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A peaceful and democratic Burma requires
harmonious accommodation among the country's diverse ethnic groups.
Without lasting resolution to questions of local autonomy and national
power-sharing, rebellions that have flared andsimmered in Burma's
borderlands for nearly five decades cannot be resolved. And without
peace, there is little chance for grass roots economic development
that could help reduce opium production and heroin trafficking in
many impoverished areas.
Lack of a reliable census makes it impossible to more than roughly
estimate the composition of Burma's ethnic mosaic or its total population.
Some experts suggest existing population data is skewed to exaggerate
the number of Burman, who are the largest single ethnic group. According
to available statistics, they comprise about two-thirds of Burma's
approximately 50 million people, and dominate the army and government.
Most of Burma's ethnic minorities inhabit areas along the country's
mountainous frontiers. Karen and Shan groups comprise about I 0%
each, while Akha, Chin, Chinese, Danu, Indian, Kachin, Karenni,
Kayan, Kokang, Lahu, Mon, Naga, Palaung, Pao, Rakhine, Rohingya,
Tavoyan, and Wa peoples each constitute 5% or less of the population.
Burma has experienced a long history of migration and conflict
among various ethnic groups along fluid frontiers, which were finally
fixed only during British imperial rule from the 1820s to 1948.
Under British control, diverse peoples far from Rangoon were brought
under at least nominal central administration. Yet many areas remained
effectively self-ruled, with only a thin veneer of imperial oversight.
During World War II, while many Burman joined Japanese forces, many
minority ethnic groups remained loyal to Britain. This reflected
a genuine desire for independence on the part of both groups; Burmans
struggling to be free of the British colonial yoke, and ethnic minorities
wishing to escape Burman domination
The Union of Burma became independent in I948 only after extensive
negotiations led by General Aung San, who convinced most ethnic
minority groups to join the new union. The Panglong Agreement of
1947 outlined minority rights and specifically gave the Shan and
Karenni peoples the option to secede from the union a decade after
independence. Yet these constitutional guarantees were never fully
respected. Almost immediately upon independence, Burma was thrown
into a series of brutal ethnic wars that have continued with varying
intensity to this day.
The principal demands of Burma's ethnic minorities are to gain
genuine autonomy for their home areas and to achieve a significant
voice in the affairs ot the country as a whole. Few demand total
independence as their ultimate goal. Since its 1988 coup, the State
Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) (renamed the State Peace
and Development Council in November I 997), has negotiated cease-fires
with most armed ethnic opposition groups and waged fierce assaults
against others. Muslim Rohingya people in southwestern Burma were
targeted in 1991, and over 250,000 fled to neighboring Bangladesh.
A new wave of attacks was reported in late 2000.
At least 140,000 more Karen, Karenni, and Mon people from eastern
Burma are refugees in Thailand following intense Burmese army offensives
since 1984. Many Shan people have been forced to flee army assaults
as well. In several areas, there are massive numbers of Internally
Displaced Persons (IDPs), mostly villagers who have fled their homes
to escape conscription as military porters or other abuses. The
suffering of Burma's estimated 600,000 IDPs is often far worse than
refugees in neighboring countries, who receive at least some outside
aid.
In many areas, uneasy truces prevail. Among the earlier cease-fires
concluded were with ethnic Wa and Kokang armies, which until 1987
served under the Burmese Communist Party. The Burmese army's agreements
with these groups permit opium cultivation and the right to trade
without interference. The result has been a sharp increase in heroin
production and smuggling from Burma and a concurrent worldwide rise
in heroin use and addiction. These groups are now also engaged in
large-scale illicit manufacture of methamphetamines. Some other
ethnic opposition organizations, particularly the Kachin Independence
Organization and the Karen National Union, have taken strong stands
against drug production and trafficking. The present junta has exploited
divisions within and among ethnic groups to bolster its rule. In
2000, the relocation of thousands of Wa farmers into traditional
Shan areas has raised tensions and sparked fighting between those
groups. The United Nationalities League for Democracy, an umbrella
group for non-Burman political parties formed after the 1988 democracy
movement, was revived in January 2001 by exiled politicians. A draft
constitution was ratified and executive members were elected. These
parties won a combined 65 seats in the 1990 elections and have a
strong claim to political legitimacy. The National Democratic Front
(NDF), another coalition of ethnic groups, is also striving to promote
common positions among ethnic minorities.
Prospects for a democratic, prosperous, and peaceful Burma are
dim without a just and amicable settlement of the country's ethnic
conflicts. The junta's proposed new constitution does little to
acknowledge ethnic groups' grievances. Burma's democratic opposition
has urged serious efforts to address these issues, as ethnic reconciliation
and cooperation will be a major challenge for any future Burmese
government.
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