Shan Herald Agency for News: Culture

MPs demand halt to marketplace at Yawnghwe Palace

Friday, November 11, 2016 Posted by taimoungloi

More than 60 members of the Shan State parliament have signed a petition, demanding a halt to plans by the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism to convert the Yawnghwe Palace compound into a marketplace.

Photo SHAN- Yawnghwe Haw

Nang Khin Tar Yi, an MP from the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD) representing Hsenwi Township, said that they had sent a letter on November 7 to the Shan State chief minister and the minister of hotels and tourism.

“Every political party represented in the Shan State regional parliament signed the petition,” she said. “That includes ethnic Shan, Palaung [Ta’ang], Pa-oh, Lahu and Danu MPS, as well as lawmakers from the Union Solidarity and Development Party and the ruling National League for Democracy.

“We have asked the Shan State chief minister about this issue, and he told us that U Ohn Maung [Minister of Hotels and Tourism] had informed him that the project will be discontinued. We then requested that they release an announcement to that effect, but to date no action has been taken. Now we have served them an official letter demanding work on the site be stopped.”

Located in Taunggyi District, close to the popular resort of Inle Lake, Yawnghwe Palace, known locally as Yawnghwe Haw, was the residence of Sao Shwe Thaike, an ethnic Shan prince who became the first president of the Union of Burma in 1948 on the day that the country gained independence from Britain. He was deposed and arrested when Gen. Ne Win seized power in 1962, and died in prison soon after.

“Yawnghwe Palace is our historical property,” said SNLD’s Nang Khin Tar Yi. “It’s our royal residence. It represents our culture, and we do not want our culture and traditions to be disvalued or destroyed.”

During the era of Burmese military dictatorship, many historical Shan buildings were razed; others crumbled under decades of neglect. Arguably the grandest Shan palace of all, Kengtung Palace, which was built in 1903, was demolished in 1991.

Nang Khin Tar Yi called on both the state and union governments, as well as every concerned citizen, to work together to protect to the country’s heritage.

At the time of reporting, no formal action had yet been taken.

By Shan Herald Agency for News (SHAN)

Family opposes turning Yawnghwe Palace into marketplace

Tuesday, August 16, 2016 Posted by taimoungloi

Sao Haymar Thaike, the daughter of Burma’s first president, Sao Shwe Thaike, has spoken out against a plan to convert Yawnghwe Palace compound into a marketplace.

Photo by SHAN- Yawnghwe Palace entrance

She told Shan Herald that she was unhappy with the scheduled project, which was laid out by the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism.

“I heard the news that they are preparing to create a market in our palace compound,” she said. “I am so worried that they will reduce our historical property to such a level. I totally disagree with this plan.”

According to Nay Myo, a National League for Democracy MP representing Yawnghwe Township, no building operations have yet taken place, and his party would seek to prevent the conversion from happening.

“If the plan persists, we will have to object to it,” he said.

Yawnghwe Palace, or Yawnghwe Haw, was the residence of Sao Shwe Thaike, an ethnic Shan prince who became the first president of the Union of Burma in 1948 on the day that the country gained independence from Britain. He was deposed and arrested when Ne Win seized power in 1962, and died in prison soon after.

Since then, Yawnghwe Palace, situated in Nyaungshwe near Inle Lake, has stood as a museum, and is popular with tourists.

Sao Haymar Thaike said that her mother, Sao Nang Mya Win, the first wife of Sao Shwe Thaike, requested the Burmese government to return the palace to the family, however they had never received a response.

During the era of Burmese military dictatorship, many historical Shan buildings were destroyed; others crumbled under decades of neglect. Arguably the grandest Shan palace of all, Kengtung Palace, which was built in 1903, was demolished in 1991.

By Shan Herald Agency for News (SHAN)

Chiangmai Shans observe Shan National Day/Shan State Day

Monday, February 15, 2016 Posted by taimoungloi

Last Sunday, 7 February, Shans in Chiangmai gathered together to remember the Shan National Day, also known as Shan State Day, and the events surrounding it which took place 69 years ago.

Shan National Day/Shan State Day at Loi Tai Leng, the SSA-S headquarters (Photo: Irrawaddy)

The some 50 participants attending the event were made up of both Shan migrants and Thai-born Shans. Many were either too young or uninformed about the day.

