CHIANG MAI - February 3. Thousands of people are heading to Loi Tai Leng, the headquarters of the Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS), ahead of the 67th Shan State National Day which falls on February 7 every year.

The celebrations at Loi Tai Leng are likely to be the biggest in Shan State, and people from every township in Shan State are expected to join.

It has been reported that Sao Yawd Serk, the chairman of RCSS has invited the government’s chief negotiator, Minister U Aung Min to join the festive celebrations.

“We are discussing logistic matters. Time limitation is a major challenge, but the minister intends to go,” said Nyo Ohn Myint, a member of the Myanmar Peace Center Technical Team.

A group of people travelling together to Loi Tai Leng were recently stopped by a Burmese military checkpoint in Homong, near the Thai border, but when a leader of the group told the soldiers that Minister U Aung Min was also going there, they were allowed to pass the checkpoint.

Sao Lao Hseng, the spokesperson of the RCSS, said: “We did not only invite Minister U Aung Min, we also invited President Thein Sein and the Shan State Government as well. Whether they will come or not, depends on them.”

The ceremonies and festivities to mark the 67th Shan State National Day will be publicly celebrated throughout Shan State, despite the fact that the event is not officially recognized by Naypyitaw.
The Shan Nationalities Democratic Party (SNDP, aka White Tiger) requested in its annual meeting on January 8-9, 2014 that February 7 should be marked as a public holiday.

In the meantime, political parties and other groups based in Keng Tung, including the National League for Democracy, Shan Nationalities League for Democracy, Shan Nationalities Democratic Party and Shan Literature and Culture Association-Keng Tung, have jointly sent a letter to President Thein Sein and relevant stakeholders requesting that February 7 be designated as a public holiday.

Shan National Day came into existence on February 7, 1947, marking unity between the ruling Shan princes and people’s representatives. They resolved to become a modern nation by creating the Shan State National Anthem and Shan State National Flag.

Celebrations were restricted under military rule, until 2011. After the new quasi-civilian government assumed offices, the event has been more officially and openly marked.