By Jinnah
Political
Shan State is located in the northern part of Burma, bordering China, Laos and Thailand. The capital city is Taunggyi. The political and geographical situation of the Shan states changed after the arrivals of the British in the nineteenth century. The Shan, with other "Hill states" were allowed to remain autonomous. The British Government recognised the authority of the Shan 'Sao Hpas' and they were treated somewhat like the Rajahs of India. In 1922, 33 small states were united to form one body, "The Federated Shan States".
The Shan including Kachin and Chin representatives joined in the negotiations between Britain and Burma on independence and made the 'Paluang agreement' with the Burmese government in 1947. They agreed to the formation of a Union of Burma in return they were promised full autonomy, which they have never received and there have been many disputes between some Shan political figures and Rangoon government over this issue.
The first Shan armed opposition group was formed in 1958. Some of these groups have made a ceasefire agreement with the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC). But the Shan States Army (Southern) or SSA-South still continues to fight against the Burmese military. The SSA-South was reformed by splinter groups of Khun Sa's Mong Tai Army (MTA) that refuse to accept their leader's surrender to the junta in 1996. The Burmese Army has reacted strongly to the growing influence of the SSA - South and has launched several offensives against them with the cooperation of the United Wa State Army (USWA).
People and Livelihood
The Shans comprised about 10-15 per cent of Burmas population. There are several hill tribe minorities in the Shan Plateau- Ahka, Kachin, Lahu, Palaung, Pa-o, Shan and Wa. The Shan people are closely related to the Tais ethnic group, which migrated from the Yunnan Province in South-West China. In their own language the Shans call themselves Tai or Tai Long and their country Mong Tai instead of Shan State. The origin name of Shan is still not clear, but has been discussed by researchers.
In Shan state, Tai language is used with dialects varying for each minority. The Shan have their own alphabet related to ancient Sanskrit.
Over the centuries the influences of Theravada Buddhism have integrated into everyday Shan life and culture. The monasteries and pagodas are the center of religious and social activities. Besides, the Shan believe in 'nats' or spirits that can cause good or evil in a person's life and must be appeased.
Shan society is a tightly structured hierarchy. In that hierarchy, everyone has their place on the range, because its like as the guidelines for social interactions. Several different leadership structures are in Shan society: headmen, monks, the military, and saophas or princes. Shan families are closely tied and extended families live together.
The main livelihood of Shan is in rice, vegetables, soybeans and fruit plantation. Some are miners and tree cutters, especially teak. Before 1996 the Shan were accused of producing up to 50 per cent of the world opium supply. After their leader Khun Sa surrendered to the Burmese government in February 1996, the trade and growth of illegal opium has allegedly stopped among the Shan, who now have an active drug eradication policy. However, opium production does still occur in Shan State.
Human rights
The SLORC undertook the first massive forced relocation of Shan residents in March 1996. A second and a third wave of forced relocation occurred in March and December 1997. And human rights violations often happened in that time. Several hundred Shan civilians were killed during the relocation program. Villagers who refused to move would be burned to death inside their dwellings. Most of those killed, were shot dead after they had returned to their villages to gather food and retrieve their possessions. The villagers in relocation sites are used as forced labor by SPDC's troop, for instance working as porters or building road. Other cases such as extortion, destruction paddy fields, torture and sexual violence have also been reported every month. Furthermore, the forced rice procurement policy, where the farmers were forced to sell their rice SPDC authorities by lower prices, currently put them into the badly situation.
Refugees/IDPs
Over 120,000 people were relocated into the USWA ceasefire zones in the east of the Salween River before 2002. In these areas it has not been possible to update population of displacement. While at the West of Salween River, the rates of displacement are very high because of war and human rights abuses. Also, a large numbers of displacements are caused by the SPDCs development projects, such as the road construction from Taunggyi to Ta Hsang for the purpose of access into the proposed hydro-electric power station on the Salween River.
Burmese Border Consortium, now renamed as Thailand Burmese Border Consortium, reported that there are approximately 75,000 of IDPs hiding in Shan area and around 200,000 others living in relocation sites.
According to the Shan Human Rights Foundation (SHRF), it was estimated that over 200,000 Shan refugees have crossed to Thailand since 1996. The villagers fled to the neighbor, caused by forced village relocation, forced labor and economic demands by SPDC in central Shan State. The Thai authorities do not generally acknowledge Shan refugees. Consequently, most of them ended up as illegal laborers.
End Notes
Thailand Burma Border Consortium, Internal Displacement and Vulnerability in Eastern Burma, 2004, page 26.
Burmese Border Consortium, Relief Programme 2003, Bangkok, page 46.
Other sources:
International Crisis Group, Myanmar Backgrounder: Ethnic Minority Politics, 2003.
Nel Adams alias Sao Noan Oo, The Tai Of The Shan State, Shan Herald Agency for News, 2001.
Shan Human Rights Foundation, Monthly Report.
Source: http://www.burmaissues.org