Now that the NLD has been decapitated with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and
senior NLD leaders are under lock and key, the pro democracy movement
inside the country has been more or less paralyzed. It seems that Burmese
people might as well bite the bullet. One and a half decades of non
violent struggle had produced little or no effect somewhat quite similar to
Nazi Hitler where there is no place for non violence. But hope springs
eternal in human breast and a drowning man will catch a straw. Some of
the focus has now shifted to the three million plus Burmese in Diaspora
couple with those who continue to fight bravely in the peripherals of
Burma especially the ethnic nationalities.

U Tin Maung Win, the main architect of amalgamating the causes of the
ethnic nationalities with those of the pro democracy groups has met with
an untimely dead and there is a dearth of leadership outside the
country. The Burmese provisional government better known as National
Coalition Government of the Union of Burma (NCGUB), label “Na Gote” meaning a
bull in Burmese, had been unable to show any substantial result for the
entire one and a half decades. It just echoes the initiatives of the
others without any innovation, incentive or vision and thus has been
fittingly named “Na Gote” because it just follows the lead of others. The
Burmese exiles have completely lost faith in them.

A thorough shake up is necessary that will in co operate the activist,
intelligentsia and young patriots both Burman and ethnic nationalities
which will be able to synchronize with those inside the country. This
is a MUST. The justification that a provisional government must be made
up of those elected members who manage to escape from the clutches of
the Junta and deliberately leave out the activist and the intelligentsia
is long gone. It should consider a more pragmatic approach instead of
working as a clique dominated by the Myanmar (Burman) tribe and those
ethnic leaders who are pro-Burman.

The whole idea of the Burmese problem in nutshell must not be lost
that there are two major problems, the pro democracy struggle and the
ethnic nationality autonomy. The very fact that “Na Gote” cannot only
organize the Karenni and the Shan into their fold but even the existing
members such as the Kachin, the Mon and other smaller groups have break
away from them and enter cease fire with the Junta reveals its impotency.
This also indicates that that the provisional government even on paper
does not represent a Pyidaungsu (Union). The situation became worst as
the years go by so much so that that the majority of the armed groups
has to form their political wing, an Ethnic Nationalities, Solidarity
and Cooperation Committee (ENSCC). But the worst of all is that the
international donors who wanted to see the Diaspora group to be strong and
united lost faith in them and began to cut down the funds.

The international community is looking at the Burmese community in
Diaspora of how Burma will govern itself once democracy is achieved.
Confrontation instead of coordination, jealousies, washing dirty linen in
public and trying to outshine each other and so on proves that we are not
fit for democracy yet and even if we manage to get democracy by somehow
with this kind of mentality we are sure to lose it again as in the days
of U Nu.

Now “Na Gote” exists only in name with their members airing some media
outlet off and on. Residing in the comforts of the Western world they
have no vision whatsoever as their intellectual and moral bankruptcy can
be compared to that of the Junta. The ousting of Sao Harn Yaungshwe, a
think tank from the “Na Gote” comes out open in the media itself reveal
that something is very, very wrong with the Burmese provisional
government. It is high time that it should be replaced by some tangible
leaders so abundant in the nationalities. We were appalled to learn that none
of the “Na Gote” members have ever contacted the members of the
Polit-Bureau of the Chinese Communist Party nor ever met the Indian leaders
and members of the Central Policy Analyst, the Indian think tank policy
makers. Thus the idea of playing in the international relations is
completely lost e.g. giving bait to India vis a vis Pakistan (that is
selling arms to the Junta) or contacting North Korea vis a vis South Korea
(whose companies are having a big business in Burma). This explicitly
means that “Na Gote” has little or no contact with the major international
players in the Burmese politics that are so influential on the Junta.
So how can it make a move?

At this crucial period when the international community is about to
take drastic actions nothing was done by “Na Gote”. We have learnt that US
President George W. Bush is eager to sign the Burmese Freedom and
Democracy Act which was passed by the Senate 94 to1 and the House of
Representatives 418 to2 margin. These measures represents a significant policy
shift for the Bush administration, which previously tried to encourage
the military to engage in a dialogue with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and
Burma's ethnic groups and now they will be pressing the Burmese case at the
UN Security Council. The American U.S. Ambassador John Negroponte had
already raised some concerns in the Council. U.N. Secretary General Kofi
Annan, himself did not rule out the possibility of UN sanctions. In
such a scenario we cannot comprehend of why the so called leaders of the
Diaspora “Na Gote” continue to look on with folded arms?

It is lamentable that “Na Gote” had concentrates only on
the Western countries and even then did not know how to lobby in the US
congress and the workings of the American policy. As far as the
European Union is concerned it can only get the support of the Nordic
countries and not much on the main countries as Germany, Italy and France whose
companies (such as TOATAL) are pumping in dollars into the Junta. In
short having a nice life in the West and moving just only in the West
while forgetting those in the peripherals of Burma will not lead us to
national liberation. A more dynamic and activists people should lead.

Winnipeg, Canada