Colonialism and ethnic conflict in Burma

http://asiapacific.anu.edu.au/newmandala/2013/04/16/colonialism-and-...

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Dont forget home Colonialism and ethnic conflict in Burma By Reducing Malaysias Sai Latt, Guest Contributor debt burden 16 April 2013Posted in: Burma Interview with Joe Gordon: Lse majest and democracy Who can meet the expectations of the majority? Thailands royal histories Podcasts from the 2013 Myanmar Update Emulating the state New work on Southeast Asian monarchies Flags: Old and new Greater media freedom, really?
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Introduction Reducing Malaysias debt burden 16 April 2013 5:15 AM | No Comments What is more worrying than government debt is household debt, and there appears to be no easy answers to this conundrum. Read More Who can meet the expectations of the majority? 15 April 2013 5:30 Former US President Jimmy Carter traveled to Myanmar in early April. In addition to meeting government officials during his trip, Carter also met ethnic leaders with whom he discussed the countrys long running civil war. Carter plans to open a branch of the Carter Center in Myanmar in order to study ethnic conflict and monitor the countrys political transformation. During Carters meetings, ethnic leaders, as usual, suggested that federalism and self-determination are the solutions to the countrys problems. But are they? Since Thein Sein took office in 2011, there have been endless conferences, closed door meetings, academic talks, civil society seminars and a steady stream of publications devoted to peace building. Several new organizations dedicated to peace have also been formed with the support of the European Union and Norway. The governments peace delegation headed by Minister Aung Min has been busy negotiating with various armed ethnic groups. Peace has become the buzzword for international donors and diplomats focusing on Myanmar. How long will these peace activities last, let alone actual peace? What are the long term prospects for relations between the central government and ethnic groups?

Why Thailand needs its king (106) Ralph Kramden: Longway concludes by stating: So still think that the public want e PT to... Longway: http://www.asiafo publications/pdf/ The survey to which I referred is... Longway: BTW if you really believe that the Thai people voted for the PT to change the... Longway: I think the gross injustices where rich and well connected people ride rough shod over... Colonialism and ethnic conflict in Burma (5) Myo Nyunt: Thanks Ko sai Latt. The emergence of a alternative perspective on Burmas... Zaw Win: Our brothers and from Shan, Kachin, Chin

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Colonialism and ethnic conflict in Burma

