myanmar history

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/189931024X

She 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.

Nel firmly believes the fate of the Shan as an independent country was sealed by the signing of the Panglong Agreement on 14 February, 1947.   According to the Agreement the Shan State was bound to be part of the Union of Myanmar but would have the right to secede after 10 years if the Union failed.  This right was also embedded in the 1948 Constitution but which was effectively "torn up"  following the 1962 coup by General Ne Win.

Please feel free to contact me with suggested interviewees at church.peter@gmail.com.

Thank you for listening .

Peter Church

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/189931024X

She 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

In the episodes covering her life, various sections of My Vanished World will be read.   We are honoured that three episodes 4, 5 and 6 covering excerpts from Chapter 10 dealing with the escape from the Japanese have been read by  Daw Tin Htar Swe OBE, the former Head of the Burmese Section of the BBC World Service and whose voice is possibly well known to many of you.  She also took the initiative, for which I am very thankful, of adding some delightful music which has certainly added to the experience.  

Please feel free to contact me with suggested interviewees at church.peter@gmail.com.

Thank you for listening .

Peter Church

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/189931024X

She 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

In the episodes covering her life, various sections of My Vanished World will be read.   We are honoured that three episodes 4, 5 and 6 covering excerpts from Chapter 10 dealing with the escape from the Japanese have been read by  Daw Tin Htar Swe OBE, the former Head of the Burmese Section of the BBC World Service and whose voice is possibly well known to many of you.  She also took the initiative, for which I am very thankful, of adding some delightful music which has certainly added to the experience.  

Please feel free to contact me with suggested interviewees at church.peter@gmail.com.

Thank you for listening .

Peter Church

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/189931024X

She 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

In the episodes covering her life, various sections of My Vanished World will be read.   We are honoured that three episodes 4, 5 and 6 covering excerpts from Chapter 10 dealing with the escape from the Japanese have been read by  Daw Tin Htar Swe OBE, the former Head of the Burmese Section of the BBC World Service and whose voice is possibly well known to many of you.  She also took the initiative, for which I am very thankful, of adding some delightful music which has certainly added to the experience.  

Please feel free to contact me with suggested interviewees at church.peter@gmail.com.

Thank you for listening .

Peter Church

U Win Htein is an elder politician of the National League for Democracy, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's right hand man, a former parliamentarian, army captain and businessman.

U Win Htein has spent 20 years of his life in prison for his belief in democracy.

He has written his autobiography entitled "Win Htein's story for posterity: Burma's odyssey from tyranny to quasi-democracy" which can be purchased as a ebook from many online booksellers such as https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/win-hteins-story-for-posterity-win-htein/1140822639.

It is extremely hard to believe that at the age of 79 for speaking out against the coup of 1 February, 2021 U Win Htein was sentenced in late October last year for sedition and received a 20 year prison sentence.  He is currently serving this sentence at a jail in Mandalay.  

Please feel free to contact me with suggested interviewees at church.peter@gmail.com.

Thank you for listening .

Peter Church

U Win Htein is an elder politician of the National League for Democracy, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's right hand man, a former parliamentarian, army captain and businessman.

U Win Htein has spent 20 years of his life in prison for his belief in democracy.

He has written his autobiography entitled "Win Htein's story for posterity: Burma's odyssey from tyranny to quasi-democracy" which can be purchased as a ebook from many online booksellers such as https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/win-hteins-story-for-posterity-win-htein/1140822639.

It is extremely hard to believe that at the age of 79 for speaking out against the coup of 1 February, 2021 U Win Htein was sentenced in late October last year for sedition and received a 20 year prison sentence.  He is currently serving this sentence at a jail in Mandalay.  

Please feel free to contact me with suggested interviewees at church.peter@gmail.com.

Thank you for listening .

Peter Church

U Win Htein is an elder politician of the National League for Democracy, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's right hand man, a former parliamentarian, army captain and businessman.

U Win Htein has spent 20 years of his life in prison for his belief in democracy.

He has written his autobiography entitled "Win Htein's story for posterity: Burma's odyssey from tyranny to quasi-democracy" which can be purchased as a ebook from many online booksellers such as https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/win-hteins-story-for-posterity-win-htein/1140822639.

