11.02.2007
Editorial: Diamond Jubilee of Union of Burma
_ By Taisamyone
Many years ago, as a young boy, I found a large and fascinating book in a Boy Scout jumble sale about the 60 years of Queen Victoria’s reign as monarch of the British Empire. If I still had it, it would be rather valuable, and very informative about what was achieved in 60 years – although modern eyes would view it somewhat aghast as the celebration of colonial exploitation of a quarter of the world’s peoples. When we reflect on what Burma has achieved in 60 years, it is rather a sad list! Failure to establish a democratic government, continuing civil war, extinguishing of human rights and every basic freedom, lethargic incompetent administration, extortion from civilians, plague levels of corruption, protection for drug-traffickers, AIDS, TB and Malaria widespread, and human misery abound.
Union Day should celebrate the spirit of Panglong in creating a nation of independent states, what the UK government treaty with the provisional Government of Burma termed “the Governments of independent States on the terms of complete freedom, equality and independence and to consolidate and perpetuate the cordial friendship and good understanding which subsist between them”
The Panglong conference had been established by Shan, Kachin and Chin leaders with many other ethnic leaders as observers to determine how best to gain freedom from British colonial rule. Aung San had returned from discussions with the UK government believing that Burma could again independence more quickly if there was an agreement between the Interim Burmese government and the leaders of the Frontier areas. Ethnic leaders who signed believed “that freedom will be more speedily achieved by the Shans, the Kachins and the Chins by their immediate co-operation with the Interim Burmese Government”. The agreement itself is a sketchy document that sets out a number of issues that relate to administration as it stood in 1947; but what the agreement embodies is that spirit of attaining independence as a free nation. All those present understood that a proper constitution would be needed that included the desires of all those present and all of the people’s of Burma. After Panglong, the first constitution was put together, but it did not contain all of the provisions that the leaders wanted, but time was of the essence if Burma was to be free of colonial rule by 1948. Independence was ushered in with a constitution that did not meet the needs of the country. U Nu struggled with civil war - partly brought about because of the way in which the constitutional discussions had not sought agreement with all parties – and recovery from the terrible damage caused to the country from ‘battlefield Burma’ during World War 2.
As Martin Smith tells it “The result was a Constitution as lopsided and riddled with inconsistencies as any treaty drawn up in the era of British rule. In short, a recipe for disaster.” Successive governments failed to reach agreement on the federal structure of the country and this lack of strong political agreement gave Ne Win the opportunity to take control and discard the 1947 constitution. Hopes of coming to some political accommodation between the divergent parties receded. The junta have tried in 1974 and now with their National Convention road map (just a side track) to nowhere to entrench themselves in power, paying no regard at all to the desires of the people of Burma or to the spirit of Panglong.
Despite the junta’s continuing attempts to suppress any true freedom or democracy in Burma, the pro-democracy groups outside of Burma have a process in place to assess how to re-build Burma after the disastrous last 60 years of mis-rule. For instance, the Ethnic Nationalities Council has a series of publications on “Peaceful Co-Existence; Towards a Federal Union of Burma”. The ENC have resolved three basic aims to: _
· Undertake pro-active and constructive actions to bring about a peaceful resolution to the political conflict in Burma through a dialogue process involving the SPDC, the NLD led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, and the ethnic nationalities, as dialogue partners;
· Consult widely, cooperate, and work closely with all stakeholders in Burma and with the international community, international bodies and agencies, the United Nations, and humanitarian organizations, to resolve the grave humanitarian crisis in Burma, which most seriously effect the ethnic nationality populations;
· Strive to facilitate an orderly and peaceful democratic transition in Burma, and to rebuild the country in accordance with the spirit of Panglong, based on the principle of Equality, Self-determination, Democracy, and Justice.
This certainly sounds like a process of dialogue in keeping with the spirit of Panglong; more so that the ‘4 political Objectives’ and all those propaganda slogans that the junta force onto the population. 60 years – no equality, no self-determination, no democracy, no justice, no independence, no freedom from repression – in short, no Union.
This has been a hard road for the people of Burma to walk, and there is still further to go – to remove the over-bearing dictatorship of generals and gain true freedom, true independence and build a truly federal Union – with the spirit of Panglong 1947, we can walk forward to freedom and democracy and achieve the peace and prosperity that our fore-fathers dreamt of 60 years ago.
Quote: _
“The Panglong Agreement was not the product of compulsion on anyone by any other person or group. Our founding fathers came together as equals, and after a process of harmonious discussion put their signatures to the document. These leaders understood fully the futility of applying force, coercion and intimidation in the interest of a noble cause for the country. Only in the spirit on which the Panglong Agreement was reached can we establish a genuine democratic Union of Burma. Subjugation, oppression, persecution and annihilation will never be beneficial but can even result in peril to the Union. It can create misunderstanding and division amongst us brothers and sisters of our different nationalities.”........Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's speech on Union Day, 1999.
For further information
¨ Treaty between the Government of the United Kingdom and the Provisional Government of Burma
¨ The Panglong Agreement, 1947
¨ Burma: Insurgency and the Politics of Ethnicity , Martin Smith , Zed Books, London; White Lotus, Bangkok; University Press, Dhaka. 1991, 1999
¨ Ethnic Nationalities Council (ENC) Publications
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