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A closer examination of the on-going cease-fire talks between the government and the various armed ethnic groups suggests the peace initiatives are at risk of Many Malaysians are breaking down. The upper echelons of the countrys nominally civilian willing to move government still maintain colonial-like attitudes towards non-Burmans in the beyond the politics of country. These views, steeped in Burmese nationalism, are not just common fear into a brave new among the generals, ex-generals and Thein Seins cabinet members but are world, but will they widely held among the democratic opposition and much of the general public. be looked after? The Burmese ruling class is also committed to the complete take over of Read More territories lived and ruled by the predecessors of those who are considered the countrys ethnic minorities. Minister Aung Mins numerous paternalistic Greater media comments about the ethnic armed groups are a reflection of ingrained state ideologies, engineered by generations of war-fighting leaders, who treat freedom, really? minority peoples as unequal/inferior partners who are to submit themselves to 11 April 2013 4:23 AM | No Comments the superior Burmese partner. As such, Minister Aung Min represents a continuity of the colonialist attitudes of the era of military rule, if not the The Malaysian continuity of military rule itself in a strict sense. Given these conditions, any electoral meaningful political negotiation based on an equal footing is mere wishful authoritarian regime thinking. has hardened in its The political pathology of Burma, if I may use the rather suspicious attitude and actions bio-political term, is a process of internal colonization led by the Burmese toward media ruling class. Widespread assumptions about the causes of ethnic conflict such freedom in various as the lack of a genuine federalism, self-determination, democracy and waves since human rights are only symptoms. Without addressing internal colonialism, all reformasi. attempts at stabilizing the country are bound to fail. Read More How colonial is colonialism? GE13 Saying that the Burmese state[1] has colonized and is continuing to colonize commentary territories that are historically, culturally and economically specific to Timothy Daniels non-Burman ethnic minority groups often sparks a backlash from majority 08 April 2013 5:49 ethnic Burmans (of course, there are few exceptions). Indeed, there is only a AM | 1 Comment small space for such critiques. Even many prominent writers, One hopes that many politicians/activists and journalists dislike, if not overtly insult and disrespect, critics who resist state oppression through an anti-colonial lens. Criticism of of the important ideals expressed will state colonialism is often deemed a direct offense to ethnic Burmans (which is be able to take shape true to an extent due to the intention and/or the limit of language itself in under such a secular- expressing such a delicate identity-related politics). Ethnic Burmans respond by pointing out that state oppression is not exclusively directed at ethnic minority Islamic or Islamicpeople but members of the majority as well. They in turn label minority rights secular state. activists as narrow minded ethno-nationalists. The purpose of the anti-colonial critique is entirely misunderstood. Calls for a more sensible, just and equitable Read More political arrangements are all too often ignored. Sabahans Recently, some Burman critics including Dr. Maung Zarni and the Irrawaddy (new) dilemma magazines editor Aung Zaw (if they agree to be labeled as such) have 06 April 2013 1:00 PM | No Comments expanded the boundaries somewhat by describing the Burmese militarys offensive in Kachin State as neo-colonial or imperialistic in nature. To push the limits of discussion further, what is taking place in Burma is not simply The upcoming neo-colonialism or imperialism. If the standard definition defines election will force neo-colonialism/imperialism as an indirect rule via economic and cultural Sabahans to choose domination, then the Burmese states aim is to carry out an old-fashion between the devil colonialism. Similar to European colonial states of the past, the Burmese state and the deep blue aims to establish the direct territorial control through military conquest and sea. implant a pseudo-bureaucratic state apparatus. The colonizing state has the upper hand and sets the rules of the game. Read More Malaysian Indians and democratisation 05 April 2013 2:23 PM | 1 Comment But why should this be labeled colonization, not nation-state building or the expansion of modern bureaucratic administration?

It is colonization not only because of they are seeking control of territories the central government never controlled. The process also entails brutal military conquests and ruthless repression against the political determination of those Putting a human face who were previously independent people, however in relative term. Dictating culture, economy and political relations at the expense of human lives and to the Malaysian dignity need not even be mentioned. Indians who are struggling for their There are ample obvious evidence of internal colonization. Mushrooming democratic rights. battalions and army units in ethnic minority areas where the Burmese state never had any consistent hegemonic control over or political legitimacy to; Read More on-going acts of abuse, torture, and mass murder carried out by military personnel in the name of territorial control (or nae myae soe moe yae in GE13 Malaysia Burmese); the implanting of administrative offices in so-called border areas by Dahlia Martin which educated ethnic Burmese from the lowland/central Burma plain are 05 April 2013 10:00 deployed as state employees; the denying of the right to teach and practice AM | No Comments minority languages and customs; the destruction of historical monuments and buildings; and the extracting of natural resources at the expense of the lives,

and Karen have lot patient and soft hearted... Charles F.: One thing is certain Mr. Peanut, Jimmy Carter, will sooner or... betelspitter: as we all know, there is no union in the union of myanmar. bamars... Roy Anderson: A very interesting article which needs re reading in order to give a good response. Interview with Joe Gordon: Lse majest and democracy (20) Doubting Thomas: You can not apply for a one year extension on a tourist visa. Your visa and... Disabuse: Thank you for clarifying. I think it doesnt matter at all. A dual citizen is... Disabuse: Thaksin Shinawatra and his entourage are precisely the type of people who discard... Joe Gordon: As an American citizen I have an American passport. I traveled to Thailand with a... SteveCM: DT, why are you asking? Paul Handley replies to comments (54) Longway: You guys just dont want to let this go, there is so much more wrong in thailand than... Nganadeeleg: Im happy to see him, or anyone, get praise when its

