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Myanmar News Release Vol. 9 No.9



                             Myanmar News Release
                             ****************************

Vol. 9					  May 29, 1997  		No.9


"THE VIEW FROM THE EMBASSY OF MYANMAR  IN OTTAWA"

( As there have been increasing media coverage in Canada of the "Karen"
problem in "Burma" in recent weeks the following is a chronological of the
last remaining insurgencies in Myanmar with some suggestions on what the
international community  could do to solve it )

"The Kayins ( Karens ) in the Union"
		First and foremost, it must be made absolutely clear that the 2 million
plus loyal Kayins of the Union of Myanmar have nothing to do with the KNU
( Karen National Union ) the small separatist armed insurgent group.
Therefore, it is equally important to stress that  the western media's use of
the  generic   term 
" Karen " when referring to the KNU is misleading and unjustified.
		The Kayin patriots within the Union, always an absolute and overwhelming
majority of their nationality, are among the most loyal, friendly and
talented of the ethnic nationalities of Myanmar. They have achieved high
positions in government ( the second president of the Union was a Kayin, the
military and among professional groups such as doctors, engineers etc., since
the country's independence in 1948.
		As a matter of fact, there are more Kayins currently living in the delta
regions of Yangon, Aye-yar-waddy ( Irrawaddy ) and Bago ( Pegu ) Divisions of
the Bamar territories ( Made up of the seven Divisions from which the
anglicized term "Burma" was probably derived ) than in the present day Kayin
State. There has been so much admixture and assimilation of the national
races over so many centuries that even the " divide and rule " policies of
the colonialist past ( 1824- 1948 ) could not get all the Kayins of the Union
to move back into the State named after them.
		But then why should they ? This is their country and to the Myanmar people,
the so-called " ethnic " differences seem to be something artificial ( since
all of the national races are Mongolian in ancestry ) and the names of "
States " and " Divisions " are being retained simply because (1) they have
existed for centuries, (2) have been recognized in both of the country's
post-independence constitutions ( of 1947 and 1974 ) and (3) that much of the
Nation's administrative structures have been based upon them.
		In other words, Myanmar nationalities have always been part of
"one race" and "one people" freely migrating, living and intermingling within
the borders of Myanmar-Naing-Ngan (Myanmar nation) since the Bagan (
1044-1287 AD ) and subsequent dynasties of Taungoo ( 1287-1759 AD ) and
Konbaung 
( 1759-1885 AD ). Throughout history they have fiercely defended together the
integrity of the Nation by repulsing huge foreign armies and putting down
many traitorous rebellions till the first Anglo-Myanmar war of 1824, being
only once before in history the nation succumbed to the overwhelming hordes
of Kublai Khan's Mongol armies. Even when Mandalay fell in 1885 ( after three
wars with British colonialists over 60 years ), the Myanmar resistance led by
the nationalities went on fighting the colonial government for many years
trying to free the nation from servitude.
		But the legacies of colonialism, before and during world war II, caused the
national races to briefly look upon each other with mistrust and suspicion
leading them to re-emphasize on state borders, and re-kindled the issues of
autonomous rule and even outright separation by force-of-arms. This was
further aggravated by the incessant efforts of post-war mercenaries ( e.g.
the Campbell -Tulloch case of 1949) and self-interest group abroad, who
actually blinded them of their great and glorious past as one nation.
		The KNU was the most militant and extremist separatist group to emerge
after independence, whose " pro- colonialist " sentiment kept them apart from
the " pro-independence" nationalities. None of the great Kayins who fought
for the country's independence would even consider lending their support to
the KNU and some of them even tried in vain, with great risk to themselves,
to mediate between the Union government of 1949-50 and the Karen National
Defence Organization (KNDO-- the military arm of the KNU) that had occupied
Insein, and adjacent District of then Rangoon and rearing to attack the
capital city. Within a few years, after being driven out of most of the city
and districts they occupied by the re-organized armed forces (the Tatmadaw),
history clearly has on record that the KNU resorted to widespread terrorism,
namely, mining passenger trains, 
blowing up buses and bridges, burning villages, looting and executing
villagers, killing and maiming innumerable numbers of innocent civilians.
These atrocious acts cost them the remaining support which led to the
beginning of their downfall some 20 years ago, having to withdraw to the
remotest jungle hideouts of Kayin State close to the Thai border. It is now
somewhat ironic that they are the ones pointing fingers and accusing the
security forces of the very atrocities that they have committed all along. 
		Although it is true that other insurgencies of varying colours sprouted all
over the country soon after the independence, it must be pointed out that
each movement had its reason of its own for its origin.Those " multicoloured
" insurgencies were extremely costly and destructive, stifling socioeconomic
