ne win

Dr. Maung Maung was not only a giant in terms of his legal scholarship - being awarded two doctorates from prestigious international universities - but was also a thorough gentleman and patriot in the important years of Burma's pre and post independence.  He was heavily criticized by some for being too close to General Ne Win, but others saw him as a loyal servant of the State and who tried to be a positive influence on General Ne Win. Towards the end of his life he spent time at Singapore's Institute of South East Asian Studies (ISEAS) providing an oral history of his life and views.   I am indebted to the leading Asian scholar, Professor Robert Taylor for giving me permission to read some extracts from his biography of him -  Dr. Maung Maung : Gentleman, Scholar and Patriot  published in 2008 by ISEAS and which can be purchased from ISEAS in an ebook or printed format - https://bookshop.iseas.edu.sg/publication/909.

Dr. Maung Maung has the distinction of, not just being appointed the 7th President of Myanmar, but also the President with the shortest term.  He was appointed on 18 August, 1988 but was removed one month later by a military coup on 19 September, 1988.  Myanmar was then without a President until 2011 when U Thein Sein was appointed.

Please note an error I made in referring to U Thant as the first Secretary General of the UN; he was in fact the fourth holding the role from 1961 to 1971.

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