An interview with Moon Nay Li, spokesperson for the Kachin Women’s Association Thailand (KWAT)
November 29, 2022
In Kachin State, Kachin and Shan ethnic nationalities live side by side, and in the northern part of Shan State, Kachin and Shan live side by side.
After the recent military coup, the Shan Herald interviewed Moon Nay Li, spokesperson for the Kachin Women’s Association of Thailand (KWOT), about the situation of women and peaceful coexistence between the ethnic groups.
Q: Since the Kachin Women’s Association was founded more than 20 years ago, please tell us what’s the difference between the situation of women’s participation before and after the military coup.
A: Despite the military coup in 2021, we’ve to struggle to fight for a revolution. After the signing of the Panglong Agreement, the Kachin, Shan, Chin and all other parties were determined to unite to build a country, achieve independence together and live together peacefully. The political goal of each ethnic group was to establish their own country, which their ancestors had retained, and form a union with the signing the Panglong Agreement. Whether Shan or Kachin, they participated in this effort. But although we built a country together, we’ve remained under the evil system of a unitary system combined with chauvinism. The Kachin were mainly ruled by the Duwa system. Under this system, the Kachin people lived for many years and maintained their traditional customs. However, after we joined the Union of Burma under the Panglong Agreement, we were faced with military offensives aimed at controlling our territory. We experienced such events for many years. Once the military came, our people were no longer safe. The safety of women and children was even worse. They weaponized women’s sexuality and took them hostage to wipe out an ethnic group. In 2021, the Myanmar military officially took power again. But people’s cohesion, participation, and cooperation have grown stronger.
Organizations have greater organizational strength than before. The military council that tried to take power this time obviously has no chance to seize power completely. On the other hand, people’s desire to free themselves from years of suffering has become stronger.
There are also human rights violations by the military in cities and towns. Even in the inner cities, people have been shot by the army while going to the market. Even staying at home is no longer safe and people have to worry. They’re threatened. Houses are vandalized at will. They’ve made all kinds of arbitrary arrests and killings, and this is increasing in towns and cities. Women are subjected to sexual violence even if they stay at home. On the other hand, there’s an increase in women’s participation. They want to change this bad system. The women’s leadership has become more popular and is even stronger now .
Q: How involved is the military in Kachin in the conflict between the Shanni and the Kachin, and how much is it sowing discord between the ethnic groups? On the other hand, women have also been arrested. As a Kachin woman, what would you like to say about these issues?
A: It makes me very sad when I look at these issues. It shouldn’t happen that women are targeted. Whether it’s about the dignity of a nation or issues that need to be resolved for the future, it’s not just about women, it’s about the whole nation. I think we should consider these issues and act on them. If we look back in history, there were differences after the signing of the Panglong Agreement.
In the past, when it came to the autonomy of our own territory, our ancestors said that Kachin and Shan cannot be separated. Where there are Kachin, there are Shan people. If there’s a Kachin village, there can be a Shan village a little further. Kachin and Shan people have lived together for a long time. In the past, when a problem arose, they solved it together. There’s never been any conflict between them. Where the Kachin Duwas ruled, the Shan also paid taxes. They just paid them. There were no problems. The Duwas also provided security for the Shan people. It was the same in Kachin State. There were Saopha (Shan chiefs) in Shan State. In northern Shan, there were areas ruled by Kachin Duwas. So under the British rule, there were proper agreements with the Shan Saophas. There were no problems at that time. There were never any fights between Shan Saophas and Kachin Duwas.
If a problem arose, they solved it together. Throughout history, there’s never been such a thing as ill will and hatred toward each other. That’s why we’ve to rethink these problems now. We need to know the motive behind them.
As we all know, the motives of military dictators aren’t only between Kachin and Shan. There are similar feelings among the Kachin as well. There are six groups of Kachin ethnic groups. The military dictators sow discord among these groups as well. Leaders who can’t think carefully fall for their deceptions. This is also the case with the Shan and Kachin issue. Where the military rules, problems arise. They sow discord and create conflict between ethnic groups. Leaders should study this history and the important issues to move forward. They should take these things seriously in order to work well with the public.
Q: What’s happening now is a conflict between ethnic armed groups, but there’s a possibility of ethnic conflict. What would you like to say about that?
A: We’re very concerned that the problem created by the military dictators will expand into an armed confrontation between the two ethnic groups and then further disrupt the coexistence of future generations. It’s important that we emphasize each other’s human rights and focus on creating a stronger peace between the peoples.
Q: How can the Kachin and Shan live together peacefully and without conflict?
A: To avoid conflict, I’d like to build a happier community as in the past. As far as I know, the Kachin would like to go to traditional Shan events and vice versa. In our northern Shan State, the Kachin also speak the Shan language and the Shan also speak the Kachin language. When the Kachin language is spoken in the schools, the Shan people understand it and the students also understand the Shan language when it’s spoken. What I want to say is that mutual respect is also in the language. When one nationality respects and appreciates the highest value of the other, it helps a lot in building a strong peace and happy coexistence. In Kachin State, the Shannni are the minority. If the rights of minorities are protected, they’ll rely on and care for each other regardless of their race, and we’ll be able to build a happy community.
Sent by The Shan Herald