Pisanh criticised the Thailand's policy over the past ten years, the effects
of which, he said, were tantamount to helping Burma to suppress Mons and
other ethnic groups.

 "Thailand itself has learnt nothing from the past, despite that through
history, Thailand recognised the role Mons, Karen, Shan and other ethnic
groups can play as buffer states [between the Thais and Burmese]," Pisanh

 said.

 Today, battles continue between Burma and the ethnic groups along the
Thai-Burmese border, and as recent weeks have showed, direct military
conflict between Burma and Thailand is not unknown.

 "It would be a mistake to believe that Thais and Burmese will live
peacefully together after all ethnic groups are suppressed," Pisanh said.

 "Thailand should relearn their ancestral policy of using the ethnic groups
as buffer states. Please look back to the history, and at what happened to
Ayutthaya after the Mon Kingdom had fallen," he said.