The Shan State Army (SSA) ‘South’s” leader Yawdserk, marking the 63rd  anniversary of Shan State Day, formerly known as the Shan National Day, yesterday, told the media that the Shan’s decision to leave the British overlordship on 7 February 1947 had led to Burma’s Independence on 4 January 1948.

The decision was taken by the Shan States Council, comprising the ruling princes and people’s representatives of Shan States, as Shan State was known then, at the Panglong Coference, 3 to 12 February 1947.

“It led the way to 12 February 1947 (when the Panglong Agreement was signed between Burman leader Aung San and non-Burman leaders) the day that became known as the Union Day and then to the 4th of January 1948,” Yawdserk, who had a month earlier been promoted to Lieutenant General, said.

“Panglong should serve as a blueprint for Burma’s future,” one of his advisers told SHAN. “It was the unity of Shan State that steered Burma to Independence. Today, the whole of Burma is calling for peace. How can there be peace when the people of Shan State are under the divide and rule policy of the Burmese Army?”

The Shan State Day ceremony held in Loi Taileng, opposite Maehongson’s Pang Mapha district, coincided with the conclusion of the first annual conference of the Shan State Congress formed by Shan, Lahu, Wa (Wa National Organization) and PaO representatives on 23 December 2008.

However representatives from the biggest armed group the United Wa State Army (UWSA) were conspicuous by their absence at the ceremony. (If they were present, they were not introduced to the media.)

Asked what he thought of the planned elections by the country’s military rulers this year, he replied, “What kind of elections will that be if leaders of the National League for Democracy (that won the countrywide polls in 1990) and the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (that won the statewide elections in 1990) are still behind bars? It’ll be like pushing up a mortar uphill.”

Nothing will change because of the elections, he added. “As long as the military continues to boss over the civilians, as long as non-Burman nationalities live under oppression and as long as members of the opposition are being chased and harassed, the country will continue its way downhill.”

The only solution, he told SHAN, is opposition unity. “If we remain disunited, the enemy surrounds us. But if we are united, it is the enemy that will be surrounded.”

The Shan State Day was also observed in several Shan communities inside Burma, including Rangoon, Mandalay, Taunggyi and Muse.