Sao Haymar Thaike, the daughter of Burma’s first president, Sao Shwe Thaike, has spoken out against a plan to convert Yawnghwe Palace compound into a marketplace.

She told Shan Herald that she was unhappy with the scheduled project, which was laid out by the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism.

“I heard the news that they are preparing to create a market in our palace compound,” she said. “I am so worried that they will reduce our historical property to such a level. I totally disagree with this plan.”

According to Nay Myo, a National League for Democracy MP representing Yawnghwe Township, no building operations have yet taken place, and his party would seek to prevent the conversion from happening.

“If the plan persists, we will have to object to it,” he said.

Yawnghwe Palace, or Yawnghwe Haw, was the residence of Sao Shwe Thaike, an ethnic Shan prince who became the first president of the Union of Burma in 1948 on the day that the country gained independence from Britain. He was deposed and arrested when Ne Win seized power in 1962, and died in prison soon after.

Since then, Yawnghwe Palace, situated in Nyaungshwe near Inle Lake, has stood as a museum, and is popular with tourists.

Sao Haymar Thaike said that her mother, Sao Nang Mya Win, the first wife of Sao Shwe Thaike, requested the Burmese government to return the palace to the family, however they had never received a response.

During the era of Burmese military dictatorship, many historical Shan buildings were destroyed; others crumbled under decades of neglect. Arguably the grandest Shan palace of all, Kengtung Palace, which was built in 1903, was demolished in 1991.

By Shan Herald Agency for News (SHAN)