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The Right To Self-Determination Of Non-BurmanEthnic

Nationalities In Burma And Their Questions

Paper Presented By

Khaing Aung Win

A Member Of The Board Of The Patrons Of Arakan League For Democracy

(ALD)
And

Advisor to the Arakan Constitution Drafting Committee,Arakan National

Council(ANC)

At
The Commemorative Seminar Of The 63rd Anniversary Of The Panglong

Agreement Day Of Burma, Held In Tokyo, Japan

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Curriculum Vitae of Khaing Aung Win

-Born in 1954 in Ponnagyun, Arakan State
-Passed the Basic Education High School Examination in 1973
-got Bsc (Chemistry) degree from the Rangoon Arts and Science University in 1978
-got BE.d degree from the Institute of Education , Rangoon in 1984.
-Worked as a High School teacher from 1981 to 1988
-Removed from the post as a High School teacher because of active participation in 1988
democracy movements in Burma.
-Joined as a member of Arakan League for Democracy led by Dr.Saw Mra Aung in 1988
-became a Central Leading Committee member in Party's election in 1989
-ALD won 11 Parliamentary Seats in the May,1990 general elections and was out lawed By
the Military Government of Burma in 1992
-Fled to Bangladesh and found the ALD(exile) together with other MPs and Central
Committee members
-Eleted as the President of ALD(exile) at the ALD's third Party Congress in 2001 held in
Newdelhi, India.
-Freelance political writer of the Voice of Arakan Published in Thailand and Arakan Post
Published in Bangladesh.
-Became advisor to Arakan Constitution Drafting Committee of Arakan National Council in
2001.
-Became a member of the Board of patrons of ALD(exile) in 2008.
-Became a patron of Arakan National Council (ANC)
-Now living in the Netherlands and working activity for the Democracy, Human Rights and
the Right to Self- determination of the People of Burma.
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Historically, there had never been a Burma State or Burma nation when the British conquered
Kingdom of Arakan in 1826. As noted by Furnivall and others, Kingdom of Burman co-
existed and frequently waged wars with the of Kingdom of Arakan, Kingdom Mon and with
the Shan Princes and Kings ( See J.S Furnivall, Colonial Policy and Practice, London,
Cambridge University Press, 1948, p.p.12 ). After final colonization in 1886, the British
colonial power created a nation state of Burma, bringing Kingdoms of Arakan, Burman, Mon
and other separate states or nations as Chin, Kachin, Kayah and Shan to from a single unit i.e.
Burma. More specifically, the British had created a nation state of Burma, bringing Burma
proper and non-Burman ethnic nationalities’ territories together to from a single unit as
Burma in 1930s.

Before the independence of Burma in 1948, there was a crucial problem of redefining the
relations between the Burman and other ethnic nationalities such as Arakanese ( Rakhaing ),
Chin , Kachin, Karen, Kayah, Mon and Shan- whether the territories of ethnic nationalities
were to be incorporated in a united Burma, and if so under what conditions of regional
autonomy, or whether the territories of ethnic nationalities were to be accorded the right of
self determination, and of separation as independent states.

On 12 February 1947, General Aung San, the Burman leader of the independence struggle in
Ministerial Burma and the leaders of non-Burman ethnic nationalities met at Panglong
Conference in Shan State. He promised that the separated ethnic homelands in the Frontier
Areas be joined to Ministerial Burma as equal partners in a Union of Burma to hasten the
process of achieving independence from Britain. Thus, they reached an agreement known as
Panglong Agreement, which recognized the equality, voluntary association, and the right to
Self-determination of non-Burman ethnic nation states and Burman nation state in the Federal
structure as Nation made up of nations, and provided the basic principles for the establishment
of future Federal Union.

On 19 July 1947, General Aung San was murdered together with most of the Cabinet
Ministers of interim government of Ministerial Burma, and U Nu took the leading role of the
Burman politics in the place of General Aung San. U Nu-led AFPFL, however, betrayed the
fundamental principles for true Federal Union laid down by General Aung San and non-
Burman ethnic leaders at the Panglong Conferences, and adopted a constitution which was
favourable to the hegemony of the Burmese over non-Burman ethnic nationalities. According
to the 1947 constitution adopted by the U Nu-led AFPFL, non-Burman ethnic nations as
Arakan, Chin, Kachin, Kayah, Karen, Mon and Shan lost their right to self-determination.
The so-called Union of Burma formed by the U Nu-led AFPFL was, in reality, unitary and
colonial in structure. Therefore, when the so-called Union of Burma gained independence on
4th January in 1948, the Burman completely monopolized over legislative, judiciary,
administrative and military affairs, and run the whole machinery of government of the so-
called Union of Burma, reducing the non-Burman ethnic nationalities to colonies. For non-
Burman ethnic nationalities, independence of Union of Burma means substitution of the
Burman’s domination in the place of the British’s domination. In 1958, the right of the Shan
and Kayah people to secede from the Union after 10 years, guaranteed in the 1947 Union
Constitution was denied to them. As a precaution, U Nu invited the Commander in-chief,
General Ne Win, to form a caretaker government to restore law and order for a period of 2
years.