It was Hsai Lern Kham, 67, who, as a young student in Rangoon had participated in several annual commemorations of the day, acquainted the audience with its history. “It wasn’t easy to hold a ceremony to observe the day under the military government in those days,” he recalled. “I remember that one of the students was detained and imprisoned for six years soon after he delivered a fiery speech at an event in 1963 in Taunggyi.”

Mai Hawng, also 68, admonished his audience with a warning. “Jews that didn’t have a country to call their own founded one. But the Shans who have it appears to be losing it.”

A young participant strongly agreed with him. “If you look at the demands for separate statehoods today you will find that only three (out of 55) townships remain with the Shans: Mongyai, Kehsi and Monghsu,” he said. “It’s time they start to shed their Terng Man La/Zarng Man (Let it be) attitude.”

Meanwhile, at the event in Loi Taileng the main base of the Restoration Council of Shan State/Shan State Army (RCSS/SSA), also known as the SSA South, leader Gen Yawd Serk urged thousands of his admirers who were gathered there not to let go the opportunity offered by the turn of events in the country to negotiate. “Whether there is trust or not is not the point,” he said. “The point is we have this opportunity to resolve our political issues by political means and we should seize it.”

The Shan National Day, as it was officially termed by the Palaung prince of Tawng Peng Sao Hkun Pan Sing on 11 February 1947, became Shan State Day during the years under military rule.

The event marks the day when Shan leaders set up their own Shan States Council to oppose the British president Federated Shan States Council.

On NCA signing day, hundreds mourn death and displacement of civilians attacked by Burma Army in Shan State

Friday, October 16, 2015 Posted by taimoungloi

Around 250 people gathered at a temple in Chiang Mai on Thursday evening for a vigil dedicated to victims of a Burma Army attack near an eastern Shan State mining site, and to the 1,500 villagers displaced by military offensives in the state’s central region this month.

Monks at Thursday’s vigil view a display of photos depicting ongoing military abuses in Shan State. (S.H.A.N)

The event coincided with the signing of Burma’s controversial Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA), between eight—out of more than twenty—ethnic armed organizations, and the government.

“This is just a reflection of the reality of what is happening on the ground,” said Charm Tong, a spokesperson for a coalition of 18 Shan community-based organizations (CBOs), on the timing of the vigil which they also organized.

Military offensives in central Shan State

Since October 6, less than ten days before the signing of the NCA, S.H.A.N. reported that the Burma Army has been launching artillery shells into territories largely under the control of the Shan State Progress Party/Shan State Army-North (SSPP/SSA-N), causing widespread civilian displacement. The attacks intensified on October 11, targeting the SSPP/SSA-N headquarters in Wan Hai, Kesi Township; the armed group is among many others who opted out of signing the NCA, citing a lack of inclusivity.

In a statement released yesterday at the vigil, the Shan CBO coalition described the NCA as a “divide-and-rule tactic” intended to “temporarily pacify” some ethnic armies while “crushing others.”

Attendees participate in a Buddhist prayer ceremony at the vigil. (S.H.A.N)

“Over 1,000 [civilians] are sheltering in nearby villages, while hundreds are hiding in the jungles,” reported the coalition. “Four women have given birth in hiding places; one in a cave,” the statement read.

Attacks on villagers opposed to gold mining

On Tuesday, two days before the NCA signing, Burma Army Battalion 330 opened fire on 20 villagers at a gold mine in the Loi Kham Hills near Nar Hai Long village, leaving one 50-year-old man dead and five others seriously injured.

According to a statement released by the Shan Farmers’ Network (SFN) and the Shan Human Rights Foundation (SHRF) on Wednesday, the villagers were monitoring the activities of Loi Kham Long Mining Company, which were supposed to have halted in July 2014 due to adverse effects to both the land and local people’s health.

The manager of the mining company allegedly called the local military battalion for assistance when he saw the villagers approaching. About 20 soldiers confronted the civilians, reportedly firing at them as they were leaving the mining site.

“Appalled” by the incident, SFN and SHRF are demanding that authorities “take immediate action to punish those responsible for the attack.”

“The [natural] resources are the background for the conflict,” said Sai Khur Hseng, spokesperson for Shan Sapawa, an environmental rights organization also belonging to the Shan CBO coalition hosting the vigil.

“When a company registers and gets permission [for a project] from the government, some people in the government become shareholders,” said Sai Khur Hseng, on why he suspects the military became involved in this incident. “Usually, it will be a high person, with authority.”