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Colonialism and ethnic conflict in Burma

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Driving such military actions are deeply ingrained state ideologies about the nation, history, and state sovereignty. These state ideologies have been engineered by generations of poorly educated, war-fighting leaders who were loyal pupils of warriors trained by fascist Japan. Absolving themselves from public scrutiny and intellectual reasoning of history and politics, the warriors Read More relayed to their juniors their own militaristic and colonialist beliefs which grew GE13 Malaysia out of their particular experiences against the British, Japanese, Kuomintang and communists (and later ethnic armed groups). Their understanding of the Tricia Yeoh 04 April 2013 10:00 past, however delusional, is now the only acceptable history of the country. Critical insights against this colonialist national history is subject to rejection AM | 1 Comment not only by the state, but also by both the Burmese public and segments of the minority groups themselves. Barisan Nasionals greatest strength would be its numbers Of course the Burmese leaders do not see military conquest as colonial. To of years as a coalition them, they are reclaiming the historically established Burma, the land of great Burmese pride by (re)building and sustaining a strong multi-ethnic union. In government, its this sense, nation-state building or multi-ethnic union building is the content, ability to govern or at least legitimating discourse, of colonization. together with all parties. The Burmese state is indeed committed to the multi-ethnic union. There is no question about it. But will a genuine federalism with equal distribution of Read More power, as proposed by ethnic minority groups, solve the problem? GE13 Malaysia Indeed, such political arrangements are out of the question for the Burmese Sonia Randhawa state in the first place. It is unlikely that the Burman leadership will accept any 03 April 2013 10:00 arrangements based on equality, whether it is labeled federal or not. For AM | 3 Comments their version of a multi-ethnic union is predicated not on any equal term, but on presupposed subjugation of ethnic minority groups to Burmese rule (discussed Unless resilience to below). The Burmese ruling class will build a union on their own terms, and climate change is factored into political minority groups are to play by the rules of the game set by the Burmese: it is a matter of do or die. calculations, The on-going Kachin conflict is a case in point. The Kachin Independence Organizations (KIO) refusal to transform into a border guard force and come under the command of the central government, as it was ordered to do so, was one of the contributing factors that led to the army launching its large scale offensive in the north of the country. The KIO and the central government had a 17 year cease-fire agreement until the army chose to end the truce in June 2011 (similar to the armys conflict with Shan State Army North who also had a Read More long running ceasefire agreement that began in 1989). The fact that an intense military conflict could occur amidst the Thein Sein governments widely GE13 Malaysia publicized peace initiative raises numerous questions about the officially Lee Hwok Aun democratized state. 02 April 2013 10:00 AM | No Comments For the state, there is no permanent solution until the KIO surrenders The most important issue that the new government must address is to make Malaysia more inclusive and dynamic. Read More Malaysia at (yet another) crossroads 01 April 2013 11:09 AM | No Comments While Malaysia has achieved admirable economic success under its dominant coalition government, this has come at the expense of human rights and the free press. Now, the opposition is offering greater transparency. Read More permanently or the Burmese Army wipes out the KIO and takes over Kachin state and the Kachin inhabited areas of neighboring northern Shan state a region that was at best only nominally controlled by the Burmese state and its colonial predecessor. The army will strike until the last rebel is dead. There is no plan to let the rebels decide their own territorial futures. Emerging personal accounts of former military officers and government publications about counterinsurgency operations reveal these attitudes. That is why two seemingly contradictory elements, promotion of Buddhist Burman-centric nationalism on the one hand, and the states aim for a multiethnic union on the other, work perfectly together. But what makes the Burmese elite think that ethnic groups must submit themselves to them? This is a question of historical geography shaped by the delusional state discourses about the countrys history and union building which entirely delegitimizes ethnic peoples historical entitlements to the lands their predecessors lived and ruled. The Burmese warriors imagination of historical geography legitimates their supremacy and territorial right and justifies their colonial endeavors. Imagining historical geographies of the nation First of all, state discourses present Burma, seen on a map today within its international borders, in an ahistorical fashion as if it has always existed since time immemorial (but not a product of the 1947 political contract between the Burman and ethnic leaders, known as the Panglong Agreement). Second, state discourses present three ancient Burmese kingdoms as the First Great Burma under Anawrahta (1044-1077), the Second Great Burma under Bayinnaung (1552-1581), and the Third Great Burma under Alaungpaya standards of living in Malaysia are likely to face increasing pressure in the medium- to long-term.

