ETHNIC NATIONALITIES COUNCIL

Since the May (2003) ambush in Monywa of Daw Aung San Suukyi’s motorcade by the regime, there has arisen two contending views of the prospect for dialogue and national reconciliation. They concern the question of whether there can be a home-grown solution or other solution requiring significant external inputs in order to resolve the long state-society conflict in Burma.

The following presentation is delivered by Harn Yawnghwe, Director of the Brussels-based Euro-Burma Office and Advisor to the Ethnic Nationalities Council (ENC) at the public seminar held at the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic, 6 November. It was also attended by well known Burma activists such as Bo Kyi, Nang Hseng Noung, Soe Aung, Dr Sein Win, Mark Farmaner, Moureen Aung-Thwin and Debbie Stothard – Editor

The conflict in Burma – seemingly going on forever – has generally, if not usually, been portrayed as “ethnic”. It conjures up a Bosnia scenario where ethnic groups killed each other in bloody wars, or that of a fragile country about to be “balkanized”, i.e., broken into warring ethnic segments were it not for the country’s military rulers. In order to justify its harsh rule, the military regime has diligently played the ethnic-conflict and the balkanization theme which more or less haunts all states and governments of the world.

“Multi-Party Talks” on Burma was first proposed by the Ethnic Nationalities Council in 2006. At that time, the international community was still very divided on how to deal with the question of Burma. The idea was to try to bring together the two extremes – neighbouring countries and the West. It was a best case scenario based on the North Korean Six-Party Talks –North Korea, South Korea, China, Japan, Russia & the USA – and the “Quartet of International Mediators for the Middle East” - UN, EU, Russia & the USA .

I am very glad to see both Mr Scott Reid from the Conservative Party and Mr James Dewar from the New Democratic Party. Burma has always attracted support across the political spectrum and I am glad to see the tradition being continued. Both of them are also Members of Parliament and it highlights the fact that the Parliament of Canada has always been at the forefront of the fight for democracy in Burma.

First, I would like to state that it is not really possible to discuss “Political Relations Between Burma & China” from the “Perspective of the Ethnic Nationalities”. This is because when we talk about the ethnic nationalities, we have a very divergent group of people with very different perspectives, and very different needs.