Chinland Guardian

In the summer of 2004, a select group of Burmese gathered in Ottawa under the banner of Burma Forum-Canada with the express objective of “establishing a stronger and more inclusive consultative process among Burmese Activist Communities in Canada in order to effectively advocate for the issues facing Burma with the Canadian Government, Public and Civil Society Organizations.” Attended by 22 individuals mostly living in Ottawa and Toronto area the meeting concluded with recommendations calling for policy revision for Canada’s policy towards Burma. Many of the recommendations expressed valid concerns with the way Canada, the world’s leading champion of democracy and human rights, handles the issues of Burma with regards to democratic and human rights reforms in that country.

In the fall of 2004, the Burma Forum-Canada came up with a 47-page report containing analysis on specific areas of concern about Canadian foreign policy on Burma. This includes, among others, Canadian policy on humanitarian assistance and economic sanctions towards Burma. While many of the arguments made in the Burma Forum report are laudable and does contain crucial policy recommendations specifically with regards to calls for increased political and economic pressures on Burma, the report is one-sided, un-inclusive of the views of major stakeholders of the “Burmese” community in Canada and miserably fails to present crucial supporting evidence when criticizing the effectiveness of Canadian humanitarian assistance for Burma. Under the title of “Humanitarian Assistance,” the report contains a section on “Capacity Building for Burma,” which is particularly critical of how Canadian assistance funds for Burmese are managed and the extent to which they have been effectual in meeting the objectives of Canada’s contribution for the project.

In today’s struggle for democratization in the Union of Burma, apparently, there are two politically contested views among the pro-democratic forces: to topple the regime from power should be our sole movement focus advocated by one side and, as opposed to this view, the other side of view is those strongly believing in the need to simultaneously prepare for the post-military regime change era while struggling to remove the military dictatorship from power.

As January 23, 06– the federal election is approaching day by day, leaders of the different political parties and their respective candidates across Canada are campaigning hard in order to get elected.  In a democracy, the right to stand for office and the right to vote, or not to vote, in election is enjoyed by every citizen. Although in countries like Australia this is only half-true because voting is compulsory.

Most observers and participants of Burma’s democracy movement generally agree that federalism provides the best option for the future political arrangement for a country so diverse as Burma.

Most people will not be surprised to find in the news about the sad stories of ongoing oppression, persecution and violations of basic human rights in Burma, a country now called Myanmar by its military junta. But what is not often immediately obvious from the outside is the horrible and inhumane conditions people have been forced to silently endure under the successive rules of the country’s autocratic and tyrannical regimes for more than the last four decades.

Vancouver, Canada: Hurricane Katrina has painted the real picture of the mass suffering of people and for the first time the Americans have witnessed it, while in Burma, the people have been used to this scene as it was repeatedly played again and again for one and half decades of Burmese

(Editor’s Note: In the wake of India’s renewed offensive against Burma’s pro-democracy opposition groups, notably the Chin National Front since July 2005, many activists based in India are increasingly frustrated and are helplessly feeling that their cause has been betrayed by the world’s largest democracy, a country they have always looked to for support.

The flashing of the photo of SSA (Shan State Army) leader Col. Yawd Serk and SSNA (Shan State National Army) and announcing the merger to fight against the genocidal regime in Rangoon, over the media is worthy of inspiration and imitation to all the ethnic groups of the Union of Burma, if not the world. It is also time to think whether we could form the Union of Burma or rather Union of Nationalities minus the dominant Myanmar/Burman tribe.

Noticeably, the recent declaration of Shan’s independence is shaking the whole pro-democracy movement of the day in the conflict-ridden Union of Burma. The Union of Burma or its conventional name “Burma” has been plagued by the internal conflicts especially since its independence

[CG Note: A Chin MP Pu Lian Uk, a lawyer and former political prisoner, expressed his opinion below regarding the declaration of independence by Shan elders. He is an independent elected MP from Haka, the capital of Chin state during the 1990 general election in Burma. He is now exile in the United States of America]