I hope we will see more women at the helm. It's long overdue, and a vital part of any development.

lands and dignity of local residents are all testaments to Burmese colonialism, which is often accompanied by an ugly chauvinism.

due. The problem is that... Thailands royal histories (4) HRK: The Shan rebellion was in fact similar to other rebellions during that time (holy men... Andrew Walker: Thanks Roy. I dont think this is really a story of royals plotting...
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Colonialism and ethnic conflict in Burma

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(1752-1760). One important signifier of this greatness is their territorial GE13 Malaysia influence that extended to parts of modern day northeast India, Thailand (Ayutthaya) and at times much of mainland Southeast Asia. Garry Rodan 01 April 2013 10:00 AM | No Comments These territorial expansions were relatively short-lived; they went through phases of wax and wane. State discourses nevertheless present them as always extensive, the most powerful in the region and continuous throughout the The most important history until the British annexation in the 19th century. Such imaginations or issue that the new fantasies of historical geography, aiming to boost the empty pride of the government must present day socio-economically deteriorated Burmese, create illusions that address depends on Burma was once a proud civilization. What appears, or remains as Burma today who forms is a non-negotiable Burmese political space; it has been Burma and it has to government and by remain so. It is the land of the Burmese/Burman; the rulers were Burmese (or what margin. ancient tribes that later make up the Burmese); and todays ethnic territories were parts of independent and sovereign Burmese empires in which ethnic Read More minority people were subjects of the Burmese rulers. Such historical GE13 Malaysia imaginations normalize the assumed hierarchical relations in which ethnic minority people appear to be natural subordinates of the Burmese not as Patau Rubis 31 March 2013 10:00 those living in relatively sovereign feudal states of their own. AM | No Comments The Burmese government, however, teaches itself and the people to misunderstand that all the lands within the national borders (i.e. not just the Malaysia must go central Burma plain but also the ethnic states of today) have belonged to back to the dreams and aspiration of the Burma since ancient times. If the government were right, it should re-claim Ayutthaya, for example, which was invaded by King Bayinnaung in the 1560s, Father of Malaysia. with all means of ruthlessness. If Burma has no entitlement to Ayutthaya, neither does it have entitlement to ethnic minority territories, whether or not Read More they were under the ancient Burmese rule. (The 1947 contract that married GE13 Malaysia previously independent territories to the Burma plain is not a reason to discard my claim because successive regimes, beginning with Prime Minister U Ronnie Klassen 30 March 2013 10:00 Nus government, rendered it meaningless.) AM | No Comments Colonial state doing anti-colonial politics Malaysia has been and will always be a There is another element to the official Burmese state narrative of history and politics that deserves careful scrutiny. Two interrelated points are important to multiracial country, highlight here. First, the Burmese state is an extremely strong anti-colonial and and nothing will xenophobic state. Government publications and official speeches quite often change that fact. recount how British colonialism brought down the country, and how it manipulated ethnic groups for the purpose of divide and rule. It is noteworthy Read More that the standard publications and government speeches which recount the GE13 Malaysia sequence of events that led to the long running political crisis begin with foreign intruders (i.e. the British), suggesting that foreigners lie at the root of Arnold Puyok 29 March 2013 10:00 the countrys political problems. This narrative presents the proud and internally peaceful/united Great First, Second, and Third Burmas as continuous AM | 1 Comment throughout, but disrupted by British rule, which only shattered the Burmese pride and sovereignty. With British colonialism, the people became slaves of a The most pertinent issues in Malaysia are foreign race, and the people lost their great establishments (empires, superior military might, proud Buddhist civilization, and so on). It suggests that even the issues of after independence, foreign countries and neo-colonialists continue to corruption and manipulate ethnic groups and intervene in Burmese affairs, thus threatening inefficiency in the national unity, the future of the union, and sovereignty. administrative system. Second, the state considers (neo)colonialists to be primary trouble-makers. That is, ethnic armed groups are only the victims of neocolonialist (and communist) Read More manipulation and divide-and-conquer tactics. Having suffered manipulation, the armed groups distrust and fight their Burmese brothers. Here, minority Today's Trending Posts groups historically contingent claims and political aspirations for territorial rights are all delegitimized as they are merely the confused victims of foreign Thailands royal intervention. It is true that outside forces have political and economic interests histories 1 comment(s) in manipulating armed groups, but these outside forces are not only Western Colonialism and players but also Asian neighbors including China, India and Thailand, who are ethnic conflict in both friends and foes of the Burmese state. Reducing ethnic armed groups to Burma 5 comment(s) mere victims of manipulation is not only incorrect, but also erases their political Why Thailand needs agency. its king 1 comment(s) Interview with Joe In other words, the Burmese see the British colonial regimes separate Gordon: Lse majest administration of frontier areas from the lowland (central Burma plain), and and democracy 10 granting minority groups the right to secession under the 1947 Panglong
comment(s)

