Officials
of the State, distinguished guests from the country and abroad and members of
the relevant ethnic groups, I wish you all health and happiness.
First,
I would like to express my pleasure and appreciation for your complete
confidence in the peace process by attending the Union Peace Conference-21st
Century Panglong (third meeting), which starts today, and welcome
representatives from all armed ethnic organizations.
Peace,
in other words, is an invaluable shelter for every country and every race. Only
a fine shelter will underpin a peaceful and stable human society, a pleasant
life and a developing infrastructure. Although our country is rich in natural
resources, we are still in need of the resources for peace. It is the objective
condition we all can’t ignore.
We
have a long history of independence struggle. Internal armed conflicts linger
in our country alongside the long history of peace process. History is a mirror
highlighting all the causes, all the good and the evil effects and consequences
we had experienced throughout the past successive periods. If we look back the
pages of history without any bias, we can see the plain truth of the past of
our country. “We should not become a prisoner of history”, which is a popular
saying nowadays, warns us against harbouring hatred, resentment and bitterness,
and teaches us to open a new chapter with new visions and new views after
taking a lesson from the past. In accord with the theory of cause and effect,
we must assess all the past events from an objective point of view.
Root
cause of internal armed conflicts
A
thorough look at the root cause of the ongoing internal armed conflicts of the
country clearly shows that they were not ignited by the Tatmadaw but by the
divide-and-rule policy adopted by the British colonialists during the colonial
period and the political, ideological, racial and religious differences. The
Tatmadaw has no big or small problems with any of the armed groups that
appeared throughout the successive periods. Discontents and demands have
surfaced only between the governments of the respective periods and the armed
groups. All the brethren of our country have lived in togetherness in the same
territory since time immemorial. The Myawady Stone Inscriptions were written in
four languages including the ethnic languages of Pyu, Mon and Myanmar, in
addition to Pali in ME 474. The inscription of the three ethnic languages on a
single stone slab stands witness to the fact that Myanmar has stood as a Union
since yore.
At
the time when the whole country fell under the rule of British colonialists,
all the ethnic people started the independence struggle by fighting the wars
with patriotic spirit for 10 years. During the period from the colonial era to
date, our country has six constitutions and related laws.
The
constitutions enacted in 1947, 1974 and 2008 are significant ones in Myanmar in
the post-independence era. During the time of British colonialists, the
Government of India Act, 1919, promulgated by the British Parliament, the
Government of Burma Act, 1935, and the Constitution of Burma, under Japanese
Occupation (1943) were enacted in Myanmar. Among them, Myanmar was allowed to
practise the diarchy administration on 2 January 1923, under the Government of
India Act. However, it excluded Shan, Chin and Kachin regions from
administration as an act of divide-and-rule policy. According to the Government
of Burma Act, 1935, the governing system for Myanmar was upgraded to the 91
Departments Administration. However, the new administrative system did not
cover the ethnic regions, but the divide-and-rule policy was continuously
practised there. The divide-and-rule policy was implemented to rule the ethnic
regions as Part I Scheduled Area and Part II Scheduled Area as the governor’s
direct governing region and the governor representative’s governing region.
Such administration was opposed by the Doh Bamar Asiayone (We Burmese
Association), which was the leading organization in independence struggle of
Myanmar, starting from its conference held in Mawlamyine in 1938. The
divide-and-rule policy caused less development in ethnic regions and disunity
among the states and mainland.
In
implementing the White Paper policy after Japan withdrew from Myanmar, the
British established the Frontier Area Administration to continuously instigate
the ethnic regions. It was found that they made attempts of speeding up the
instigation to leave ethnic regions from the administration at a time when
Myanmar regained her independence. Practising the Frontier Crossing Act, they arrested
and expelled political activists so as there would not be any communication
among the ethnic regions and the mainland of Myanmar in regards to political
affairs. Consequences of divide-and-rule administration caused heavy impacts on
holding the Panglong Conference to sign the Panglong Agreement. Up to now, its
impacts still affect the nation. It is an inappropriate act to make
fabrications and to erase the consequences of divide-and-rule administration on
the pages of history and to say that integration of national unity and
inequitable development began only after regaining the independence.
Policy
differences
After
regaining independence, the Burma Communist Party went underground in March
1948, opposing the policy of the then Anti-Fascist People’s Freedom League
(AFPFL) government, led by U Nu, to trigger the internal armed conflicts.
Goshal, one of the communist leaders, compiled a paper to support the Pyinmana
rebel area of Bo Tayar and Rakhine rebel areas of U Seinta and Bon Pauk Thar
Kyaw and to designate these regions as liberation area, so as to stimulate
riots across the nation with the purpose of expanding their area. Policy
differences emerged between communists and AFPFL and between White Yebaw and
AFPFL, and all groups made strenuous efforts to persuade the Tatmadaw to join
them. General Ne Win, a main leader of the Tatmadaw at that time, did not
accept it. Then, Kayin armed conflicts occurred with the aim of realizing the
Kayin racial affairs and establishing a separate Kayin State. Moreover, Mujahid
rebels in northern Rakhine State opposed and attacked the AFPFL government with
the aim of establishing a separate state with religion since Myanmar regained
her
independence.