“The death of politics”

A teacher in the Shan community in Thailand described the collision of the ceasefire signing, the violence at the mining site and the attacks in central Shan State as “the death not only of civilians, but of politics.”

Vigil attendees place candles around a pagoda as a memorial to victims of Burma Army violence in Shan State. (S.H.A.N.)

The coalition of Shan CBOs urged the international community to “publicly condemn” these Burma Army offensives, and to press the Burmese government to demilitarize its presence in ethnic areas. The NCA, it claimed, “will not bring peace.”

“The Naypyidaw government is not sincere about moving towards political dialogue,” said Charm Tong at Thursday’s vigil. “It’s really sad…the Burma Army can commit these crimes with impunity.”

By SAI AW and SIMMA FRANCIS / Shan Herald Agency for News (S.H.A.N)

Thousands of people heading to Loi Tai Leng

Tuesday, February 04, 2014 Posted by Cute Lion

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.

Shan State national flags being hoisted at Loi Tai Leng, where the celebration will take place. (Photo: Hto Naout Tai)

“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.

Shan State national flags being hoisted at Loi Tai Leng, where the celebration will take place. (Photo: Hto Naout Tai)

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.

Shan in exile seek to preserve language in digital age

Monday, January 20, 2014 Posted by Cute Lion

CHAING MAI- The first, two-day seminar on Shan language and ICT (Information and Communications Technology), aiming to find solutions to enhance the Shan language through digital technology, was held on January 18-19, in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
The main two issues discussed during the two-day seminar were standardization of Shan dialects and the Shan Unicode font.

The Shan have encountered communication barriers for both political and geographical reasons, Shan living in Burma speak words mixed with Burmese, and likewise the Tai living in China, Vietnam and India speak words mixed with the national languages.
According to Puen Kham, a Shan language expert, Shan language and ICT are linked as we live in the digital age which affects almost every aspect of our lives. Moreover, he pointed out that the Shan should find and use words used by their ethnic Thai and Lao cousins, instead of Burmese and Chinese. However, he elaborated that if some words borrowed from Burmese and Chinese are widely used, then their use could be continued.

Sai Paing Pha, a Shan ICT specialist explained that the problem is that people use different fonts, namely Unicode and Zawgyi Tai, and people using Unicode can’t read Zawgyi Tai font and vice versa. Hence, he urged those who use Zawgyi Tai, especially Sao Su Kham a revered Shan monk and inventor of the font to revoke the Zawgyi Tai font.
Jai Long a PhD candidate and Shan ICT specialist, also stated that Zawgyi Tai font was destroying the Shan Unicode and Shan language, and urged Zawgyi Tai users to solely use the Unicode system.
Sai Aung Htay, another participant, said: “All young people here use facebook, don’t you? I believe that many young Shan would like to type Shan but it is frustrating when we just see squares and can’t read them.”

Tai speakers mainly live in Burma, China, Lao, Thailand, Vietnam and Assam in India. Thailand and Lao are the only countries where Tai is the official language. In Burma, the Shan language was banned from being taught in state schools for over a half century by the military regime.
Seng Murng Mungkorn, the president of the Thaiyai Education and Culture Association, Thailand, addressing the two-day seminar on language and ICT, said: “Language is very important for humankind; whether an ethnic group survives depends on language, literature and adjusting to the environment, even in the digital age.”
The seminar was attended by about 100 participants from different sectors, including construction workers, domestic workers, civil society organizations and individuals. The event was cohosted by the Thaiyai Education and Culture Association; Shan Literature and Culture Association of Chiang Mai.

Shan New Year celebrations opened by Burmese commander

Wednesday, December 12, 2012 Posted by SHAN

Wednesday, 12 December 2012 16:49 S.H.A.N.

Nearly 10,000 people attended the opening ceremony of the Shan New Year celebrations in Kengtung, Shan State East capital, presided over by Maj Gen Than Tun Oo this morning, according to SHAN sources.

Than Tun Oo, who donated K 1 million ($ 1,176) for the event, reportedly told the people that since Burma has returned to democracy, they are now free to pursue their cultural and traditional activities.

Maj Gen Than Tun Oo presenting donation to the organizing committee, 12 December 2012. (Photo: Kawli Media)

His greeting in Shan “Mysoong Kha! (Progress and Prosperity!)” was welcomed by roaring clapping of hands.

