Strategic Opportunity Now for Ethnic Leadership of Burma

Tim Heinemann | August 5, 2015

The time has come for ethnic leaders of Burma to directly engage American leaders at all levels of public and private sector before it is too late. After listening to the rational viewpoint of the General Secretary of the United Nationalities Federal Council in his most recent explanation of ethnic perspectives on the future of Burma, it is clear that the Burmese and the International Community, in general, are turning a deaf ear to reason.

The context for this recommendation is based on the fact that the international community has already voted to side with central government by continually violating the imperative of “First, do no harm” in terms of legitimate states rights and local autonomy imperatives for a country that has been under totalitarian rule for over six decades. It is further driven by the reality that America will soon finalize its Burma policy and is the one nation that actually understands balance of power between central government and states’ rights / local rule.   This has been a continuing battleground since America’s Revolution in 1776. This implies that America has the potential to be a game-changer in Burma, even though it is woefully late arriving on the field of play.

There are at least five aspects to consider.   First, it is clear the Burmese in power are waging a cunning campaign of deception and delaying tactics designed to further strengthen their power with international resources as the past four years have clearly demonstrated.   Ethnics’ direct interaction with the Burmese is ineffective because it is ultimately not with real Burmese decision makers and holders of integrated political-military-economic power.   Second, a great number of international interveners have extraordinarily tipped the balance of power in favor of the Burmese already controlling ill-gotten power on the backs of ethnics for decades.   Third, the current US Administration and State Department are on a narrow political agenda in Burma that is aligned with the goals of the Democratic Party for the US National Elections in 2016. Finally, America’s power, just like Burma’s, lies in its states, its business sector, its non-profit sector, its universities and its local communities – in other words among its People.

One reality of the 21^st Century is that state governments and other sub-national groups directly engage stakeholders of all kinds around the world. They do not allow themselves to be restricted to hierarchical command and control structures, particularly those of oppressive regimes. The most important reality is that ethnic groups of Burma already have met the internationally-recognized criteria as “states in being” as defined by the Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of States.   This codified the declarative theory of statehood as accepted as a part of customary international law. This convention became operative on 26 December 1934 and was registered in the League of Nations Treaty Series on January 8 1936.

As such, the collective of ethnic groups of Burma, which are focused on the establishment of a federal union based on democratic principles, have unique and uncontestable moral authority to talk with whomever they so choose in the international community on a peer basis as representatives of “The People” within “states in being”. This is further reinforced by the fact that many ethnics were the very first inhabitants of Burma several millennia ago, as well as proponents of democratic reform since World War II.

As a main effort, the need today is at a minimum for ethnic leadership to directly engage nine major American groups as follows: (1) both American political parties which are preparing their strategies for the 2016 Presidential Elections, (2) individual agencies of the US Government which have unique interests in terrorism, organized crime, illicit trafficking, immigration and border control of transnational threats, (3) the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low Intensity Conflict, as well as United States Special Operations Command (both of which understand ethnic issues globally and regionally), (4) US Pacific Command, (5) American think tanks, (6) academic Centers of Excellence on Conflict Resolution, (7) Business Executives for National Security and the US Chamber of Commerce, (8) major non-profit foundations and (9) key mainstream media personalities.

This cannot be done by posting statements in emails and on the internet or hosting news conferences. It must instead be done directly by speaking with, writing and engaging decision makers and persons of influence in each of these groups.   Until and unless this is done, America will remain in ignorance on what matters to ethnics, and what also matters to America in terms of defending democratic principles and the rights of the people.   This does not imply disengaging from dialogue with the Burmese. It instead suggests that ethnics need to assert their rights to have their voice fully and fairly heard by all. This is, after all, the very first of all human rights recognized by civilized nations. Ignorance and limited beliefs shrink before the light of simple truth openly shared with all.