STATEMENT NO. (2)
The Shan Government was formed on 25 th March 2005 based on the overwhelming mandate by the people of Shan State . The mandate was obtained by a secret ballot conducted in a liberated Area in Shan State where representatives from 48 countries of 56 voted in favor of the Shan Government which comprised of 17 cabinet members. In accordance with the “will” & Aspirations of the Shan people, the Federated Shan States was declared independent on 17 th May 2005 .
• The Federated Shan States & its people had been a member State of the Federal Union for the past 53 years and during that time there was no justice and peace in the country. Shan people were enslaved, subjugated and only suffered at the hands of the brutality of the military regime. We see no other way out but independence as a solution to the country's on-going political crisis.
• The Federated Shan States was formed not just for the benefit of Tai People only. We have the responsibility to ensure all ethnic people of FSS such as Tai, Pa O, Palaung , Wa , Intha, Danu and Kokangnese and so on will enjoy the basic principles of equality and human rights under the UN Charter.
• The physical boundaries of the Federated Shan States shall include the area of 65,000 square miles as was determined at the time of the 1947 Panglong Treaty and its subsequent adoption by all Shan elders and leaders. However, the area and the territorial boundaries are subject to reviews in the interest of all parties involved.
Dated: 19 th May 2005
Ref No.issue# 2/2005
Shan Government, Federated Shan States
