ROLE
OF A LOCAL NGO IN PROMOTING RECONCILIATION BETWEEN THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT
AND ETHNIC NATIONALITY GROUPS
By:
Reverend Saboi Jum
President of the Kachin Baptist Convention, Myanmar
Director of Shalom Foundation
Presented
at Japan Institute of International Affairs (JIIA), Tokyo, Japan on
6 July 2001.
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Introduction
Honorable
Chairman, Respected Members of the Seminar Panel, and Ladies and Gentlemen;
It
is an honor and pleasure that I have been invited to present one perspective
on efforts to promote reconciliation between the national government
and ethnic nationality groups in Myanmar. For over two decades, I, together
with other leaders in Kachin society, have been humbly involved in trying
to promote peace and reconciliation in the Union of Myanmar. In Myanmar,
there are many ethnic nationality groups, yet I would like to talk about
the situation of the Kachin people since that is my experience.
Background
I
would like to begin by saying that the conflicts began through mis-understandings
on both sides. I would like to present the concept that both sides actually
have the common goal of promoting national unity and solidarity and
national sovereignty but since the end of WWII, a series of compounding
mis-understandings have led to conflict that has perpetuated for over
40 years. During the time of the Burmese King Budawpaya, there was a
book (*) explaining the area of the Kachin people and a map showing
this area. This area was called Kikiratta - the Land of the Kachins.
During the period of British colonization, the British changed the demarcations
of the States and Divisions. After WWII, in 1947, at the Panlong Conference,
the central government and the ethnic nationality groups agreed to be
part of the Union of Burma and agreed on the current State and Division
demarcations. However, soon after that, mis-understandings began that
led to the breakdown of trust that further led to conflict that spread
through the Union.
The
Kachin people suffered through 35 years of conflict. Finally, after
years of mediation and negotiation, on February 24, 1994, a ceasefire
agreement was reached between the central government and the Kachin
Independence Organization. This required patience, trust-building, and
a will to end the suffering in which all actors had the responsibility
to build this atmosphere.
To
promote reconciliation, peace and development in the future Myanmar,
trust and mutual respect for one another's culture need to be re-built
and strengthened. All actors in the national and local context need
to be involved in this process. As a non-government actor, our emphasis
is placed on the grassroots communities for this is a role we can play
within our capacity.
Kachin Traditional Society
To
better explain how we can play a role in this process, we need to first
take a look at the traditional administration, or customary laws, in
Kachin society. Traditionally, tribal chiefs, or Duwas, that inherited
their right of leadership through the generations, administered Kachin
society. Under the Duwas were the Salangwa who oversaw the Salangs.
The Salangs were the local representatives chosen by their constituent
villages. The Salangs chose the Salangwa to act as the direct link to
the Duwa. Whenever there was a conflict, the Salangs chose a team of
3 to 5 people to act as Kasa, or mediation team, between the two sides
of the conflict. The Kasa started the mediation by presenting 'gifts'
to each side to ease the tense situation and to begin to re-build the
trust necessary to solve the roots of the conflict. While much has changed
in Myanmar and the world since that time, Kachin society is still a
traditional society and building on these traditional means of reconciliation
and customary laws can help to mobilize trust, understanding, and respect
needed to rebuild national unit and sovereignty.
Re-building Trust: Factors of Culture and Natural Resources
I
would like to present the loose concept that local NGOs and organizations,
as the KBC and Shalom Foundation, can act as the Kasa in the current
times. Although not necessarily 'chosen' by the grassroots people, local
social organizations can only operate and contribute to society if that
society accepts them. In this way, they have a loose mandate to play
the role of representatives in mediation of conflicts in Kachin society
as long as the grassroots people still accept and support their role.
Years of conflict have left the communities and society in a state of
under-development. We have lost respect for each other's culture and
lifestyles. Although Kachin State is rich in natural resources, these
resources have either been under-utilized, or have been exploited with
disproportionate benefit going to the Kachin people and society at the
grassroots level. Promotion of development at all levels of society
is imperative for the future stability and growth of this society. Whereby
the national government can play the important role of developing the
local and national infrastructure like transportation, communication,
and utilities, the local organizations can play the role of promoting
development at the grassroots levels. At the same time, it is seen throughout
the world that while there are benefits from infrastructure projects
and natural resource exploitation, there are also negative effects if
not carried our properly.
In
this way, local organizations can play the role of the Kasa between
the two sides of the conflict in two ways. They can help to promote
community development at the grassroots and they can help to mitigate
the negative effects of large-scale infrastructure projects through
their intermediary role. By mitigating the potential negative effects
of the infrastructure programs, and including the government and grassroots
people in discussions about these potential effects, this can help to
build mutual trust and respect between the people and the government.
