Since independence in 1948, the question of unity has repeatedly come to the fore in Myanmar politics. How the country of Southeast Asia will be managed by uniting people of various ethnic groups, castes and interests has now become a big question.
The Ba mars is the largest ethnic group in Myanmar. They dominate the country's politics. But they could never bring the people of the entire land under one umbrella. Most of the top officials of the military junta are also from this Ba mar ethnic group.
Deutsche Welle spoke to at least two dozen experts, journalists and observers from Myanmar and abroad. Everyone has the same thing, there is no leader who is acceptable to everyone in Myanmar, who will unite everyone and continue the resistance struggle. The central region of Myanmar is mainly inhabited by Ba mar people. And other ethnic minorities have traditionally lived in the border areas. And almost every minority group is controlling different areas. These areas are very fertile for farming. A divided country
In the last 75 years, no government has been able to unite the entire country. The last military coalition and hung San Sue Ky National League for Democracy (NLD) government also failed to do so.
Efforts to share power also failed after a military junta seized power on 1 February 2021, arresting Sue Ky and other civilian leaders. The country is now often bleeding due to conflicts and resistance movements.
Hundreds of thousands of people are believed to have been killed following the military coup. According to the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), about 1.7 million people have been left homeless in the country since the coup until last March.
The Ba mars is the largest ethnic group in Myanmar. They dominate the country's politics. But they could never bring the people of the entire land under one umbrella. Most of the top officials of the military junta are also from this Ba mar ethnic group. United resistance
The military has remained in power for most of Myanmar since independence. Interestingly, there is no unity among the people of Myanmar, but there has always been some kind of unity among the army. And that unity is the unity of keeping power axed. In this way, they have divided the opposition political parties from power, even if they have not been able to wipe them out. After the 2021 coup, protests spread across Myanmar. Even in Ba mar-dominated regions, widespread anti-junta protests broke out. It raised hopes that this time a united resistance could be formed to defeat the junta. The aim was to form a larger anti-junta coalition with Bamars and other ethnic minorities.
But the biggest challenge here is that they agree on only one thing. And that is the rejection of the military junta and the establishment of 'democracy'. And other things, especially everyone looking at their own interests. There is mutual distrust. To remove this mistrust and establish unity, now only one word is coming forward, 'federal structure'
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