In his campaign for general election of February 1960, U Nu had promised the Arakanese and
Mon nations the right to form autonomous states within the Union. (But his promise was
never fulfilled). From 1948 to 1962, in the parliament debates, the MPs of non-Burman ethnic
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nationalities demanded to amend the sham Union Constitution to be genuine so that non-
Burman ethnic nationalities could enjoy their right to self-determination as the promise made
to them before independence of Burma by General Aung San and the Burman AFPFL leaders.
Moreover, On 25 February 1962, the leaders of non-Burman ethnic nationalities met at the
historic “Taunggyi Conference” in the southern Shan State, and unitedly demanded to return
to the spirit of Panglong by proposing to amend the 1947 Constitution so that disintegration of
the Union could be prevented.

But, highly chauvinistic Burman military officers led by General Ne Win took over the state
power by staging a military coup on 2 March 1962. The coup leaders dissolved the
democratically elected government and parliament, arrested and jailed the president of Union,
the Cabinet members and the leaders of non-Burman ethnic nationalities who were attending
the Taunggyi Conference. They revoked political freedom and all democratic rights, and
abolished the 1947 Constitution. General Ne Win justified his act of military coup by alleging
that the Union of Burma was being torn apart by the non-Burman ethnic nationalities, and the
military seized the state power to save the Union from disintegration. The ethnic nationalities
take the view that this act abolished the legal instrument that bound their homelands to the
Union, and they still consider their homelands and their peoples to be independent nations and
peoples annexed by the Burman State by use of force (i.e. aggression). It is illegitimate under
the provision of the U.N Charter.

In 1974, a new constitution was adopted by the Burman military regime led by General Ne
Win, but without consent of non-Burman ethnic nationalities. A lot of political leaders of non-
Burman ethnic nationalities were arrested and put in the jails for long term in order to
implement the new constitution of 1974 without the will of non-Burman ethnic nationalities.
The 1974 constitution also denied granting a meaningful degree of power to the non-Burman
ethnic nationalities’ states.

In 2008, after holding the Burman military- manipulated National Convention for about 15
years without participating democratically elected MPs of NLD and UNLD ,who were elected
in the May 1990 general elections ,the Burman military junta (SPDC) one-sidedly adopted a
constitution which allows the Burman military to perpetuate its stay in power. According to
the 2008 constitution designed by the Burman military (SPDC), not only the non-Burman
ethnic nationalities but also the Burman people are deprived of democratic rights, human
rights and their right to self-determination. The SPDC-held National Convention and the
SPDC-designed constitution have no legal basis. The right to convene National Convention
and the right to draw a constitution lie with the people-elected representatives elected in the
May 1990 general elections. Therefore, the SPDC-held National Convention and the SPDC-
designed constitution conducted in the absence of the people-elected representatives are
illegitimate and illegal.

Continually denial of the right to self-determination of the non-Burman ethnic nationalities by

the successive Burman military regimes is a major cause of long lasting civil wars in Burma.
By continually denying the right to self-determination of non-Burman ethnic nationalities,
Burman military dictators are the instigators of the civil wars in Burma.

The non-Burman ethnic nationalities in Burma have been suffering untold miseries since the
independence of Burma from Britain in 1948 under the successive Burman regimes’ policies
of racial oppression and economic exploitation. Their native languages were outlawed and
almost became extinct. Their religious freedom were denied. All forms of their political
movements were crushed and are being crushed through the military and police apparatus. It
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is illegal to establish the political organizations of the non-Burma ethnic nationalities in

