"As the peoples and leaders of Burma approach the task of writing a third constitution, a good place to begin is by asking the question, why did the previous constitutions fail to unite the indigenous ethnic minorities and the government in peaceful viable polity. At the heart of the problem is the questions which vexed the founding fathers-how to construct a union in which people who formerly were separated could be joined together so as to benefit from unity while remaining nominally autonomous in their own areas on matters of political rule, economy and culture..."