agreement (and the 1947 constitution) as colonial plots and foreign manipulations. With this view, the Burmese ruling class has already delegitimized the historical 1947 contract that formed the very Union of Burma. Even if the state ceremonially makes reference to the Panglong agreement, any political essence of this contract has already been overruled by the distorted anti-colonial discourse. In short, the official version of history indicates that those in power have no

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belief in the historically contingent territorial entitlements of ethnic people. The imagining of ancient Burmese empires delegitimizes any earlier sovereign status of ethnic states/territories. The states anti-colonial reasoning delegitimizes territorial rights agreed in the 1947 agreement and the constitution. Likewise, the on-going struggle for political and territorial rights is again delegitimized as it is seen as part of a neocolonial conspiracy seeking the disintegration of the once proud country. To put it in a laymans words, the standard Burmese view holds that they are the real owners of every plot of land that falls within the current national boundaries of Myanmar; they have owned it since ancient times, and they are to reclaim and protect it from colonialists and neocolonialists. They thus task themselves with a military mission to reclaim the land vis--vis supposedly confused and manipulated armed ethnic groups. This means, minority groups have no legitimate territorial claims whatsoever, unlike the Burmese themselves. As such, negotiation on equal terms, for federalism or otherwise, is out of the question. Dubious Union Spirit, forty million years of history and unity Overruling ethnic minority peoples territorial rights is only implicit in the imagination of historical geography. State discourses never say that minority people have/had no sovereign territorial rights. They only indicates that the lands are the territorial domain of Burmese rule where ethnic people once lived peacefully. What is explicit in the state discourse is the centrality of Burmese supremacy that naturalizes internal colonization and the subjugation of ethnic minority people. What the government calls Union Spirit, the blood of the union, is a case in point. But what exactly is the Union Spirit? Union Spirit can be summarized as (1) deeply believing and accepting the entire union as a single family; (2) protecting amyo (race or nation) based on nationalism/the love of the nation (however undefined); (3) helping, forgiving and understanding each other; and (4) having good will and honesty. The foundation of this spirit is that ethnic groups (i.e. eight major groups Kachin, Karenni, Karen, Chin, Mon, Burman, Rakhine, Shan and the groups within their sub-categories) are real brothers and sisters and thwe chin nyi ako (literally meaning: blood brothers) who live on the same land and drink the same water as if they all grew from the same tree. The imagination of historical and cultural geographies with regards to union spirit is even more bizarre. Referring to a recent archeological discovery that purportedly proves that humans lived 40 million years ago in the Northwest of todays Burma, a 2011 publication from the Ministry of Information claims that these people were Burmese (or members of the ancient Burmese race). Another book from the Ministry similarly claims that Burma is the origin of the entire human race. It also claims that Myanmar people have lived in the area since the stone age, and were then dispersed to various places. Over time, depending on where they ended up, they came to speak different languages and adopted different customs and assumed different names like the Kachin, Kayah (Karenni), Karen, Chin, Burman, Mon, Rakhine and Shan: the national races of Myanmar. According to this line of thinking ethnic minority groups originally descended from the Burmese who have existed for forty million years (More nuanced propaganda suggests that the people who were dispersed into todays Burma/Myanmar came in three groups and originated from the north. Nevertheless it is claimed they are all blood-brothers). Such assumptions and mythology as mentioned above are widespread and well accepted. The Burmese state has succeeded in nationally standardizing them in that reading different types of books on the subject (school textbooks, government publications, history books, fiction books, books for kids, etc.) looks as if the author is the same one. Narrative styles, historical data, sequence of events, word choices, perspectives, culprits and victims, etc. are all the same. These assumptions and mythology that form the current dominant political understanding need to be examined closely. This includes the claim that Burma and the Burmese people existed since forty million years ago. The notion that minority people were taing yin thar (ethnic/national race) in the past who diverged also must be challenged. As the Union of Burma did not previously exist, there were no majority Burmese and minority ethnics/national races. Neither was there ever a national unity (tain yin thar si lon nyi nyut yae) that we envision today. Concepts of union, ethnic/race, nation, national unity are all recent political constructs.