Burma. (After 1988 democracy uprisings in Burma, the military junta allowed formation of
political parties in Burma. In the May 1990 general elections, the United Nationalities League
for Democracy (UNLD), umbrella political organization of non-Burman ethnic nationalities
won 67 parliamentary seats. The UNLD’s policy stood on democratic rights for all citizens,
political equality of all ethnic nationalities, and the right to self-determination of all ethnic
nationalities in Burma including the Burman people. It was the second largest political
organization in Burma after NLD led by Aung San Suu Kyi. The UNLD was dissolved and
declared illegal by the military junta of Burma in 1992.
Their natural resources and economic bases are exploited for the interest of the Burman
military forcing millions of non-Burman ethnic nationalities to live in a condition of absolute
poverty. When they claim the right to self-determination established in the UN charter and
international law, the Burman military oppresses them, violates the human rights and
fundamental freedoms of them, suppresses their cultures, religions, languages and other
attributes of identity valued by them under the pretext of the so-called national security,
sovereignty and integrity.
The well-being and security of non-Burman nationalities in Burma are not recognized and
protected by the UN charter and international law. In the context of Burma, the right of self-
determination established in the UN charter and international law are the right to self-
determination of the Burman military (SPDC) which took the power by staging a military
coup, killing tens of thousand of innocent people, not for the small nations as non-Burman
ethnic nationalities in Burma. The Human Rights abuses by the military regime (SPDC), is
the worst record of Human Right violations on earth. An unelected government, draconian
laws, military tribunals, wide-scale arrest, torture, disappearance, intimidation, forced
labours, forced recolations, mass refugee movements, crackdowns on political leaders,
repressed freedom of the press, expression of speech and information are everyday reality in
Burma.

The successive Burman military regimes claim to save the country from disintegration
accusing the non-Burman ethnic nationalities of seeking separation or secession from the
Union. We, non-Burman ethnic nationalities in Burma, have never claimed any right to
separation or secession from the Union. We have been struggling for political equality and
national self-determination within the framework of true federal Union. We want to exercise
ourselves executive, legislative and judicial powers of our own people while remaining within
the true federal Union. We do not want to live in a country where the relation of the Burman
to non-Burman ethnic nationalities is that of master to slave. We want to live without fear. We
do not want to live in slavery and in subjection. We want to enjoy everything other nations
enjoy. We want to pursue our political, social, economic and cultural developments. We want
to enjoy our right to self-determination embodied in the UN charter and we want to enjoy the
rights prescribed in the two other major international covenants: the International Covenant
on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights which both entered into force in 1976.

The inability of the UN to involve itself in the situation of Burma has allowed a continuance
of conflicts and Human Right violations in Burma. This inability of the UN can be attributed
to the weaknesses of the right to self-determination established in the UN charter and
international law. The right to self- determination established in the UN charter and
international law is still disputable, and not applicable to the small nations such as the non-
Burman ethnic nationalities in Burma and many other oppressed nations and peoples in the
world.
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We (non-Burman ethnic nationalities of Burma) believe that we will be able to exercise our
right to self-determination and to achieve an end to conflicts in Burma
(1) Through redefining the right to self-determination established in the UN charter and
international law. (The right to self-determination established in the UN charter and
international law should be replaced by more rational and fairer ones that take in to
account the needs of oppressed nations and peoples like non-Burman ethnic nationalities
in Burma.)
(2) Through democratisation of the UN and the international system (On 9th January 2007,
the United States submitted a draft resolution to the UN Security Council. The draft
resolution called on the military government of Burma to begin substantive dialogue with
all political leaders and national ethnic groups. It also called for the release of political
prisoners including democracy leader and Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, who
has spent more than a decade under house arrest. Nine members voted in favour, three
abstained and three, including China and Russia, voted against the motion. But ultimately
the vetoes by China and Russia failed the resolution from being adopted. The vetoes by
China and Russia have allowed continuance of injustice in Burma.) The undemocratic
right to veto in the UN system should be abolished in order to maintain peace and
security in the world.

(3) Through supporting and helping our struggle for democracy, Human Rights and the right
to self-determination by the UN and international community. The UN General Assembly
should recognize the right to self-determination of non-Burman ethnic nationalities in Burma.

(4) Through a meaningful tripartite dialogue as called for by successive United Nations
General Assembly since 1994, the participants must include in equal proportions: (1)
representatives of the 1990 election winning parties (2) representative of the military regime
(SPDC), and (3) representatives of non-Burman ethnic nationalities.

Therefore, I call on the UN ,its member states, the Japanese government, all members of the
Japanese Parliament and the Japanese people, (1) to redefine the right to self-determination
established in the UN Charter and International Law taking into accounts of the needs of the
oppressed nations and peoples like the non-Burman ethnic nationalities in Burma. (2) To
democratise the UN’s decision making system abolishing the undemocratic right to veto by
some member states. (3) To recognize the right to self-determination of the non-Burman
ethnic nationalities in Burma and help their struggle for the right to self-determination by
providing both political and material supports. (4) To take urgent steps to exert more pressure
on the military regime (SPDC) to accept and hold a meaningful tripartite dialogue called for
by successive United Nations General Assembly since1994 before the SPDC-proposed 2010
election in Burma.

.
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