(Repost of my earlier post "What exactly was 1962 Federal Mu (Federal Policy)?")
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| Shan State of Burma. |
Most Burmese old enough to live through Ne Win’s Ma-Sa-La Socialist era know very well that General Ne Win’s well-publicized excuse for his 1962 Coup was to maintain the territorial integrity of our Union of Burma since the Shans were demanding their secession from the Union according to their Federal Mu or Policy declared in February 1962.
So what exactly was that dreaded Federal Mu? To answer that question I have translated the Shans’ February 1962 Declaration or Demand to amend the 1947 Constitution of Union of Burma. That Shans’ Declaration or Demand was officially called and widely known as The Federal Mu.
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Declaration to Amend the Constitution (Federal Mu)
The present Constitution of Union of Burma does not have acts that are sufficiently adequate to provide genuine equality to the States and Ethnic Minorities.
This Guiding Council (for amending the Constitution of Union of Burma – Shan States Affairs) has unanimously agreed to demand to rewrite the present Constitution so that every State and Ethnic Group is treated equally as part of a genuine Federal Union.
In redrawing the Constitution basing on the principles of a Genuine Federal Union we the Guiding Council (for amending the Constitution of Union of Burma – Shan States Affairs) has unanimously decided to include the following basic principles.
(1) To reorganize Burma Proper as the Burman State (like any other State).
(2) To provide equal power to both houses of the Union Parliament.
(3) Every State has equal number of representatives to the Nationalities House (Lu-myo-zu Hluttaw) of the Union Parliament.
(4) Central Union must have only the following departments and the rest of the powers and the opportunities are to be transferred to each State.
(a) Foreign affairs.
(b) Union defence affairs.
(c) Union financial affairs.
(d) Currency coins and notes production.
(e) Post and telecommunications.
(f) Railways, air, and marine transportations.
(g) Union judicial affairs.
(h) Ports and Customs.
(i) Fair and just division of Union revenues.
Above demands have been unanimously agreed and decided by this Guiding Council (for amending the Constitution of Union of Burma – Shan States Affairs) on the date of 24 January 1961.
The members of the Guiding Council (for amending the Constitution of Union of Burma – Shan States Affairs) are as follows.
1. Sao Khun Aung.
2. U Hmae.
3. Sao Yut Mai.
4. Sao Shwe Thaik.
5. Sao Man Pha.
6. Sao Kya Sai.
7. Sao Shwe Mhone.
8. U San Mya.
9. U Htun Ohn.
10. U Htun Aye.
11. U Khan.
12. U Aung Than.
13. U Lun.
14. U Soe Maung.
15. U Chit Oo.
16. U Phyu.
17. U Hla Phe.
18. U Kyaw Sein.
19. U Htun Phe.
20. U Khun Htee.
21. U Htun Myint Ga Lay.
22. U Khun Naung.
23. U Yee Yaung.
24. Sao Man Pha.
25. U Kyar Pu.
26. U Ba Nyan.
27. Sao Htun Aye.
28. U Khun San Myat.
29. Sao Kyaw Khaung.
30. Sao Say Hon.
Signed by Chairman Sao Sat Pyae (Chairman, Shan State Council)
Signed by Secretary Sao Kya Sone (Secretary, Shan State Council)
Dated: February 22, 1961.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Above declaration (The Federal Mu) was confirmed by the nationwide Shans’ Convention on February 25, 1962. And the unfortunate result was General Ne Win’s Coup on March 2, 1962, just a week later.
What power-hungry Shan Sawbwars didn’t really understand at all was that Burma was not formed and established by a few groups of settlers or convicts just recently like in Americas or Australia. Every settlers was newcomers in these so-called new colonies in the America and Australia and so they all had to agree a federation based on what Shans called The Genuine Equality. (Of course only after they had exterminated the native populace like red-Indians in Americas and Aboriginals in Australia in massive genocides.)
And all these new colonies became the equal States of the new federations whether it be the United States of America or the Commonwealth of Australia.
And all these new colonies became the equal States of the new federations whether it be the United States of America or the Commonwealth of Australia.
Burmese will never accept that for Burma as Burma had been slowly and painstakingly established on the bloods and guts of our ancestors shed fighting countless wars for thousands of years to lay the claim on this land. Burmese together with other ethnic races as a whole unified people have what Australians legally called The Native Title to this whole land called Burma.
The individual races cannot claim that Native Title on their little enclaves as these races do not exclusively occupy their land since other races and mixed-races have been living there all along together with them.
The individual races cannot claim that Native Title on their little enclaves as these races do not exclusively occupy their land since other races and mixed-races have been living there all along together with them.
14 Divisions instead of 7 Divisions & 7 States?
Burma nowadays is racially not that divided like during the old-imperial or even the British-colonial periods. The clear example is Irrawaddy Division which used to be a Mon-majority with a few Burmese and Karen minority. But it is now occupied by people who just called themselves Burmese.
Like most people in this racial melting pot called Burma, I am a racial mix of Mon, Burmese, and Shan but I consider myself a Burmese. Like Americans or Australians (who have basically abandoned their original races like English or Irish or Scottish, and happily taken new racial identity of American or Australian) why don’t we just call ourselves Burmese (not fucking Myanmar-eeeese) and be done with it?
(Similar to what Thais have been doing successfully for last few centuries now! The Shans in Thailand nowadays do not even remember the Shan rebellions raging there just last century.)
(Similar to what Thais have been doing successfully for last few centuries now! The Shans in Thailand nowadays do not even remember the Shan rebellions raging there just last century.)
So instead of reorganizing all seven Divisions of Burma Proper into the new Burman State (as demanded by the Shans in their Federal Mu) we should just abolish the fucking States and reorganize them into the administrative Divisions like in Burma Proper.
So there will be 14 Administrative Divisions, instead of present 7 Divisions and 7 States, as proposed in the following list.
1. Myitkyinar Division.
2. Harkar Division.
3. Magwe Division
4. Mandalay Division.
5. Sagaing Division.
6. Taunggyi Division.
7. Loikaw Division.
8. Pegu Division.
9. Sittwe Division.
10. Rangoon Division.
11. Phar-an Division.
12. Irrawaddy Division.
13. Moulmein Division.
14. Taninthayi Division.
It will definitely kill the civil war and any future ethnic conflicts in long term. Thais did it long time ago in Thailand and even the Shans or Karens or Mons living in Thailand for many centuries have totally stopped asking their own little enclaves there. Of course except the Musulamens living down South by the Malaysian border as they hate to live together with the Buddhists majority.