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Colonialism and ethnic conflict in Burma

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Even more important is the claim that there was a union in which national races co-existed with Burmans peacefully until the British came. This erases the entire history of Burmese aggression against once independent peoples (and aggression against each other internally and externally). Moreover, it obscures the long political process in which minority peoples are subjugated to the Burmese through colonial practices territorial conquest via military oppression and creation/categorization of ethnic groups (i.e. making into minority, tribe). Erasing such processes simultaneously hides all the injustice that occurred under Burmese rule. Perpetuating these histories as the only acceptable history not only sustains colonial attitudes (i.e. Burman supremacy and territorial entitlement) but prevents future investigation into such injustices and colonization. Colonization endures and thus the so-called union spirit itself turns out to be a colonial discourse after all. What to do with colonialism? If President Thein Sein is to make a different future and prove that his government has departed from the military past, he must address the issue of internal colonialism. The government must stop seeing ethnic territories as properties of Burma/Burmese. The military must stop its military conquests even if ethnic minority groups choose not to play by the Burmese rules. State ideologies and discourses that distort historical realities must also be addressed. Political negotiations that fail to recognize the ethnic groups historically legitimate territorial entitlement will go nowhere. Only colonial attitudes and actions will linger. Addressing this issue also requires a much wider treatment. The military, bureaucracy, and the public need a fresh education about the countrys geography and history in which every long-held assumption about the nation, union, territories, nation-state, nationalism, and sovereignty must be fundamentally challenged. One major discourse to challenge is the national anthem. The current anthem was originated from a song called We Burmans. The anthem, a slight revision of We Burmans, was officially adopted in 1947 just before independence. The first part of the lyrics come in a Burmese traditional style. It endorses justice and equality. The lyrics of the second part, which appears in a western style, are quite Burman-centric and problematic. Until 1988, the lyrics referred to the entire territory of the union, which includes ethnic minorities lands that were considered part of central Burma in 1947, as Bamar Pyi (i.e. Burman land). When the countrys name was changed to Myanmar, Bamar Land became Myanmar Pyi. Perhaps, the anthems composer, nationalist U Tin (Thakin Tin), had good intentions of his own, and did not see the coming rise of Burman colonialism in such a devastating way. But looking from todays perspective after half a century of the Burmese states broken promises and colonization, calling the territory indiscriminately Bamar Land (or Myanmar Land) and worse calling it an inheritance from our forefathers sounds awful. It misleads the public to believe that Kachin state in the north belongs to the people from the southern tip of the country. This is how the military leaders like to think: Kachin territory belongs to Burma/Burmese (i.e. themselves). In this sense, the national anthem as a booster of emotion is the ecstasy of madness. It needs to be critically challenged. As a first step, Burma needs a group of Burmese (however one wants to define this) who dare to challenge ingrained state ideologies and constitutive elements that perpetuate colonial attitudes and actions. This means, challenging the very notions of the state, nation, nationalism and sovereignty, and addressing the actions of those in power at different sites and scales. Without it, all the talk about peace is just a waste of time and energy; it will fail one day or another. As a concluding note, it is important to mention that the illusionary and colonial imaginations of history and nation are not unique to the Burmese ruling class. My discussion does not romanticize ethnic armed groups or erase similar tendencies among some groups towards smaller and/or less powerful minority groups. Wherever colonial attitudes and actions are found, they deserve to be fundamentally challenged. Sai Latt is a PhD Candidate at Simon Fraser University in Canada [1] I acknowledge that the State is a contested term and that it is not a homogenous entity. But I loosely use it as a general term to refer to the government, the ruling class, and military/police, and general governmental institutions.