The root cause of emerging KIO armed group in Kachin region, where armed
conflicts are happening up to now, was based on religion since the Union Party
government led by
Prime
Minister U Nu promulgated Buddhism as the State religion on 26 August 1961, and
later, the cause was emphasized as ethnic affairs. As remaining armed groups
emerged due to politics, dogmatism, racism and religion, criticisms against the
Tatmadaw, saying that the emergence of local armed organizations and internal
armed conflicts were caused by the Tatmadaw, are dangerous for peace processes.
The acts of Tatmadaw are to protect the administrative mechanism of the
government and to safeguard the life, property and interest of the public.
Successive
governments of Myanmar did their best to end internal armed conflicts caused by
divide-and-rule policy and different political, racial and religious
ideologies, and achieve internal peace. There were both progress and failures.
Our history can prove why we succeeded, why we failed, who we could make peace
with and who we could not. But one thing I can clearly say is that the Tatmadaw
made constructive efforts for safeguarding national independence and
sovereignty and ensuring national unity and non-disintegration of the Union by
actively participating in the successive governments’ endeavours to achieve internal
peace. Regarding peace, it is necessary to explain in parallel with the
history. In March and June in 1948, just after three or six months of Myanmar’s
independence, internal armed conflicts emerged. As the earliest internal peace
effort, the then AFPFL government issued a 15-point U Nu peace policy, also
known as the 15-point left-wing unity policy. To implement the policy,
Left-wing Organizing Council chaired by General Ne Win, under the government’s
leadership, was established. In the Revolutionary Council era, the council made
a peace offer with all the underground armed organizations on 11 June 1963 for
internal peace. It was the first step towards peace-making. The Tatmadaw led
the peace effort. Under the Myanma Socialist Programme Party government,
internal peace effort was initiated in 1980, and peace talks commenced in 1981.
Commanders of respective military commands had to actively participate in the
effort. The government assigned duties to the Kachin State authoritative body,
led by the commander of Northern Command representing the government, to
achieve peace in Kachin State. After 1988, under the Tatmadaw government, the
Tatmadaw led the peace efforts. Peace was made with 17 major ethnic armed
groups and 23 small groups, totalling 40. Under President U Thein Sein’s
government in the multiparty democracy era, Notification 1/2011 was issued on
18 August 2011, inviting all ethnic armed organizations to peace talks. The
invitation for peace mentioned the aim that the State is to build a peaceful,
developed nation by upholding Our Three Main National Causes. The armed ethnic
groups must accept Our Three Main National Causes. Talks started only after
clarifications were made time and again on non-separation and an election
system, which was the only principle way. Thus, all talks for peace need to
follow the national interest of the Union. All committees, including Union
Peace-making Central Committee and various work committees, comprise
Tatmadawmen. They had made effective cooperation. The Nationwide Ceasefire
Agreement (NCA) was signed with ten ethnic armed groups.
Tatmadaw
wants real peace
Under
the present National League for Democracy-led government also, the Tatmadaw has
joined the Union Peace Dialogue Joint Committee (UPDJC) and joint monitoring
committees at various levels. The Tatmadaw is doing its utmost for the success
of the government’s peace process, based on its experience. Our Tatmadawmen who
have to fight in battlefields unavoidably are the ones who really want peace. I
would like to say that the Tatmadaw wants to achieve real peace as quickly as
possible in such a way that cannot harm the Union, national unity, independence
and sovereignty.
It
is found that there are different views about peace agreements. Since the time
of the Tatmadaw government in 1989 until 1999, 40 armed organizations made
peace with the Tatmadaw government. In doing so, there were no exact and
concrete contracts signed between the government and remaining organizations,
except the KIO/KIA group. There were gentleman’s agreements only, such as the
agreements reached with each group on boundary limits for temporary stay and on
regional development. The government had to try different peace-making ways,
such as ceasefire without giving up arms or the exchange of arms for peace,
based on the trust in the government. Some assume that they do not need to
participate in the current peace-making process, as it had already reached a
similar situation in the past. But they need to be aware of the fact that time,
situation and administrative system have changed now. In the past, the country
was governed by the Tatmadaw alone. The Tatmadaw government alone steered every
administrative mechanism. Now the country is governed under the multi-party
democracy system, aspired by the public. We need to have behaviours, practices
and undertakings suited to the democracy system. The peace-making processes
should be implemented based on democratic standards and the most-agreed points.
