Opposition holds strategic meeting

No.08 - 2/2007
21 February 2007
Politics
 
Opposition holds strategic meeting
 
As opposition politicians and activists gather on the Thai-Burma border to revise their strategy in a three-day meeting that begins today, a number of Burma-watchers in Thailand have expressed their desire to see a unified opposition with a "realistic" program.
 
All veteran security officials agree that the opposition "doesn't have a Chinaman's chance" of presenting itself as a better alternative to the ruling military dictatorship, unless they resolve their differences and come up with a practical agenda for the regional community including China. "Nobody likes the (Burmese) junta much," said one. "But the opposition leaves us with no choice."
 
The main contention among the opposition appears to be between two groupings: National Council of the Union of Burma (NCUB) and Ethnic Nationalities Council (ENC), led by Gen Tamalabaw and Padoh Ba Thin respectively. Both are from the Karen National Union (KNU).
                                                                               ^{Harn Yawnghwe}
The problem, according to one observer, is that while both are against the ruling military council and are for a democratic federated Burma, the NCUB is following a hard line: regime change or none, with the ENC pursuing a softer line: tripartite dialogue between the military, National League for Democracy (NLD) and the ethnic nationalities.

Other differences, they say, include:
The NCUB is calling for increased sanctions against military Burma and campaigning against China, Russia and all nations that befriend the military rulers. The ENC meanwhile has welcomed international humanitarian assistance and adopting a 'constructive engagement policy' towards the said countries.

^{Maung Maung}

"The longer the struggle is against each other," one elder official warns, "the longer the people of Burma suffer. I hope they won't forget that."

The NUCB, whose members include NLD members, was formed in 1996, while the ENC, claiming to speak for all seven ethnic states, came into being in 2001. The former is backed by Maung Maung of Federation of Trade Unions of Burma (FTUB) and the latter by Harn Yawnghwe of Euro Burma Office (EBO).