The following is a full-text message sent by Chairman of the State Administration Council Prime Minister of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar Senior General Thadoe Maha Thray Sithu Thadoe Thiri Thudhamma Min Aung Hlaing to the ceremony to mark the 72nd Anniversary of Kayah State Day, on 15 January 2024.
Esteemed ethnic national brethren in Kayah State,
Today, the 15th of January, is auspicious Kayah State Day for national brethren and Kayah ethnics in Kayah State.
So, I extended my warm greetings with the best wishes to Kayah ethnics and all ethnics from the Union for enjoying physical and mental well-being on Kayah State Day, which falls in the New Year occasion.
Kayinni State was included as one of the states of the Union of Myanmar under the Constitution of 1947. Under the 1951 Constitution Amendment Act, Kayinni State was officially changed to Kayah State in accordance with public desire starting on 15 January 1952. The day the Kayah State was renamed was designated as the Kayah State Day.
Kayah State is located in the eastern hilly area of Myanmar, and it is endowed with beautiful scenes of the natural environment with an abundance of underground and above-ground natural resources in addition to traditional cultural beauties. The state enjoys favourable weather and hospitalities, and the honesty of local ethnic people is a high prestige of the state. Thanks to beautiful scenes, neat and tidy landscape, openness and honesty of ethnics and serving the interests of local ethnics for the state, Kayah State can firmly stand as a developed area.
Firmly grasping the existing sound foundations, ethnic people from the state have to strive to ensure peace and stability and the development of Kayah State in cooperation with the government. Now is an important time to forge durable peace for coming generations.
Our Myanmar has been standing tall in the international community through the unity of all ethnic people with prestige for thousands of years. However, colonialists waged the country in three aggressive wars and then occupied the whole of Myanmar under colonial rule. Everybody knows the colonialists exploited the country under its administration.
Hence, all ethnic people fight against the colonialists to regain independence with the sacrifice of life, blood and sweat with patriotic spirit. At a time when the country regained independence, the national unity disintegrated in the Union due to the devil’s legacy of the colonialists in the divide and rule policy, triggering internal conflicts. Currently, local ethnic people are suffering plights and hardships due to armed fighting, unrest and destruction in many parts of residences ethnic people including Kayah State. As a spark will bring dangers to the country, I would like to inform you that all stakeholders and all ethnic people should take peace and stability as well as durable peace into consideration.
In Kayah State, terrorists deteriorate the stability of the region, attack towns and villages, and blow up roads and bridges to cause interruption of transport and commodity flows. In addition, they destroyed public vehicles, buildings, markets, monasteries, schools of children, religious schools of Christianity, offices and buildings, showing their disgusted acts and leaving plights for the people.
The consequences of such a situation will not bring good things to Kayah State and local ethnic people. So, everybody needs to be careful about their acts that are dangerous to the country and all its people.
If our ethnic people of the Union prioritize diverse wishes, disunity and conflicts will emerge among them with a lack of peace and stability as well as suffering plights.
As such, everybody needs to correctly review the existing situation in Myanmar and strive for the emergence of good results.
Esteemed ethnic national brethren,
The genuine desire of all ethnic people is to ensure peace and prosperity, the rule of law, socioeconomic development and food security. Only when the country is peaceful and stable with the prevailing rule of law will all ethnic people emphasize their livelihoods peacefully and have socioeconomic improvement. The primary solution for existing hardships and difficulties in the country is national reconciliation, unity and peace. Hence, I would like to urge the government, Tatmadaw and all ethnic people to firmly join hands in peace and stability and durable peace with emphasis on the issue of ethnic people.
The government is implementing prosperity of the State and food security as the national vision. Moreover, agriculture and livestock businesses, inclusive of the entire ethnic people, are being encouraged through modern techniques to have development. Focusing on the developing economic drive, micro-, small- and medium-scale enterprises are being upgraded. All ethnic people must implement the national visions in their sectors to succeed.
It is necessary to improve the capacity of youths as a primary force to join the development undertakings of the State. To build a Union based on democracy and federalism, all ethnic people, including youths, must be capable of intelligence, technology, and critical thinking. The government is now implementing a comprehensive education system to produce the human resources necessary for building a modern, developed State.
Education is basic for the development of the nation. Hence, social objectives are being implemented to initiate a comprehensive education system accessible to everyone. Moreover, efforts are being made to implement learning opportunities for all school-age children, to have at least a middle school education (KG+9), and to enable the students to pursue industrial, agriculture, and livestock vocational education at the high school level.
Development of human resources, education promotion, and unity of ethnic and national brethren can be defined as national cause as well as national interest. We must nurture the youths to become highly capable good, and able sons of the State with knowledge and technology, fostering national spirit and patriotic spirit to analyze the rights, wrongs, good, and bad by following the laws and disciplines. If so, new generations with five physical and mental strengths and high capacity can safeguard the future State.
Esteemed ethnic national brethren,
Upholding Our Three National Causes is the nation’s duty to ensure the perpetuity of the Union; it is necessary to make the national solidarity and Union spirit flourish among the ethnic people.
I send a message and sincerely urge ethnics in Kayah State with the correct attitude to unitedly participate in building the Union based on democracy and federalism with mutual respect, understanding and trust among ethnic national brethren.
Senior General Thadoe Maha Thray Sithu
Thadoe Thiri Thudhamma Min Aung Hlaing
Prime Minister
Chairman, State Administration Council