It is extremely hard to believe that at the age of 79 for speaking out against the coup of 1 February, 2021 U Win Htein was sentenced in late October last year for sedition and received a 20 year prison sentence.  He is currently serving this sentence at a jail in Mandalay.  

Please feel free to contact me with suggested interviewees at church.peter@gmail.com.

Thank you for listening .

Peter Church

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/189931024X

She 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

In the episodes covering her life, various sections of My Vanished World will be read.  In this third episode I will read the eighth chapter of her book where Nel talks about her school days at St Agnes' Convent in Kalaw.

Please feel free to contact me with suggested interviewees at church.peter@gmail.com.

Thank you for listening .

Peter Church

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/189931024X

She 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

In the episodes covering her life, various sections of My Vanished World will be read.  In this second episode I will read the second chapter where Nel talks about her parents and grandparents.  

I hope in subsequent episodes Nel and others will read key parts of her book.

Please feel free to contact me with suggested interviewees at church.peter@gmail.com.

Thank you for listening .

Peter Church

U Hpone Thant (commonly known as Harry) born 1945 talks about what it was like to own a car in the 60s and 70s in Myanmar.

For those who are interested in stories like this, there is a Old Burma Hands group on Facebook 

Please feel free to contact me with suggested interviewees at church.peter@gmail.com.

Thank you for listening .

Peter Church

U Win Htein has spent 20 years of his life in prison for his belief in democracy.

He has written his autobiography entitled "Win Htein's story for posterity: Burma's odyssey from tyranny to quasi-democracy" which can be purchased as a ebook from many online booksellers such as https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/win-hteins-story-for-posterity-win-htein/1140822639.

At the age of 79 for speaking out against the coup of 1 February 2021, U Win Htein was sentenced in late October last year for sedition and received a 20 year prison sentence.  He is currently serving this sentence at a jail in Mandalay.  

In this third episode U Win Htein's daughter, Chit Suu reads the chapter of her father's autobiography - Fuze which deals with the three demonitizations brought in by U Ne Win during his 26 year reign.

Please feel free to contact me with suggested interviewees at church.peter@gmail.com.

Thank you for listening .

Peter Church

U Win Htein has spent 20 years of his life in prison for his belief in democracy.

He has written his autobiography entitled "Win Htein's story for posterity: Burma's odyssey from tyranny to quasi-democracy" which can be purchased as a ebook from many online booksellers such as https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/win-hteins-story-for-posterity-win-htein/1140822639.

At the age of 79 for speaking out against the coup of 1 February 2021, U Win Htein was sentenced in late October last year for sedition and received a 20 year prison sentence.  He is currently serving this sentence at a jail in Mandalay.  

In this third episode U Win Htein's daughter, Chit Suu reads the chapter of her father's autobiography - Eaglet.

Please feel free to contact me with suggested interviewees at church.peter@gmail.com.

Thank you for listening .

Peter Church

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 ; an area of approximately 62,000 square miles occupying a quarter of Burma, Before the military coup in 1962, the Shan State was divided into thirty-three and each area (also called a state or mong), had a number of towns and villages; the main town in each state carrying the same name. 

The Sawbwas were hereditary princes, one of whom ruled each of the thirty-three states. The Burmans, and later the British used this title which was a corrupt pronunciation of the Shan title, 'Sao Hpa', meaning ' Lord of the Sky'. 

When the British had advanced into Burma in 1886, the Sawbwas, not only willingly accepted the British administration, but some of them, like her grand-father who was then heir to the sawbwaship, joined the British army to overthrow the last of the Burmese Kings. 

Once in complete control, the British Government applied direct rule over Central Burma, where the majority of the population were Burmans. The Shan State and the other 'Hill States' Kachin, Chin and Karenni were allowed to remain autonomous. Thus, although geographically in Burma, the Shan State was politically independent of Burma until 1948.   The situation for the Shan changed dramatically after the coup by General Ne Win in 1962 and many Shan princes and leaders were killed, jailed or fled abroad.

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 she has never returned to Myanmar but has tirelessly fought for the rights of the Shan people.  She married an Englishman and is known by most people these days 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/189931024X

She 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

In the episodes covering her life, various sections of My Vanished World will be read.  In this first episode I will read the first chapter explaining the history and social customs of the Shan and I hope in subsequent episodes Nel and others will read key parts of her book.

