Historical and political background of Shan State

Historical and political background of Shan State

Shan State is a mountainous area covering 160,000 square kilometers in the northeastern part of the country known today as the Union of Burma. It is rich in natural resources, such as gems, minerals and teakwood. The population of Shan State is estimated at over eight million, about half being ethnic Shan, who inhabit the region's fertile valleys. The Shan are ethnically linked to the Thai, and speak a similar language. Other ethnic groups include Akha, Kachin, Lahu, Lisu, Palaung, Pa-O and Wa, most of whom are hill-dwellers. 

Shan State used to be divided into over thirty principalities, ruled by their own hereditary chieftains. Even when the British colonized Burma, the Shans were allowed to continue self-rule. The Shans agreed to join the rest of Burma to gain independence on condition that they would be granted the right to secede after 10 years. This condition was stipulated in the constitution, but was never granted. 

Efforts by Shan and other ethnic leaders to negotiate with the Burmese government for more equitable rights for their people ended abruptly with the coup of 1962, when the army led by General Ne Win seized power in Burma. Since then, successive military regimes have ruled the country, refusing to relinquish power. In the elections of 1990, the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD) won the second highest number of seats nationwide after the National League for Democracy, led by Aung San Suu Kyi, but the army refused to honour the results. Members of the SNLD have since suffered harassment in the same way as other opposition party members. 

Over the past forty years various ethnic resistance movements have operated in the Shan State. The Burmese military have responded by steadily building up their military presence in the area. Owing to the mostly guerrilla nature of the resistance, the favoured tactic of the regime has been to carry out large-scale anti-insurgency campaigns targeting civilians, in an effort to prevent villagers from harbouring and supporting the ethnic rebels. These campaigns have involved forced relocation of villages to strategic sites near army bases, where civilians can be closely guarded. 

The largest and most intensive forced relocation program was carried out in 1996-1997 in Central Shan State. Over 300,000 people from over 1,400 villages were forced from their homes into relocation sites where nothing was provided for them. Most of these villagers are still not allowed to return home, and over half are estimated to have fled as refugees to Thailand.