This year commemorates the 77th anniversary of the Union of Myanmar’s independence; however, it also recognizes 67 years of struggle for the independence of Shan State.

In 1958, a group of Shan people known as Noom Suk Harn took up arms in a struggle against the Myanmar military government for independence, after ten years of joining the Union of Myanmar (Burma then). This is due to the fact that non-Burman nationalities were not regarded as equals to the citizens of the country.

The Shans continue to strive for sovereignty and rights, despite the fact that they have experienced many waves of resistance and have fragmented into various factions. The current resistance groups – the Restoration Council of Shan State/Shan State Army (RCSS/SSA) and the Shan State Progress Party/Shan State Army (SSPP/SSA) have also adopted this aspiration as their guiding principle.

For decades, Shan and other nationalities have had no rights or freedom as citizens of the country. The Burman people are increasingly concerned as to whether they are citizens with full rights and freedom since the military regime only serves those who support them. Burmans who embrace democracy are currently being repressed by the military. The 2021 coup exacerbated the divisions among Burmans.

Despite the fact that Myanmar is now in crisis and lacks a governmental system, why are the Shans still not unified and fighting for their independence? Furthermore, why are the Shan forces continually fighting and ignoring their own people? And why haven’t the Shan political parties undertaken any effort to address the present situation?

Such issues must be talked about and reiterated frequently in order to remind the key stakeholders of the goals for which they have fought. This might be a strategy for leading our resistance and achieving triumph.

But it’s been 67 years, and why hasn’t the Shan won? What are the obstacles that prevent our resistance from being realized? Several aspects should be examined, including the lack of a defined resistance purpose, a lack of leadership abilities, a lack of strategic military skills, the length of the resistance movement, which depletes its own people, and a lack of resources and technical skills. In addition, the resistance campaign of the Shan people failed because we were not unified.