Please feel free to contact me with suggested interviewees at church.peter@gmail.com.

Thank you for listening .

Peter Church

U Win Htein has spent 20 years of his life in prison for his belief in democracy.

He has written his autobiography entitled "Win Htein's story for posterity: Burma's odyssey from tyranny to quasi-democracy" which can be purchased as a ebook from many online booksellers such as https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/win-hteins-story-for-posterity-win-htein/1140822639.

At the age of 79 for speaking out against the coup of 1 February 2021, U Win Htein was sentenced in late October last year for sedition and received a 20 year prison sentence.  He is currently serving this sentence at a jail in Mandalay.  

In this second episode U Win Htein's daughter, Chit Suu reads two chapters of her father's autobiography - Elephant and Caged Bird.

Please feel free to contact me with suggested interviewees at church.peter@gmail.com.

Thank you for listening .

Peter Church

Please feel free to contact me with suggested interviewees at church.peter@gmail.com.

Thank you for listening .

Peter Church

TT has had a stellar career and even at the age of 91 he continues to chair the wood processing company, Greengold Industrial Company Limited he co-founded in 1997.

TT talks about how the country was run by foreigners during his childhood - not just the British - and the years during WW2 when the Japanese were in Myanmar.  For me, one of the most interesting stories from those years is that, when the British left, there were very few technically trained people in the country - the Scottish engineers dealt with the engines on the river craft and at the equipment at the oil producing areas, Indians ran the railways and Bengali ran the river craft.  In TT's view Burma immediately on independence became one of the least developed countries in Asia!

He went to high school where the father of one of our other subjects, K T Lwin was the principal.  He takes us through his career since then which involved a scholarship to the Naval College at Dartmouth in England in 1949 to study mechanical engineering.   These scholarships flowed out of the Burma Defence Agreement under which the UK agreed to provide training to young citizens post independence. He returned to Rangoon in 1953 as the only mechanical engineer in the country (!) and spent the next four years training naval servicemen on the basic elements of mechanical engineering - he was, of course, only 22 and far younger than his students. 

In 1958 the U Nu civilian government handed power to General Ne Win for 1 1/2 years.  During that time TT was assigned to work in the office of Ne Win but ,when Ne Win handed power back to U Nu in 1960, he returned to his naval responsibilities and by 1961 had been appointed a Chief Engineer, which role he continued until 1965 when he was appointed to develop a shipyard .  

TT's late wife, Daw Mya Aye (Polly)  joined the Burmese Navy in 1958 and was one of the first six female officers.  She spent time being trained at Maryland in the US but was required to resign when she married TT in 1963.  She then worked in the Trade Department.  

In 1970 General Ne Win asked him to leave the Navy and take over running the shipyard as a commercial operation.  As he was only 39 TT felt it was too early to retire from the Navy and Ne Win allowed him to remain in the navy and for the next 8 years TT was of Commander rank responsible for repairing and building new naval vessels. There were many issues facing the country at that time and in 1980 Ne Win persuaded TT to take over as MD of the shipyard (which was by then a commercial business ) whilst maintaining his Commander rank.  In accordance with the rules after 3 years in a commercial role he was required to retire from the armed forces. 

In 1983 he was called to a meeting with Ne Win, the heads of the Armed Forces and a number of Ministers.  This led to an exciting new role for TT.

He mentions how he played golf with Ne Win a number of times and how early in his career the strange occasions when he made up the fourth so Ne Win could play bridge when he was traveling to visit naval operations.

The uprising of 1988 and the takeover by General Saw Maung and General Than Shwe led to all foreign loans to be suspended or terminated.    This brought to an end his Phase 3 project to build ocean going vessels. This first of two interviews with U Thein Tun finishes at that point.

Please feel free to contact me with suggested interviewees at church.peter@gmail.com.

Thank you for listening .

Peter Church

U Win Htein has spent 20 years of his life in prison for his belief in democracy.

He has written his autobiography entitled "Win Htein's story for posterity: Burma's odyssey from tyranny to quasi-democracy" which can be purchased as a ebook from many online booksellers such as https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/win-hteins-story-for-posterity-win-htein/1140822639.

