Ethnic Conflict—Myanmar
Ethnic conflict has been a central feature in the political life of Myanmar (Burma) since independence from Great Britain was obtained in 1948. Located on the crossroads between East, South, and Southeast Asia, Myanmar is one of the most ethnically diverse countries in the region. But the failure of successive governments to resolve the issues of insurgency and equitable representation for the various ethnic nationalities is a major factor behind the country's long-standing malaise.
A Land of Diversity
Burma's 1974 constitution (the country did not become Myanmar until 1989) set aside states for the seven largest ethnic minority groups in the country: the Chin, Kachin, Karen, Kayah, Mon, Rakhine, and Shan. The situation, however, is rather more complicated in the field. Minority ethnic groups, speaking a total of over one hundred languages and dialects, make up a third of the total population. These groups range in diversity from the Salum (Moken) sea-gypsies of the subtropical Tenasserim (Tanintharyi) division to the Nung-Rawang crossbow hunters in the mountains of Kachin state.
Under British colonial rule (1826–1948), the different peoples of Myanmar were kept on largely different roads of political and economic development. While minority ethnic groups in the borderlands remained under their traditional rulers in the Frontier Areas Administration, the Burman majority was governed separately under Ministerial Burma, in which a limited form of parliamentary democracy was introduced.
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