Despite having instituted a series of domestic changes, Burma’s new government has thus far missed a chance to solve the deeply rooted conflicts with ethnic groups, some of which have lasted for more than 60 years, said ethnic minority leaders.
While launching a report titled “Discrimination, Conflict and Corruption – The Ethnic States of Burma,” in Chiang Mai, Thailand, leaders of the Ethnic Nationalities Council (ENC) said that the Burmese government is still engaging ethnic armed groups in a military manner—which they said is a mistaken approach that has failed to solve the problem since the era of Gen Ne Win, the former Burmese dictator who took power in 1962.
As a result, although Naypyidaw has made significant progress in other areas, such as relations with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, the suspension of work on the Myitsone hydropower dam and the relaxation of press restrictions, the government has not made any meaningful progress in the area of ethnic minority affairs.
The ENC’s Vice chairman, Salai Lian H Sakhong, an ethnic Chin professor who has written several books about the ethnic minorities of Burma, said, “If military means were a solution to ethnic conflicts, I think Gen Ne Win would have already solved the problem. We ethnic people hold arms not because we want war, but for the purpose of self-protection.”
The ethnic leaders said that while Naypyidaw made positive progress in other areas, military conflicts initiated by government troops have actually been increasing in ethnic areas, especially in Kachin State, where about 25,000 civilians have been internally displaced. Separate hostilities have also been reported in Karen State and Shan State, said Saw Kwe Htoo Win, the chairman of the ENC.
The ENC report said that the Burmese government, particularly from 1962 until 2010, pursued only a military solution to what is primarily a political problem, and have consequently given ethnic groups no other option but to engage in an armed struggle.
Burma, known to be well-equipped from a military standpoint, has an estimated 400,000 military troops, while ethnic armed groups are estimated to have between 40,000-50,000 armed troops.
Suikhar, the secretary general of the ENC, said that Burma’s national army should only protect against external evasion and have nothing to do with internal affairs.
A change from militarization to demilitarization is needed, and unless demilitarization takes place there is no indication that a real peace will be achieved in Burma, said Sakhong.
In order to solve the ongoing conflicts, the ethnic leaders called for tripartite dialogue among the Burmese government/military, the pro-democracy opposition and the ethnic groups, as well as a constitutional amendment turning Burma into a federal union. They also said that international figures, including UN envoys, have not done enough to help end Burma’s ethnic conflicts.
Between 35 and 40 percent of Burma's population of 55 million is non-Burman, comprised of indigenous ethnic groups such as Karen, Shan, Karenni, Kachin, Mon, Chin and Arakanese, almost all of which have fought against the central government for independence or autonomy for decades, some since Burma gained independence from Great Britain in 1948.
On August 18, Naypyidaw announced that it offered an “olive branch” to the ethnic armed groups, encouraging them to contact their respective state or division governments as a first step toward meeting with a union government delegation.
After the announcement, there were some minor peace talks reported in ethnic areas, but they had no significant results, according to observers who recently visited ethnic areas.
Some commentators and analysts have argued that the delay in addressing the ethnic issues may stem from an internal power struggle taking place between hard-liners and reformists in the current government cabinet.
They said that while Burmese President Thein Sein used his civilian authority to rebut China with respect to the Myitsone Dam, he may not have the power to effectively deal with ethnic armed conflicts because they fall under the authority of the military. In addition, some analysts said that some cabinet members might attempt to block Thein Sein even if he had the power and desire to strike a peace deal with the ethnic armed groups.
In addition, there has been speculation that some ministers in the current cabinet who were hard-liners in the previous military junta are not happy with the suspension of work on the Myitsone Dam by Thein Sein. These hard-liners include Vice President Tin Aung Myint Oo and Zaw Min, the minister for Burma’s Ministry of Electric Power-1.
The power struggle is an obstacle to progress on the ethnic issues, said the observers.
“The ethnic conflict needs to be resolved in order to bring about any lasting political solution in Burma,” said Tom Kramer, who spent more than 15 years working on Burma and visited armed ethnic regions, in a report titled “Burma: Neither War nor Peace” published by the Transnational Institute.
The US special envoy to Burma, Derek Mitchell, earlier said that reports of human rights abuses in ethnic areas are “credible,” and the UN envoy to Burma, Tomas Ojea Quintana, also said he is still receiving such reports.
In late 1980, the former Burmese military regime reached ceasefire agreements with ethnic armed groups, including the United Wa State Army, the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA). But ceasefire agreements between the Burmese military and major ceasefire groups such as the KIA and DKBA broke down when the previous regime tried to force the ethnic groups to become members of its Border Guard Forces.
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