development of the nation for several decades. The government of the State
Law and Order Restoration Council after 1988, therefore, decided to end the
insurgencies by any means as a top priority. Since not all movement were "
separatist " in their original objectives each one required a different
solution for their plight and problems.But the common denominator that
probably determined their return to the legal fold was that the Tatmadaw,
while demonstrating its military superiority also magnanimously offered the
insurgent leaders a dialogue for peace and stressed to them how
underdeveloped their regions have remained over the years and what could be
achievable together as the united country.  As a result, the Kachin
Independence Organization ( KIO ), for example, led by highly educated and
experienced Kachin patriots returned to the legal fold to enter into an
intensive rehabilitation and development programme for their scenic and
resourceful State with massive
 cooperative assistance from the central government. 
		To date, 15 out of 16 main insurgencies have come to peace terms rendering
almost 90 persent of the former high security-risk " black " or "gray"  areas
of Myanmar into " white " areas where everyone, including foreign tourists,
can now freely travel and enjoy the attractions of the land and its people.
 New roads and bridges have been constructed, new schools and hospitals have
been built while a National Constitutional Convention steadily progressed in
Yangon especially with the detailed discussions on the autonomies of State
and Regions ( former Bamar Divisions ) within the framework of the Union. 
		When a firm and lasting constitution agreed upon by all the national races
emerges based on which a constitutional government can be installed the next
historic milestone of political development will be arrived at.
		But so far the KNU, after several rounds of peace talks, kept rejecting the
very terms that the other 15 groups had found acceptable. The loyal Kayin
majority of Myanmar and even the grass roots KNU supporters in remote jungles
have become disappointed and severely disillusioned since every evidence
indicates that other newly peaceful states are beginning to enjoy increasing
prosperity that came with the peace.  The KNU leadership, however, has kept
on blatantly ignoring the will of the majority, hanging on to the false and
fragile promises of foreign based special-interest groups and the vestiges of
colonialism old and new. All ASEAN governments, and most of all, the Thai
government clearly knows the realities of the KNU problem and are ever more
convinced that the future of the KNU lies with other nationalities within the
Union of Myanmar.  Further terms on autonomy, if so desired by the KNU, many
only be sought by democratic constitutional means within the national
convention represented by all other national races and political parties (
except the National League for Democracy that walked out soon after their
General-Secretary resumed her position in 1995), without infringing on the
integrity of the Union.
		It is most likely, that the problem of so-called refugees ( actually
temporarily displaced persons ) in Thailand, the skirmishes of the KNU with
the government security forces, and with its own breakaway groups such as the
Democratic Karen Buddhist Organization ( DKBO ) and even further splits among
its own ranks will be automatically resolved if the KNU, as the last
remaining group, would also see the light like other former insurgencies did.
		The details of the events concerning the " Karens " as reported in the
western media have been conflicting, confusing and could well be mind
boggling to the readers. But there is no doubt that much of the KNU soldiers,
have already returned to trade-arms-for-peace, as most of the other insurgent
groups have done.  The discontented KNU foot soldiers have also begun to
recapitulate on thier long and costly " unwinnable war " against successive
central governments and are breaking away, leaving the KNU leadership in
limbo. With a notorious history of having formed alliances-of-convenience,
even with the Burma Communist Party at one time, the KNU leadership has now
decided to hide under the cloak
of democratic and quasi-religious movements and is now intensely seeking
inter-
national attention and sympathy. Bo Mya, the hard liner, and his foreign
supporters, if they sincerely care about the plight of the KNU families,
should now abandon their positions and make way in favour of the more
pragmatic and flexible 
leadership of the KNU who may resume negotiations for peace and rejoin the
majority.
		The world has too many man-made disasters on its hand and certainly much
more than what the international community is currently able to handle. The
only way now is to urge the foreign supporters to be sincerely desirous of
peace, and to let the KNU rejoin the mainstream of the loyal and patriotic
Kayins within the Union. It is also time for the western media to stop
politicizing what has been basically and essentially a "family" affair - a
family divided by legacies of colnialism for half a century but finally on
the verge of realizing the " people's dream " of being one race, one people
and one nation again - in time to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the
Independence of the Union of Myanmar. After all, " Peace may not be
everything - but without peace, everything is nothing ! "  

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