A Short History of South East Asia - Myanmar Chapter - Part 5 - Early 2000s to 2017 when the 6th edition was published

With significant assistance from Professor John Ingleson and Dr Ian Black (then both at the University of New South Wales) I published the first edition of A Short History of South East Asia in the late 1990s.   The current 6th edition was published in 2017 by Wiley and, if you are interested, is available for purchase on all the major ebook sites.

The catalyst for writing the book was a 1980 speech by the late Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore to the People's Action Party (the political party he founded) and in which he said "to understand the present and anticipate the future, one must know enough of the past, enough to have a sense of the history of a people".  In my opinion these few words are profound and apply to every country in the world, including Myanmar.

I propose to read the Myanmar chapter from the book over a few podcasts and hope by the end we will know enough of Myanmar's history to "understand the present and anticipate the future"?

This reading covers the period from the early 2000s to the publication of the 6th edition of the book in 2017.

My conclusion as to why Myanmar is where it is today is a combination of a number of factors:

• The abolition of the monarchy in 1885 (including the physical removal of King Thibaw to Calcutta) leaving the Burmese without a social and religious structure and then being subject to direct rule by the British.  This compared to the ethnic minorities whose social and leadership structures were left in place with them being subject to indirect rule by the British.
• The entering into of the Panglong Agreement on 12  February 1947 by the Burmese, Shan, Chin and Kachin (but not the Karen) and which provided for a Federal Government following independence which took place on 4 January, 1948. There were provisions for the ethnic groups to be able to withdraw from the Federation after 10 years if they were not satisfied with the situation.  
• General Aung San was instrumental in persuading the ethnic groups to sign the Panglong Agreement.   He had their trust. Sadly he and some of his key colleagues were assassinated in April 1947 and there was no one of his stature or influence to ensure the terms of the Agreement were followed.
• General Ne Win was concerned that the ethnic groups were going to withdraw from the Union pursuant to the Panglong Agreement and launched a coup on 2 March 1962.  Not only did he effectively "tear up" the Agreement but he ordered the killing and jailing of many hereditary ethnic leaders.
• Needless to say, since the 1962 coup, most ethnic groups have not trusted the military and some like the Karen have never trusted them.  The 1 February 2021 coup reinforces their multi decade lack of trust in the military.
• A key difference between the 1962 and 2021 coups is that the Burmese population by and large went along submissively with the 1962 as they hoped it would bring stability and improve the economy - although General Ne Win failed spectacularly with the economy- whereas most Burmese (and particularly young Burmese) having tasted quasi democracy, have solidly rejected the 2021 coup.

Those listening to my podcast may well have other reasons as to why Myanmar is where it is today.  However, looking forward, the most important question to answer is how we get from where the country is today to a bright, prosperous and peaceful future for the country and its diverse ethnicities.

Please feel free to contact me with suggested interviewees at church.peter@gmail.com.

Thank you for listening .

Peter Church