This first short episode is an interview with his youngest daughter, Chit Suu with her thoughts on her father.   In subsequent episodes Chit Suu and I will read extracts from the book which Chit Suu feels her father would like to be told.

It is extremely hard to believe that at the age of 79 for speaking out against the coup of 1 February, 2021 U Win Htein was sentenced in late October last year for sedition and received a 20 year prison sentence.  He is currently serving this sentence at a jail in Mandalay.  

Episode 1

Please feel free to contact me with suggested interviewees at church.peter@gmail.com.

Thank you for listening .

Peter Church

Harry talks about his life story which includes his early education at Lady Paw Tun kindergarten before going on to Methodist English High School (also Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's school).  On graduating, as schools and universities were closed after the 1962 coup by General Ne Win, he applied for and won a scholarship to attend Lomonosov Moscow State University and graduated with a Master in Political Economy.  He spent from 1963 to 1968 in Moscow and describes his experiences there.  On return to Rangoon he joined the Burma Socialist Programme Party, the sole political party at that time and worked there for 20 years until the party was disbanded after the 1988 unrest. During that time he performed many roles, ending as Chief of Staff of the International Affairs and Foreign Relations Affairs Committee.  Following this, until he left for Australia in 2009 he worked as a private tuition teacher, started a travel agency (Swiftwinds) and was a founder and General Secretary of the Union of Myanmar Travel Association.
Harry has a keen interest in the history of Yangon and talks about the popularity of horse racing and the Rangoon Turf Club until racing was banned by General Ne Win in 1963 and also discusses the unsafe security situation in Rangoon immediately following independence in 1948.
Harry has also been closely involved with Dr Brian Smith in the study of cooperative fishing by fishermen north of Mandalay where they work with Irrawaddy dolphins - https://global.wcs.org/Resources/Publications/Publications-Search-II/ctl/view/mid/13340/pubid/PUB22844.aspx. Related to this is Harry's work as a consultant to Hsithe Village Based Tourism which has been funded by the Harrison Institute of the UK and which has won a number of awards - https://www.destination-ayeyarwady.com/.

Please feel free to contact me with suggested interviewees at church.peter@gmail.com.

Thank you for listening .

Peter Church

Padoh Saw David Tharckabaw has been an active member of the Karen National Union (KNU) since joining the organisation full time as a young teenager in 1949; only two years after the KNU was established in 1947.   

David has spent the rest of his long life supporting the key aims of the KNU which include the establishment of a Karen State with the right to self determination and the setting up of a genuine Federal Union in Myanmar with each State having equal rights.

David rose through the ranks from a raw recruit to being an officer in the KNU armed resistance before moving to the political headquarters where he was firstly assistant to the General Secretary and then, as his final role from which he retired at the age of 79, Vice President from 2010 to 2014.    

David is now 87 living in Mae Sot in Thailand but continues to be a passionate supporter of the Karen.  In this interview David provides a Karen perspective of the history of the relationship between the Bamar and Karen peoples and how and why mistrust developed between many Karen and the  Tatmadaw (military).

With thanks to the Karen Information Center and to Daw Tin Htar Swe OBE for introducing me to Padoh Saw David Tharckabaw .

Please feel free to contact me with suggested interviewees at church.peter@gmail.com.

Thank you for listening .

Peter Church

The family of U Aung Soe Lwin (or who is more commonly known as Sammy Samuels) has had a long presence in Myanmar.  His grandfather arrived from Iraq in the 1890s and the family has lived in Yangon since that time. Sammy's father, Moses, died in 2015 and the family is now headed by Sammy.  It is thought the first Jew of record in Burma was Solomon Gabirol who in 1755 was a commissar to King Alaungpaya.   During the British colonial times the Jewish population grew to around 3000, but since then has continued to shrink, such that now there are only a handful of Jews with Myanmar citizenship.
Sammy's family has had a close relationship with the sole synagogue in the country over three generations - see episode photo. The cost of upkeep of the synagogue has largely fallen to Sammy's family business, Myanmar Shalom (https://www.myanmarshalom.com/).
With thanks to Julie L.  Kessler (https://www.vagabondlawyer.com/) who introduced me to Sammy and for the photo of the synagogue used for this podcast.

Please feel free to contact me with suggested interviewees at church.peter@gmail.com.

Thank you for listening .

Peter Church