"...Under British Colonial rule, Burma was divided into two zones: the centrally located ‘Ministerial Burma?, which mostly consisted of the Buddhist Burman ethnic group, and the ‘Frontier Areas?, located in the mountainous regions situated along what are recognized today as Burma?s international borders. These Frontier Regions were where most of the ethnic minorities resided. While the British essentially destroyed the local government systems in Ministerial Burma and employed their own systems of administration and government, the area also received some development and investment. On the other hand, while the Frontier Areas retained their systems of governance and some autonomy, their natural resources were exploited by the British and they received little in regard to health, education, economic development, or political representation at the national level.1 Even though Burma has long been free of British rule, this system of exploitation and neglect continues to this day..."