These processes should not be different. As an advantage, the NCA, agreed by
most of the groups, is already in place.
In
December 2015, the Union Parliament, which represents the whole people,
unanimously approved this NCA in accord with democratic procedures. So, every
ethnic armed group is to sign the NCA. Here I would like to point out the fact
that some saying there is no need to sign the NCA, as there is no fighting and
that the previous agreements are already in existence, may go against the
current democratic ethics. The NCA is just a name used for a ceasefire
agreement. But its essence is broader and more comprehensive. Even the first
point of the fundamental principle of the NCA is to build a democratic federal
union aspired not only by ethnic armed groups but also by other ethnic
organizations. It is clearly seen that some signatories to the NCA made peace
with the Tatmadaw government while others continued sticking to armed struggle
at that time.
To
negotiate with genuine goodwill
Bold
steps must be taken without delay in implementing the peace process. If the
peace process takes longer than it is necessary, there will be instigation,
interference and manipulation, all of which will undermine the hardly-built
trust and hard-earned agreement. Therefore, I would like to urge stakeholders
to negotiate thoroughly with genuine goodwill during the conference in the
interests of the State and national ethnic people. They must continue the talks
till a sustainable peace result can be produced. I have often seen changes in
situations after the talks were ceased and before producing a solution. In this
regard, I am urging all to hold talks till a result is reached. I would like to
urge in all seriousness that the peace process be continued with consistency
and be completed at the 2nd Union Peace Conference in 2020.
Stakeholders
should be particularly aware that the government and the Tatmadaw are actively
leading the peace process today not because we are weak, but because we are
committed to the interests of the State and the national ethnic people, and we
want to end the armed conflicts which burn throughout successive periods,
during our term, and build a modern, developed, united and strong, new
democratic nation, in accordance with the wishes of the people. The sound of
guns will become silent if all the groups with a true wish for peace observe
the agreement. All must control their own men, instead of giving groundless
reasons. In implementing the peace process, it is important to work with the
notion that nothing takes precedence over peace. And it is important not to
give priority to things that can lead to misunderstanding and not to drag
things that have nothing to do with the peace process during this time. Armed
ethnic groups in some regions cannot represent the entire national people of 52
million, and political parties only represent a particular walk of life that
supports them. Our Tatmadaw, being a people’s Tatmadaw born of ethnic people,
is an organization representing the State and the people. It is extremely
necessary that they have legitimate reason for their existence and stances. We
also know that there are desires for constitutional amendments in connection
with peace talks. In 2015, 34 points of the Schedule Two under the title of
Region or State Legislative List of the 2008 Constitution and 20 points of the
Schedule Five under the title of Taxes Collected by Region or State were mainly
amended in the interests of national ethnic people, and the mandate of the
region and state governments was expanded. Some might want more changes through
continuous coordination, if necessary. In so doing, action must be taken in
accordance with the provision regarding Chapter 12 Amendment of the
Constitution, and it is important that the 48 founding principles of the State
remain intact.
Only
one Armed Forces
In
any country, regardless of practising democracy or any other system, they have
only one Armed Forces. Hence, the ethnic groups should work in accordance with
the international peace principles. Currently, ending of armed struggle must be
the top priority for establishment of a Union system based on democracy and
federalism. It needs to make negotiations for future plans in accordance with
democracy after the whole country achieves peace, instead of taking time for
unnecessary discussions.
I
would like to reiterate that delaying the peace process is further drowning our
country, which is already lagged behind in development. The initial date for
the conference was in early 2018. But for various reasons, it is being held
today. We have a lot of work to do for the State and the public. We just
shouldn’t be talking the talk. We will reach nowhere just by choosing the best
words for arguments. The strength of the nation lies within. All the national
people are responsible for it. We must all be aware of the instigations to
weaken our united strength. There is a saying that “we can move it, if we push
together”, but if we don’t push enough to move it, our efforts are equal to
‘zero,’ if we measure with the yardstick of the result. If you really love your
country and your race, I would like to urge you to wipe out the civil armed
conflicts that hinder the development of the country, and continue working
toward that goal with goodwill. As the State is implementing the multi-party
democracy in accord with the wishes of the people, all the organizations from
states and regions must have equal rights under the Constitution in carrying
out the peace processes. I would like to note that we will place emphasis on
coordination with neighbouring friendly countries to have eternally peaceful
border regions in building the Union based on democracy and federal system.
Guests
and officials,
In
conclusion, I would like to urge you not to delay, but to try hard to
successfully build an absolute peace for establishing a new educated society,
flourishing with love for the motherland, progressing rationality, Union spirit
and developing a gentle but serious new society, and handing it over to younger
generations, so that you can be proud of yourselves in accomplishing your
historic duties and leaving behind a good legacy.
Ref;
The Global New Light of Myanmar
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