US Must Understand Myanmar’s Diversity

US Must Understand Myanmar’s Diversity

By Nehginpao Kipgen

http://www.koreatim es.co.kr/ www/news/ opinon/2009/ 10/165_52931. html

Developments are indicating that the Obama administration is starting to ease tension with the military junta of Myanmar (Burma). At the U.N. headquarters in New York on Sept. 23, Hillary Clinton said the U.S. will be ``moving in a direction of both engagement and continued sanctions.''

Clinton is reiterating the comment she made earlier this year during her maiden visit to Asia as secretary of state.

The announcement comes at a time when the world awaits what the U.S. government's policy review on Myanmar might be. The outcome of the 9-month long policy review is something not unexpected. The Obama administration understands the ineffectiveness of either engagement or sanction by itself, without a coordinated international approach.



In another development, Myanmar's foreign minister was allowed a 24-hour visit to Washington, D.C. on the night of Sept. 18. This visit happens after years of the U.S. sanctions since the late 1990s, under which the military generals were banned from traveling to the United States, except for international organizations' meetings.

Under the 2003 Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act, the White House needs to approve a waiver to allow Myanmarese officials attending the U.N. General Assembly to travel more than 25 miles out of New York.

Though Nyan Win did not meet with the Obama administration officials, he met with Myanmarese Embassy staff, the U.S.-Asian Business Council and James Webb, a democrat senator from Virginia, who recently returned from a visit to Myanmar. Webb has been a vocal proponent of engagement.

In anticipation of a softer tone at the ongoing U.N. General Assembly and from the Obama administration, the Myanmarese military junta on Sept. 17 released over 7,000 prisoners, which included about 100 political prisoners. Both the Myanmarese opposition and U.N. secretary General Ban Ki-moon welcomed the news.

While the U.S. is starting to engage Myanmar, it must understand the ethnic diversity of this Southeast Asian nation. What is today called Myanmar came into being at the 1947 Panglong Agreement. In fact, the correct name of the country should be the ``Union of Burma'' and not just Myanmar. The military junta changed from Burma to Myanmar in 1989, and as a result, it becomes the ``Union of Myanmar.''

Primarily based on dialectical variations, the military junta identifies ``135 races'' in the Union of Myanmar. In fact, the peoples of Myanmar were under two separate British administrations before it gained independence in 1948: ``Burma Proper'' and ``Frontier Areas.''

The Burma Proper was predominantly occupied by ethnic Burmarns, while Frontier Areas belonged to other ethnic nationalities, which are now identified as ``ethnic minorities.' '

The Union of Burma has the longest armed insurgency in the entire Southeast Asian region. While the military has persuaded more than a dozen armed groups to sign ceasefire agreements, there are still armed groups operating along the Indo-Myanmar and Thai-Myanmar borders.

These armed groups are neither terrorists nor separatists. They are demanding autonomy under a federal government, a foundation in which the Union of Myanmar was established in 1947.

The conflicts in Myanmar are not only political, but also ethnical. Only restoring democracy is unlikely to restore the trust and confidence of the so-called ``ethnic minorities.' '

The U.S. government and the international community need to understand the complexity nature of the conflicts. Though the Myanmarese military junta has the power to suppress ethnic armed insurgents, given the army strength of over 400,000 without any foreign enemy, the aspirations of ethnic minorities cannot simply be suppressed by force. The root cause of the conflicts needs to be addressed.

There are two different stages in the ongoing democratic struggle in Myanmar. While a majority of the ethnic Burmarns may be satisfied with the restoration of a democratic government, the overwhelming ethnic minority population, which constitutes a little less than 40 percent of the country's total population but occupies more than two-thirds of the land, will continue to demand their fundamental political rights.

In order to find a way out for Myanmar, the Obama administration is doing the right thing by applying both engagement and sanction tools. The administration needs to continue to put pressure on the military junta to release all political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of the National League for Democracy (NLD) and the 1991 Nobel peace laureate. Sanctions should not be unconditionally lifted before any tangible changes are happening inside the country.

The new policy will provide a platform for the U.S. government to have access to both the engagement and isolation groups. With the engagement agenda, the Obama administration can now work with members of Association of Southeast Asian Nations, China, India, and Russia. With the continued sanction policy, the administration can still work together with the European Union, its traditional ally.

While the policy shift is a welcome move, the Obama administration needs to understand the root cause of conflicts in Myanmar. The U.S. engagement should not be just with the military junta and the NLD, but inclusive. The plights and aspirations of ethnic minorities should always be part of the solutions.

Nehginpao Kipgen is a researcher on the rise of political conflicts in modern Myanmar (1947-2004) and general secretary of the U.S.-based Kuki International Forum (www.kukiforum. com). He has written numerous analytical articles on the politics of Myanmar and Asia for many leading international newspapers. He can be reached at nehginpao@yahoo. com.