Shan Herald Agency for News |
| Residents call for release of detained civilians in Shan State’s Namkham Township Posted: 29 Jan 2016 07:20 AM PST Over 250 residents protested in northern Shan State's Namkham Township on Wednesday demanding the release of twelve civilians who were allegedly arrested by the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), according to a local source. The protest arose in response to the abduction of villagers from Mongwi and Hopang villages by the TNLA troops on November 27 of last year and not seen since.
"They (TNLA army) arrested my brother," said Nang Kham, a resident from Hopang who also joined the protest. "I don't know where I can find him. I don't know whether he is still alive or if he is dead." A representative at the protest said there has been no information about the abducted villagers since their arrests. They accused the TNLA of being responsible for their detention. "Please release all of the detainees," said Loong Sai, a resident in Mongwi village who also joined the protest. "We ask that all the leaders understand our situation and release our people." "Please don't do any harm to them," he added. On December 6, the TNLA Information Department published a statement declaring that they had not engaged in the abduction of the civilians. They said they would not detain civilians because civilians are supporters of their cause. The arrest came amidst fighting between the TNLA and the Restoration Council of Shan State/Shan State Army-South (RCSS/SSA-S), the latter of which is one of the eight signatories to Burma's controversial Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA). The clashes between the two groups remain ongoing and have caused hundreds of villagers to flee their homes. By SAI AW / Shan Herald Agency for News (S.H.A.N) | |||||||||||||
| Posted: 29 Jan 2016 12:18 AM PST Day 3: Sunday, 17 January 2016 When states had been allowed to set up, it was not because we thought it was a good idea. A country that is only as big as a plum such as ours should not be divided into several states. (U Nu, Prime Minister, speaking to the People's Assembly on 7 March 1957, quoted in Tun Myint Taunggyi's "To join or to part") Switzerland is a small country, 15,940 square miles, only one-sixteenth of Burma in size, and one-quarter of Shan State, in particular. Only a little bigger than Shan East, one may say. And take a look at its states (called cantons) and communes (roughly comparable towards/village tracts), and you'll realize what I'm trying to say:
What's more, like Shan State, it's a landlocked country. Its chief sea outlet is only through Genoa in Italy. And until the 19th century, it was one of the poorest countries in Europe. The similarities unfortunately end there. Now, the differences: · It has no rich natural resources such as gold, gems, silver, or other minerals, to speak of like Shan State · However, unlike Shan State, its principal work force is not in the agricultural sector, but in other areas, as the following figures show: Agricultural 1.3% Manufacturing 27.7% (Export of watches in 2011 alone fetched US$ 19.3 billion) Services 71% And how does a jack like that become a king? And a model for country likes ours? "Our history is our model," Dr Nicole Topperwien, expert consultant on federalism, tells us this morning. "Every country needs its own model." In 1291, three of the cantons came together to form an alliance against the invading Habsburgs. As time went by, it grew and became a confederation. Calls for more centralization and more democracy culminated in a new constitution in 1848, which established a federal democracy. The official name, however, remains Swiss Confederation to this day. Here are the powers shared among its 3 levels of government: federal, cantons and municipalities, for comparison with ours:
The central government, called the Federal Council, has only 7 members, one of whom is a rotating president as well as head of one of the 7 ministries: · Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications · Finance · Foreign affairs · Justice and Police · Economy, Education and Research · Interior · Defense As for the parliament, which has two chambers, the formula is: 46 (2 for each canton) for the upper and 200 for the lower. In 1918, the proportional representation (PR) system was introduced. The other system any Swiss will proudly points out is the direct democracy:
*Double majority means not only a majority of people but also a majority of cantons must vote for amendment. For instance, the secession of Jura from Bern as a separate state in 1978 was not only decided by the region concerned, but also by a vote at the federal level. "Because any secession may have consequences in other cantons too," she explains.
Dr Topperwien obviously has many things to tell us so we can prepare ourselves for meetings being organized for us during our stay. The only problem is that she only has 3 hours to do that. We are sorry about that too, because we would love to learn more about their party as well as court systems. After lunch, we are driven to Avenches (a derivative from Aventia, the Romans' spring goddess), just 15 minutes away from Murten, to see the Roman ruins, out of which only the amphitheater seems to be in one piece, almost any way. Walking both inside and outside there inevitably brings to mind Russell Crowe fighting for his life against Joaquin Phoenix in the 2000 epic film 'Gladiator'. The Romans governed the region for nearly 500 years, from 1st century BC to the end of 4thcentury AD, according to our guide. At 16:30, we return to the hotel to discuss our program for tomorrow, which includes three meetings with the foreign ministry officials and a visit to the parliament. By SAI KHUENSAI / Director of Pyidaungsu Institute and Founder of Shan Herald Agency for News (S.H.A.N) All views expressed are the author's own |
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