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Related posts: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Ethnic Politics in Burma: States of Conflict Burmas changing equations Burmas independence and the year ahead Burmas constitutional direction Education in Burma: where some are more equal than others

5 Comments 1. #1 Reply Roy Anderson Posted April 16, 2013 at 12:34 PM A very interesting article which needs re reading in order to give a good response. Quality comment or not? 2. #2 Reply betelspitter Posted April 16, 2013 at 2:16 PM as we all know, there is no union in the union of myanmar. bamars cheat on minorities, minorities cheat on each other (internally), and the current fight for autonomy (or federalism or self-rule or call-itwhat-u-want) in kachin, shan and kayin state has all to do with money for a selective hole-in-the-wall/clique and has little to do with the basic rights of the simple man whose main concern is enough food to survive another day and shelter (decent education and healthcare are still science fiction at the moment). there is no central power so whatever naypyidaw (mr president-puppet) decides, in the corners of the union (ie. ethnic-conflict-areas) people in charge (on both sides) still do what they want. conclusion: no short-term solution is in sight, no matter how many more academic analysises we will be fed this year. Quality comment or not? 3. #3 Reply Charles F. Posted April 16, 2013 at 3:18 PM One thing is certain Mr. Peanut, Jimmy Carter, will sooner or later, make an utterance that is so outrageous that hell embarrass the United States (but not himself, as he has no shame). The biggest joke played on the world was when Carter was named as an Elder, which makes those not familiar with him think that he has incredible wisdom, and not the onset of Alzheimers that most Americans think he suffers from. Perhaps Carter and plan B can confer, and come up with a statement that blames the west and the U.S. in particular for all of Burmas woes. Quality comment or not? 4. #4 Reply Zaw Win Posted April 16, 2013 at 8:28 PM Our brothers and from Shan, Kachin, Chin and Karen have lot patient and soft hearted and Bama general are misusing them. What resources Bama has in its pure Bama territory, if you take out the minorities states from main Burma. Nothing. Several billions dollars were wasted for building Nay Pyay Daw and most of the dollar were from GAS, precious
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stones and other mineral from these minorities territories. If one reads the names of the buildings, roads and looks the statues from Nay Pyay Daw, one can realize the mindset of the generals. They are fond and proud of colonization of minorities state by their past kings. Especially Than Shwe. His wife likes to address her as May Daw Quality comment or not? 5. #5 Reply Myo Nyunt Posted April 16, 2013 at 8:38 PM Thanks Ko sai Latt. The emergence of a alternative perspective on Burmas historical evolution. Refreshing and hoping to see wether others will come out with counter factuals. The present is as history, but the history of the Burmese people has never been written from the peoples perspective. Quality comment or not?
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