The commander of the Tatmadaw’s Eastern Central Command has ordered the removal of a road sign in Shan State because the sign is not written in Burmese.
Major General Than Hlaing was reportedly upset that the text on the sign was only in Shan and English languages. He travelled to the Mong Nang Tract military garrison northwest of Mong Nawng subtownship in Kyethi Township on November 10.
The sign says “Welcome from Mong Nang Tract” in Shan language, and in English it reads, simply, “Mong Nang”.
The Maj. Gen. demanded the Mong Nang Tract chairperson remove the sign, which was located on the exit road to Mong Nawng Town, according to a local resident.
“When we made the sign, we did consider adding Bamar [Burmese] words,” said a local resident, who asked to remain anonymous.
“We asked someone to make the sign, but the words were too big, so there wasn’t enough space to add Bamar words. It would cost more money to remake the sign. It’s only a tract-level [administrative division], so we decided to leave it as is without adding anything. When the regional military commander saw the sign, he scolded the group chairman during a meeting with teachers from Mong Nang school. The commander told the chairman not to have their children attend Bamar schools if they don’t want to add Bamar language [to the sign],” the resident said.
A notice released by the Shan State Minister of Municipal Affairs in June last year endorsed the use of non-Burmese ethnic languages on town entry and exit signs. Many townships in Shan State, including Taunggyi, the State capital, erected ethnic-language signs following the announcement.
