In 1961, Shan saophas led by Sao Shwe Thaik, the first president of Burma and saopha of Yawnghwe, proposed a new federal system of government for greater autonomy, although the Shans had the constitutional right to secede. Though Shan leaders promised not to exercise the right, the Burmese army led by Gen. Ne Win thought the proposal was secessionist. Gen. Ne Win's coup d'etat in 1962 brought an end to the Burmese experiment with democracy and with it, the call for greater autonomy for ethnic minorities. The coup fueled the Shan rebellion, started in 1958 by a small group called "Num Hsük Han" ('young warriors'), now joined by the Shan State Army (SSA).