Ethnic Unity’ by Different Means

July 14th, 2011

Quite similarly to the previous regime, the current government led by regime has just claimed to build up ‘unity among the ethnic nationalities’. The definition of building unity among the ethnic nationalities is quite different identified by the ruling regime, and the ethnic people themselves.

The successive Rangoon and Nayphidaw governments dominated by the majority Burman ethnic people believed that the unity must be built ‘by force’. There have been evidences that the recent fighting against the ethnic armed groups in Shan State and Kachin State showed that the Burmese Army have forced ethnic minorities by force to abandon their arms.

The successive military governments in Burma always claimed the important role of Burmese Army. If there is no Burmese Army, Burma will become ‘balicanization’, (please find the spelling for me) as example of ethnic people are splitting Yugoslavia. The regime tried to show and propagandize there is ethnic conflicts, fighting among the ethnic people and only the Burmese Army can control the situation.

Some a few number of governments also believed the words from the regimes. They supported the regime to unify the ethnic people by any means. But in some countries, they have similar problem like Burma, and the governments do not want to share equal power to ethnic minorities.

Burma has no ‘ethnic conflict’. There is only a conflict between the Burman dominated military governments backed by Burmese Army, tatmadaw, and all non-

Burman ethnic people in all frontier areas of the country, bordering with Thailand, China and India. Internal conflict among each ethnic group is normally created by the government under their clever tactic of ‘divide and rule’ policy. By showing these internal conflict among each ethnic groups, the governments claimed that the ethnic people are creating problems and plan to split Burma.

In 1947, ethnic leaders signed ‘Panglong’ Agreement, in order to form ‘federal union’ of Burma. But the promise of founding federal union of Burma have been never implemented by Burman leaders since 1948, after Burma retained Independence from British.

The ethnic people have demanded the Burman military leadership to keep their promise and formed federal union of Burma based on the equal rights of all ethnic people. Only with this political settlement, ‘the unity among all ethnic people including Burmans’ can be sustained.

All ethnic armed groups led by political front, has constantly asked for racial equal rights and demanded for political dialogue. Some ethnic armed groups entered for ceasefire talks for over a decade with an expectation to have a political settlement with recent regime, SPDC (State Peace and Development Council). But the recent denied to do any ‘political settlement’, and asked the ethnic armed group to lay down their arms. Major ethnic armed groups replied that they would keep their arms until the government agrees to offer equal rights.

National Unity built up by force or by pressure will not take long. The ethnic people are holding arms because they need to bargain their political rights. It is now for over six decades, the political problem in Burma have not been solved. Military commanders are still holding in political power with many different names.

Since the views of building up ‘ethnic unity’, between the government and ethnic people are different, it needs to compromise in a peaceful way. The civil war must stop and sharing the political power should be managed in Burma. The government should announce countrywide and initiate dialogue with all ethnic groups.

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