Sao Noan Oo or Nel Adams, born 1931 - Unravelling the history of the Panglong Agreement and the rights of the Shan people
94 year old Sao Noan Oo was born in Shan State as a princess, being the daughter of the Sawbwa or Sao Hpa of Lawksawk, a state in the Federated Shan States or Mong Tai. She has been fighting for the rights of the Shan people for almost all of her long life. And she hasn't given up yet.Sao Noan Oo was studying in England at the time of the 1962 coup and her scholarship was cancelled. Given what happened to her family and other Shan families after that coup she has never returned to Myanmar. She married an Englishman and is now known by most people as Nel Adams.Nel has written her life story entitled "My Vanished World". The book is currently out of print but some second hand copies can be found in ebook sites like Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/My-Vanished-World-Story-Princess/dp/189931024XNel firmly believes the fate of the Shan as an independent country was sealed by the signing of the Panglong Agreement on 12 February, 1947. Some, but not all, of the spirit of the Panglong Agreement was contained in the first Burmese Constitution which was agreed to on 24 September, 1947 by its Constituent Assembly. This Constitution is known as the 1947 Constitution, although it only came into effect upon independence from the British on 4 January, 1948.According to the 1947 Constitution, the peoples of the Shan and Kayah States were bound to be part of the Union of Myanmar (then Burma) but under Article 201 each would have the right to secede after 10 years at a referendum approved by a majority of 2/3rds of its "eligible voters". Nel has carried out substantial research into the history of the Panglong Agreement and, if you click on the link below, it will take you to the detailed document she has produced. There are some minor points where I differ with Nel in that, in my opinion, the Panglong Agreement did not give the specific right of the Shan (and Kayah) State to withdraw from the Union. That was contained in Article 201 of the 1947 Constitution. But certainly the full spirit of the Panglong Agreement was lacking in the 1947 Constitution and General Ne Win's coup in 1962 suspending the Constitution ignored the specific rights of the peoples of the Shan and Kayah States to withdraw from the Union. These rights have been ignored ever since.https://www.icloud.com/iclouddrive/0c9XsZXa2Lg5ucDP_9haboOjg#Unravelling_the_history_of_the_Panglong_Treaty_by_Sao_Noan_Oo-Nel_Adams_2025. You may need to copy and paste this address into your browser to download the document.Nel as a 16 year old was present with her family at the Panglong Conference leading to the signing of the Agreement in 1947 and her memory of that conference is contained in My Vanished World and I will read the relevant chapter for this podcast.Thank you for listening.Peter ChurchSend us a text
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Sao Noan Oo or Nel Adams, born 1931 - the life story of a Shan princess- Chapter 16 of My Vanished World -The End of A Dynasty dealing with the disastrous long term consequences for the Shan people following the Martyrs' Day massacres on 19 July 1947
Sao Noan Oo was born in 1931 in Shan State as a princess, being the daughter of the Sawbwa or Sao Hpa of Lawksawk, a state in the Federated Shan States or Mong Tai.Sao Noan Oo was studying in England at the time of the 1962 coup and her scholarship was cancelled. Given what happened to her family and other Shan families after that coup she has never returned to Myanmar but has tirelessly fought for the rights of the Shan people. She married an Englishman and is now known by most people as Nel Adams.Nel has written her life story entitled "My Vanished World". The book is currently out of print but some second hand copies can be found in ebook sites like Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/My-Vanished-World-Story-Princess/dp/189931024XShe has also written a history of the Tai (or Shan) people which is available at Amazon - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Unravelling-History-Tai-Yai-Noan/dp/1527209474.This chapter deals with the disastrous long term consequences for the Shan people following what has become known as Martyrs Day when, on 19 July 1947, a number leading Burmese and ethnic leaders in pre independent Burma were assassinated. This included U Aung San (the father of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi) and a Shan leader, Sao Sam Htun, the Sawbwa of Mongpawn.Send us a text
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Linda Lewin - Episode 2 - the adventurous life of her great uncle San Po Thin and the sad end of her grandfather, San Po Lwin's life
Linda Lewin, using the recollections of her 94 year old father, Boh Lay Desmond and other family members and friends, has written the story of her family covering a number of generations. In this episode we hear how her grandfather's life ended in Bassein (now Pathein) during the Japanese invasion in 1943 and also hear of the adventurous life of her great uncle, San Po Thin. The book, My Faraway Country Myanmar was written by Linda Lewin and published by Gold Hare in 2023 and may be purchased via its website, www.goldenharebooks.com.Send us a text
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U David Maung Nyi was born in Kyaukse on 15 April, 1936. He was educated in Kyaukse, Mandalay, Yangon and Otago (New Zealand). He worked in senior roles in the Government's mining companies but resigned after the 1988 riots and coup.
This interview was first published in 2021 and received many downloads. U Maung Nyi (commonly known as David) was born in Kyaukse on 15 April, 1936. He was educated in Kyaukse, Mandalay, Yangon and Otago (New Zealand). As a mining engineer he spent many years working at Bawdwin, Myanmar's famous lead, silver and zinc mine which during colonial times was the largest such mine in the world. Herbert Hoover, the 31st US President, made his fortune investing in Bawdwin. David eventually became its Mine Superintendent from 1983 to 1986 and was then promoted to become General Manager of a new copper mine at Monya (known as No. 1 Copper Mine). His resignation from this role after the 1988 riots and coup had far reaching consequences on the lives of all his family.Send us a text
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U Nay Oke was born into a prominent Burmese family in 1943 and is the founder of a well known English language school.
This interview took place in 2018 and I am republishing it now as there was a lot of interest when it was first published.U Nay Oke is the founder of a well known English language school and was born in 1943. There is a short short postscript where U Nay Oke told me the story of how as a very young man, as a result of a bizare circumstance, he ended up selecting Western movies for General Ne Win.Send us a text
Oral histories of Myanmar - life stories; some starting as far back as the late 1920’s.From my years of involvement in Myanmar I have become aware of the increasing scarcity of the generation of Myanma citizens who were born during the colonial period and have lived through the tumultuous years since that time. For me, these men and women are "national treasures" whose experience, perseverance and wisdom gained during their long lives will be lost unless we capture their stories in some way. To this end I have decided to interview a number of these elderly citizens. My hope is that these interviews will be of interest to historians, sociologists and other researchers in the future as well as for the family and friends of those interviewed.
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