‘The country has gone round in a big circle since independence. The anomalies and inconsistences left by the British were not resolved then and they haven’t been resolved since. So that is the challenge: how will a political system be created in the future that peacefully, democratically and inclusively resolves such a legacy of crises that have become deeper over time.’
In his first series, Martin Smith examined the ‘conflict trap’ which enveloped the country after independence in 1948. Subsequently, the conditions of resistance and civil war further deepened and have since been sustained – politically and economically – through different eras of government and military misrule. In the process, resource-rich Myanmar has become one of the most conflict-divided countries in humanitarian emergency in the world. Marked by cycles of popular protest and military repression in 1948, 1962, 1988 and 2021, there has yet to be a political moment of countrywide breakthrough, national reconciliation and peace. In essence, the politics cannot be solved because of the conflict: and the conflict cannot be solved because of the politics.
The new series seeks to examine why the challenges of post-colonial transition have become so acute. Many countries faced difficult times during the struggles for independence after the Second World War. But, among its neighbours, Myanmar has stood out as a land in existential crisis and perennial breakdown where political questions remain unaddressed. The reasons may look complex after eight decades of conflict. But the answers have never been. Rather, ‘divide-and-rule’ politics, human rights repression and systemic misrule have only added to the perplexity of the ‘conflict trap’ during each decade of government, undermining the achievement of solutions until the present day.
Today the conditions of conflict division and state failure are as grave as at any time since independence. There is a long legacy of unresolved challenges dating back to the British era. As the podcasts describe, colonial government was a divisive system of ‘order without meaning’, denying peoples their histories, rights and lands. Such fundamental issues were never addressed in the rush to independence, setting the scene for a post-colonial landscape of flawed constitutions as one unrepresentative government was taken over by another. The achievement of solutions then became even more difficult following the 1962 coup d'état, with the dysfunctional language of military government subverting meaningful discussions on the critical issues of ethnicity, citizenship and identity.
From this point, the dictatorial nature of government only fuelled new cycles of grievance, inequality and conflict under the rule of the Myanmar armed forces, Tatmadaw (Sit-Tat). As the country collapsed to become one of the world’s ten poorest, conflict was ‘ethnicized’ and the humanitarian consequences were profound against a systemic backdrop of human rights violations and repression. As today, central power was seized and held in the hands of a narrow military elite among the Bamar-majority population.
Myanmar’s peoples, though, have never given up on their aspirations and determination for political freedom, human rights justice and ethnic equality during the long years of struggle. As the final podcast concludes, the evidence is clear. After eight decades of conflict, the Tatmadaw has never won victory and, as at independence, the need remains for solutions to social, ethnic and economic challenges that have always been political at root. Although the present hour is dark, it is to be trusted that young people today will be the generation that finally achieves peace.
Contents:
Episode 1: Colonial Rule: 'Order Without Meaning’
Episode 2: The Rush to Independence: the legacy of flawed constitutions
Episode 3: Dysfunctional Language: challenges of ethnicity, citizenship and identity
Episode 4: How Failures of the Myanmar State Underpin Grievance, Conflict and Inequality
Episode 5: Human Rights Violations and Military Misrule: humanitarian consequences and the 'ethnicization' of conflict
Episode 6: The Myth of Tatmadaw Victory: the need for reality and political solutions to political challenges
You can find the podcasts on the following platforms:
Buzzsprout: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2243233/episodes
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5XHZy1LIsGKrOiwpMB6oLL
Amazon: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/70d2f093-3744-4adb-972b-f66bbab51258/info-for-ethnic-groups-in-myanmar
Podcast Index: https://podcastindex.org/podcast/6599476
Podcast Addict: https://podcastaddict.com/podcast/info-for-ethnic-groups-in-myanmar/4604459
Podchaser: https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/info-for-ethnic-groups-in-myan-5463739/episodes/recent