Sai Yawd, Chairman of the Organizing Committee, and Sai Aung Tun, Shans’ most respected scholar, were next to deliver their opening speeches.
The ceremonial ribbons were then cut by Sai Long Hseng, Shan State Assembly chairman, and Hkun Htun Oo, Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD) leader.

Among the attendees of the opening ceremony were Hkun Hsang Lu and Hkun Hsang La of Mongla, Sao Gai Fa of Hseng Keow, Sao Pawng Kher and Sao Sai Lu of Shan State Army (SSA).

Shan New Year festival’s ribbons cut by Sai Long Hseng, left, and Hkun Htun Oo, right, 12 December 2012. (Photo: Kawli Media)

The festival’s highlights, apart from the nightly traditional music and dances, are the cultural exhibitions and the seminar on cultural heritage to be held tomorrow.

Presenters reportedly include familiar names in Thailand: Charnvit Kasetsiri, Dulyapak Preecharach and Ratanaporn Setthakul. At least 19 scholars from Cambodia, India, Japan and Burma are expected to present their papers there.

Kengtung was established in 1253 by King Mangrai of Chiang Saen (Kenghsen), who also founded Chiangrai and Chiangmai. The Shan New Year, which falls on 14 December this year, marks the First Waxing Day of the First Lunar Month of the Shan year.

Ceremony inaugurating Shan Culture Association in Thailand

Tuesday, August 28, 2012 Posted by SHAN

Monday, 27 August 2012 14:41 NMHO

Four months after the Thai government granted official recognition for the Taiyai Education and Culture Association (TECA) in Thailand, the association opened its office with ceremony in Wat Kutao monastery, Chiangmai, Northern Thailand, on 19 August.

Taiyai is the Thai ward for Shans.

The ceremony started from 9:00am morning with the monks performing multi-phonic chanting and praying. Afterward the abbot pulled the rope raising the curtain of the office sign.

Next, there was food donation to the monks and serving lunch to about 50 attended guests in the afternoon.

In the evening, a dinner party was held to the gathering, which included association officials and members from Bangkok, Lampang, Pai, Fang, Mae Hong Son and Mae Sai as well as representatives from various Shan groups in Chiangmai, about 400 of them in total.

“Our objectives are to conserve Shan literature, traditions and cultural legacy from being absorbed or inhibition, and extinction. And, we aim to work with the authorities and organizations for our upcoming new generations to be able to study our own literature and culture,” said the chairman of the TECA, Saengmuang Mangkorn.

The registration for the association was applied in July 16, 2009 and was granted on March 30, 2012. The association constitutes 9 founding members from Chiangmai, Fang, and Mae Hong Son.

“We have been endeavoring to establish the association officially for more than 10 years. Before, several organizations from Mae Ai, Fang and, Mae Hong Son as well as Shan people from respective regions have attempted the matter but they were unsuccessful. We heartily appreciate the association for its success.” said Peunkham from Mae Sai Metta Dhamma Society.

The entertainment on 19 August ceremony included various Shan traditional dances such as the Yak (called Toe in Shan) dance, Kinnara and Kinnari dance, Shan Kung Fu skills performance, group dances, and singing ancient songs.

Khun Tun Oo attends Shan training ceremony

Tuesday, May 22, 2012 Posted by SHAN

Monday, 21 May 2012 09:41 S.H.A.N.

Shan Nationalities League for Democracy leader Khun Tun Oo attended the closing ceremony of Shan Language and Literature summer training on Sunday, according to Kawli news.

The closing ceremony of Shan Language and Literature summer training was held on 20 May in Taik Kyi, Yangon Division.

Khun Tun Oo addressing the closing ceremony. Photo: Kawli Media

Both SNLD leaders, Khun Tun Oo and Sai Nyunt Lwin including their wives attended the ceremony. Sai Lake, SNLD spokesperson and other youth organisations were also at the event, the report said.

Many Shan live in Taik Kyi including in thevillages of surrounding Taik Kyi Township. About 300 students attended the Shan Language and Literature summer training, a responsible person for the training said.

Shan community in Taik Kyi participating in the ceremony. Photo: Kawli Media

10 Shan teachers from Kyaukme, Hsipaw and Namlan were volunteering the training, the report said.

Taik Kyi is a town where SNLD’s main office is based and is also a resident of Sai Pha, a well-known personality within the Shan community. He is an executive member of SNLD and also the one who promotes Shan Language and Literature for decades.