Forced reconciliation is not healing Burma's ethnic minority strife

“Unity by force does not last long”. This is point that Burma's ethnic minority leaders often make to Burma's current military regime, pointing to past history for proof.

The Burmese military regime, the State Peace and Development Council, or SPDC, is pressuring many high-profile ethnic ceasefire groups from many different areas of Burma - Kachin, Mon, Wa and Shan - to transform their armed forces into “Border Guard Forces” or militia groups, without offering these groups any political settlement or solving any of the long-standing political problems between the SPDC and Burma's minority groups. The regime is using force to pressure ethnic minorities to remain under its control. Many ethnic armed groups have replied that without a political solution, which guarantees rights to their peoples, they will not surrender and will not transform their armed forces into Border Guard Forces or Militia forces. Hence, unity by force, just like in the past, will never work in the present day.

The current Burmese regime is very proud of their three kings, Anawrahta, Bayith Naung and Alung Paya, for establishing 1st, 2nd and 3rd Burman Empires in the 11st century, 15th century and 17th century respectively. Now, the SPDC has placed statures of these 3 kings in Naypyidaw, Burma's new capital, and the SPDC's military leaders salute them and pay tributes to them every year on their Armed Force Day, which falls on March 27th.

History shows that these 3 Burman kings established Burman empires using force and brutal atrocities against other non-Burman ethnic nationalities in the nation's frontier, connecting Mon and Arakan territory, and invading Thailand; in a similar manner, the current military government is trying to colonize all ethnic minorities in a “ 4th empire”. However, each of these 3 Burman empires collapsed in rebellions by ethnic minority groups.

Successive military governments and the Burmese army have invaded the ethnic minority territories since Burma's independence from Britain in 1948; these forces have exploited the ethnic minority regions’ rich natural resources - jade and mining in Kachin State, logs in Shan State and Karen State, natural gas from the Arakanese and the Mon people’s Andaman Sea - and hav weaged wars against these regions' people.

In 1947 and 1948, the ethnic minority groups dreamt about peace and unity with Burman leaders, led by Gen. Aung San (father of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi), through the founding of a Federal Union of Burma by signing the Panglong Agreement in Shan State. This is the correct political solution for Burma's problems, but it has been rejected by successive military governments.

SPDC has moved along its 7 point “roadmap to democracy” without considering the different opinions of both pro-democracy opposition groups and ethnic minority nationalities. The SPDC only desires to preserve its political power legally, via the 2008 militarized constitution and its planned 2010 elections. Real national reconciliation will not happen with this constitution and the upcoming elections. Millions of ethnic minority people living in the country's border areas, conflict zones, and rural areas have no chance of participating in the upcoming elections.

A possible conflict could occur in the ethnic minority-controlled areas of Kachin State, Shan State, Mon State and Tenasserim Division, or in the nation's border areas with China and Thailand. Since the ethnic minority political armed groups have had experience with both politics and the military, it is not easy for the SPDC to manipulate these ethnic organizations into lying down and accepting forcible unity with the SPDC’s via its constitution.

The SPDC needs to realize that the country's current political situation is very different from what it was in past centuries, when the Burman kings ruled by force and pressure. In our modern world, where ‘unity through diversity’ is meaningful, the military commanders must alter their strategies in order to establish a union of Burma, where all ethnic groups can live in peace and harmony.