2 March

2 March: The Day Marking the End of the Union of Burma?

Back To The Past - Today
2 March 1962

The second day of March is Peasants' Day for some people as designated by the present junta's predecessor soon after their takeover in 1962. For many, it marks the 38th anniversary of the coup det'at that overthrew the elected government and ended democracy in Burma.

For a few selective people, it is a reminder of the loss of their loved ones. The Yawnghwe family lost their son, Sao Myee, on that day and Prince Shwe Thaike, who was also the first president of the Union of Burma (1948 - 52) later. The Hsipaw House lost their ruling prince, Sao Kya Hseng. Both events are immortalized in two books on the Shan State, "The White Umbrella" and "Twilight Over Burma".

To many non-Burman leaders and people, especially the Shan, it simply represents the ending of the Union of Burma, which was established by the 1947 Union Constitution, the legal bond between the Burman and the non-Burman states. Shan leaders and academics have argued that since parliament was dissolved and the constitution became null and void, the Union is no more. It has became defunct and dead for 38 years now.

Instead, "the Shan States, a historically and legally distinct land once more a sovereign country under alien occupation..", according to the Shan Democratic Union, a political front formed by exiled Shans 4 years ago under the leadership of Sao Hsohom Mongpawn.

Consequently, notes a paper by the SDU, "since 1962, Burma has, whether it wishes to recognize or not, become an occupying foreign power. The ensuing war is no longer a civil war but it is a grave international breach of peace and violation of international boundaries of one nation state by another".

The SDU leaders have often said that the question is not whether or not the Shans wish to secede and let the Union disintegrate. "In fact, the Union has been dissolved by the coup leaders", they say. "The question, instead, should be whether or not we are ready to begin anew to build a new Union".

The prospects, nevertheless, are not good, admits the SDU. "At present, I don't think it is wise to ask our people, whose houses and villages have been burnt, whose wives and daughters been raped and their friends and relatives been killed whether they would like another Union with Burma. (Rather), this question should be asked only when (the) dictatorship ends, and peace and, hopefully, rationalism, has returned,"said a member to S.H.A.N.

The SDU's constitution, ratified on 5 February 1998, stipulates that it "abides by the principle of the supremacy of the people's will. Therefore the question of independence or a new federal union shall be decided by the Shan people," preferably in a plebiscite or referendum.