February 12, 2018
Dear esteemed ethnic national
brothers and sisters,
Today is a truly auspicious
occasion of the 71st Anniversary of Union Day.
On this truly auspicious day, I
send my Message of Greetings and good wishes for the auspiciousness of all
ethnic national brothers and sisters who have lived together in friendship in
the Republic of the Union of Myanmar since time immemorial.
Throughout the history of Myanmar,
the long line of kings who ruled the country strived to build a strong union
based on national unity. However, at the end of the Konbaung period, our
country fell under British colonial rule and due to their divide and rule
tactics our ethnic national brothers and sisters lost their unity based on
suspicions among themselves.
The Myanmar Tatmadaw led by General
Aung San drove out the British colonialists with the help of the Japanese. Soon
after we realized the true nature of Japanese fascism and fake independence we
had to drive out the Japanese hand in hand with the Allies with the aim of
regaining our independence and sovereignty.
Due to the efforts of Myanmar
national leaders and the Myanmar people, we were able to sign the Aung
San-Atlee Agreement which promised to give independence to Burma within one
year, among other things on the 27th January 1947. According to this agreement,
although the British imperialists had to give independence to the whole of
Burma, they wanted to leave behind the mountainous regions.
Ethic national leaders including
General Aung San convened the Panglong conference to make a united demand that
independence be given to the central plains as well as the mountainous regions
at the same time. Thus on 12 February 1947, they were able to sign the
agreement. This is the reason why we have designated this day as the Union Day,
the day the Panglong Agreement was signed, the day on which we demanded in
unity and in one voice independence for the whole country, as a historic
milestone.
All Myanmar ethnic national brothers
and sisters should value and hold in high regard this Union spirit through
which all ethnic nationals were able to achieve independence together in unity.
It is also very important to keep this Union spirit alive and strong and to
nurture and value this spirit as our own lives.
Although it is true that beginning
from the time we gained independence, internal armed conflicts have lingered on
up till now, we have shown our ability to exist as an independent and sovereign
nation with union spirit and the unity of our ethnic nationals; it is now 71
years.
Furthermore, we are now striving,
having discussions and seeking solutions for the cessation of all internal
armed conflicts and to establish firmly a Democratic Federal Republic in
accordance with the aspirations and desires of ethnic national brothers and
sisters. We have chosen the path of seeking solutions through negotiations and
political dialogues; the various steps of the peace process and the Union Peace
Conference – 21st Century Panglong are being conducted, as of now we have
agreement on 37 Federal principles which have been signed as Part 1 of the
Union Accord.
I believe that by negotiating and
seeking solutions based on Union spirit, we would be able to achieve not only a
more durable internal unity but also establish the Democratic Federal Republic
successfully from the platform of the 21st Century Panglong.
If our Union spirit is weak, we
would be far away from the establishment of a Democratic Federal Republic. The
main ingredient needed for internal peace is mutual trust among the ethnic
national brothers and sisters. That is why ethnic national brothers and sisters
need to strive based on union spirit with unqualified trust, unity which is
firm and determination which is resolute and continue the process of
negotiations and seeking solutions.
At the same time, we need to have
firm economic foundations so that there will be continuous development of the
motherland in all sectors such as political, economic and social sectors. That
is why the Union government has been striving continuously for the development
of small and medium-sized enterprises ( SME’s) which constitute a large
percentage of the country’s economy.
As we work for the achievement of
national unity, national reconciliation and the peace process which all Union
citizens and ethnic national brothers and sisters, deeply desire and yearn for,
we need the Union Government, the Hluttaw, the Tatmadaw, the Ethnic Armed
Organizations (EAO’s), the Political parties, the CBO’s – Community Based
Organizations and the entire People to cooperate, participate and work together
hand-in-hand.
Therefore, on this auspiciousness
day, the 71st Anniversary of Union Day, I remind and urge all Union citizens
and ethnic nationals to solemnly adopt with resolute determination and
participate and cooperate in the implementation of the following four Union Day
Objectives: –
– Perpetuation and awareness of
Union spirit.
– To build internal peace
successfully with the unity of ethnic nationals.
– To build a Democratic Federal
Republic through the Union Peace Conference – 21st Century Panglong.
– To ensure the economic
development of the entire Union by encouraging Small and Medium-sized
Enterprises (SME’s)
Ref; The Global New Light of
Myanmar
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