76th Shan State Day: SAC Chairman sent a message to 76th Shan State Day

Message sent by The State Administration Council Chairman Prime Minister of Republic of Union of Myanmar Senior General Thadoe Maha Thray Sithu Thadoe Thiri Thudhamma Min Aung Hlaing sent a message to the ceremony to mark 76th Anniversary of Shan State Day which falls on 7 February.

In the message, SAC Chairman Prime Minister first extended greeting and expressed best wishes for all ethnic national people across the Shan State and the entire country. Then, the prime minister extracted the land and forest scenic beauties which Shan State endowed with, Shan tribes and the underground and aboveground natural resources of Shan State.

The Prime Minister related the participation of ethnic leaders in independence struggles for the nation with patriotic spirit and elaborated history of Shan State Day saying that in the history of Myanmar’s independence struggles, national leader General Aung San held meetings with Saophas and representatives of Shan State separately in Taunggyi on his tour of meeting with ethnic national leaders in order to regain the Independence of Myanmar.

General Aung San went to London in January 1947 and held meetings with the British government and demanded the independence of the whole of Myanmar including hilly regions. A preliminary meeting was held with the participation of Shan Saophas Council executive member Saophas and public leaders of the Shan State on 3 February 1947. All Shan and Kachin delegates held a meeting on 6 February, and one more meeting took place with the participation of Shan, Kachin and Chin representatives on 7 February. They all formed the subcommittee and signed the meeting decisions.

On 7 February 1947, Shan, Kachin and Chin ethnic leaders adopted the decision to regain independence together with the mainland of Myanmar in Panglong of the Shan State. As a gesture of honouring the 7th of February when the decisions were adopted to take the independence of the whole of Myanmar together without dividing the hilly regions and the mainland, the Shan State Day has been celebrated for 76 years. The Prime Minister added that Nowadays, as peace talks can be held thanks to relentless efforts for the restoration of the Union, the whole nation will enjoy the fruits of the peace process.

The government has adopted a five-point roadmap and 12 political, economic and social objectives while making preparations to hold free and fair multiparty democratic general elections in order to ensure peace and stability and realize democratization. As such, I would like to urge the entire national people to participate in the process for the emergence of freedom, safety, peace and tranquillity and development undertakings in Myanmar.

In the conclusion of his message, the Prime Minister said “I send a message urging all ethnic national people to join hands with the government in unison based on the Panglong Spirit in order to successfully implement the goal of building the democratic federal Union based on federalism with the full essence of justice, liberty and equality”.