By promoting development programs at the grassroots level that help
communities to build up their livelihoods and put land into production,
trust is further strengthened.
Culture
is held very dear and sovereign by the people. The culture of a people
grows and develops over generations, and is also partly a result of
the natural environment. Therefore, the culture and the environment
of a society need to be mutually respected between societies. Whereas,
the imposition of a culture on another indicates dis-respect and can
lead to deterioration of trust; the promotion of the positive aspects
of a culture, and sharing with other cultures in a way that respects
these cultures, builds trust. In this way, peace is promoted and national
unity is strengthened. When national solidarity is promoted, then national
sovereignty is strengthened. All sides have the responsibility to mutually
respect the positive aspects of another culture. This goes much beyond
stage shows and costumes, but emphasizes beliefs, customs, and livelihood
means. Different cultures can then benefit in a positive way from their
cultural interaction.
In
a related way, natural resources also play an important role in this
process especially in Kachin society. However, rapid exploitation of
natural resources can lead to the large portion of benefits leaving
the area, while the local people and society are left with the minor
portion. In addition to this, many times the negative side effects of
this exploitation are left behind, further hindering the development
of the area and its people and minimizing or negating what positive
benefits may have been initially realized. While the Kachin people want
to share their resources with all the people of the Union for the betterment
of the people and the Union, it is important that a fair portion of
benefits befall on the Kachin grassroots people, and the negative side
effects are properly addressed. In this way, trust will be promoted
further.
Family Spirit and Responsibility
The
ethnic people of Myanmar want to participate and share in the development
of the Union. There is a need to re-establish a collective family spirit
in the Union based on mutual respect and trust. When both large-scale
and grassroots development programs sincerely and truly have positive
effects on the grassroots and society as a whole, then trust is being
built, national solidarity is strengthened, and national sovereignty
is promoted. When the programs have negative results or side effects,
these programs are put into question, which then also leads to questioning
of trust and so on down the line. Promoting sustainable, respectful,
participatory development that leads to real positive change at the
grassroots is the 'gift' (not in the literal sense, of course) that
the indigenous Kachin and other social organizations can utilize to
promote reconciliation and trust - building. It is one of our responsibilities.
National Solidarity
To
be more concrete of the minor role we can play, let me give a couple
of examples. The KBC is actively promoting grassroots development projects
in many communities. Many of these projects focus on sustainable agriculture
and health and sanitation. In some communities, revolving buffalo banks
are being implemented with the objectives of promoting the increase
of land in paddy production and promoting sustainability through a revolving
credit system coordinated by the local village organization. This promotes
strong communities, increased agriculture land in production, and increased
production of rice and food security. All this leads to promoting the
development of the land, the people, and the Union, which in turn means
national unity and sovereignty. Many projects are promoting primary
health care, clean water in villages, and proper sanitation with the
objective to promote a healthy grassroots population. Human resources
are the backbone and strength of any society and nation. A healthy population
can only lead to further development of the society and the nation.
This again, when conducted in an atmosphere of responsibility for mutual
respect and real participation, leads towards further trust - building
which again leads towards strengthening national solidarity.
The
Shalom Foundation aims to promote peace and reconciliation among and
between the various ethnic nationality groups and with the national
government. This includes facilitating conflict resolution and trust-building
on many issues, including culture, natural resources, economics, etc.
Again, as an indigenous organization, we first focus our emphasis on
the grassroots level. Through trainings and workshops, seminars and
meetings, we aim to build up the capacity of local organizations to
resolve conflicts, build peace, and promote trust and reconciliation.
This is a long road and for it to be sustainable, the process must be
truly participatory and involve all the actors involved. This process
must cross cultural and religious boundaries. In the initial foundation-building
phase, we have begun by capacity building training for local people
and organizations and introductory seminars.
Summary
I
would like to conclude by summarizing my key points. Most Kachin people
still believe and respect the customary laws of their society. By building
on this familiar traditional system, yet adapting it to the 21st century,
the indigenous organizations in Kachin society together with the national
government, in a collective family spirit, all have the responsibility
to carry out their roles in building trust, understanding and respecting
one another's cultures, and promoting the just use of natural resources.
When these roles are carried out with sincerity and patience, trust
will be further strengthened which, in turn, will further lead to our
common goals of building national solidarity and the development of
the Union of Myanmar and its people.
With
sincere regards, I humbly thank you for your kind attention to my presentation
today.
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(*)
Book reference: "Shei Myanmar Min Mja Kjin, Htoun"; meaning,
"Practice of the Early Burmese Kings".
