Woes of Burmese Exile Government

By Dr. Tayza - London, United Kingdom

A government is a government, either it be in exile or in power. Like any other governments which stay in position for nearly two decades, Burma’s exile government, or National Coalition Government of Union of Burma (NCGUB), has recently come under intense fire from almost all sides.

NCGUB was first formed in 1990 soon after Burma’s one and only democratic general election in so many decades. It was formed by the decision of a secret meeting of elected people’s representatives, which was held at a secret location outside Mandalay, the second largest city in Burma. As the National League for Democracy, led by Aung San Suu Kyi, won land-slide victory in 1990 election, their elected MPs at that time were urging military regime to start the process of handing over power. But the regime responded by putting NLD leaders behind bars.

So a group of elected MPs led by Dr Sein Win, a cousin of Aung San Suu Kyi, left to Manerplaw, an area on Thai-Burma border, at that time under control of Karen ethnic resistance force (Karen National Union, KNU). And there on 18 December 1990, with the help of ethnic resistance groups, NCGUB came to existence.

Since then, Burma’s political struggle has been stuck in a stalemate. SPDC military regime so far could not, or dare not, get total elimination of democratic opposition because of the overwhelming international support for Burma’s democracy movement. But democratic opposition either could not dislodge military regime because of the sheer strength and brutality of regime’s army.

As NCGUB has been in position for 18 years and people started to wonder how they can remain in position for so many years without any such things as elections for office, etc. Some activists wonder “Aren’t they supposed to be a democratic government, albeit an exile one?” Once such questions started, there usually seem to be no end. Some critics even started to question “with what mandate they formed a government in the first place”.

Recent gaffe made by NCGUB concerning their policy on international sanctions against military regime plunged them to the lowest depths in approval ratings.

A Minister of NCGUB recently made a remark, while attending the two-day ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus (AIPMC) Conference on "Myanmar and Democracies in Transition", that the NCGUB would not seek economic sanctions against the regime as it would only backfire as China and Russia, considered to have close economic ties with Rangoon, would not support such sanctions.

It caused a bomb-shell among Burmese pro-democracy activists. As Burma’s democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi does not endorse any violent or armed struggle, Burmese activists have to rely to a very large extent on international pressures to force military regime towards democratic reforms. For such international pressures – while President Bush’s plate already full with Iraq, Afghanistan, North Korea, Iran and Hezbollah - Burmese activists’ best hope is to get international economic sanctions on the regime.

So it is no wonder that NCGUB minister’s recent claims to avoid sanctions caused furor among activists. Burmese pro-democracy forums, websites and newsgroups on the internet are boiling with criticism on NCGUB’s apparent U-turn in policy.

To make matters worse, some angry activists dig up dirt and bring out accusations on NCGUB’s financial affairs. Questions arise. How and where they get funds? How can they take huge salaries in Washington when grass-root activists on the ground are rotting as refugees in those god-forsaken camps along Thai-Burma border, and when ethnic minority people are dying like flies in the jungles fleeing ethnic-cleansing attacks by regime’s army?

One angry activist even distributed an open letter in internet forums and email groups accusing at least two of the five Ministers of NCGUB on alleged misuse of political funds.

Some academics wonder how a government can be formed with only five people. Some start to analyze why in the past 18 long years NCGUB has got so little to show as their achievement.

On the other hand, SPDC regime is accusing NCGUB as co-conspirators for the bomb-explosions in Rangoon and other cities in Burma.

And there also is a reactionary group of businessmen and academics with links to the regime. This reactionary group is claiming that they will engage with military regime and persuade military generals to restore democracy in Burma. Although their claims are just as credible as that tigers could be coaxed to eat grass, their engagement idea coupled with Burma’s newly discovered off-shore gas reserves has got attention and interest from the European Union, and causing pain in the neck for mainstream Burmese pro-democracy institutions.

And then, the last straw for NCGUB will come when military regime pass a pro-military constitution and hold a not-so-free-or-fair election and rig votes and prop up a puppet civilian government under control of the military in Burma. In such case, the status of National League for Democracy, NCGUB’s mother party, will become controversial or at least weakened and NCGUB will become unsustainably vulnerable.

So it will be quite interesting to watch how NCGUB will come out alive from all this mess like a resurrecting phoenix_ if they can, that is.

Dr. Tayza is a human rights activist from Burma, currently in UK publishing a human rights campaign journal “Burma Digest”. He also occasionally writes (freelance) opinion articles, about Burma’s pro-democracy movement, for other journals and newspapers.

- Asian Tribune -