"The major problems that exist in Burma today can be traced to the formation of the Union of Burma when a diverse group of indigenous peoples agreed to work together in peace before they were freed from colonial rule. But just months after leaders of the majority Burman and the Shan, Chin, Kachin and Karenni nationalities signed the Panglong Agreement on February 12, 1947, General Aung San (father of Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi) was assassinated and their hopes of establishing a Federal Union were dashed. When Burma gained independence from Britain in 1948, the government of U Nu, who had succeeded General Aung San, was installed. Almost immediately, the rights of the minority ethnic nationalities were rejected and civil war broke out. As a result of the denial of basic freedoms for the ethnic nationalities and the right to self-determination previously agreed upon, this civil war has dragged on for half a century and Burma has become one of the Least Developed Countries (LDC) in the world. To this day the Burman military government blames the ethnic nationalities for the country?s failure to develop on a par with other countries of Southeast Asia..."