Unity is difficult to define, and all these years our people have been shouting "ais are not united" "We need unity" - I don't think they really know where, when and why we need to be united.

As I mentioned before, each human being is so different from the other, even amongst brothers and sisters each has his or her own personality and opinion. We should respect that individuality and freedom, but at the same time people who have the same interest, desire and values can work together to get what they want. The more people work together, the greater the success.

Therefore to me, Unity is when people who want the same things, think and feel the same way and have the same value or principles work together for a common good. The decision to do so should come from the decision and heart of the individual, talking and listening to each other's point of views.

The dictatorial armed forces are united, but their “unity" is uniformity of the mind and body. They are indoctrinated or conditioned to think the same, act the same and feel the same. They have no freedom of choice or respect for the individual.

In the case of  the Shan State, all the groups be it Pa-O, Palaung, Wa or Tai/Shan, they want peace and the rights to be free, free from fear, free from the control of the Burmese Armed forces. As citizens of the Shan State they want to have a say in how the resources are used for development and welfare of the people- They believe in equality, truth, justice and fairness. The groups have many things in common, but they have been denied them by the common foe. In order to achieve the things they want they have to unite to fight against the foe, preferably by non-violence means. This is their purpose or cause or goal.

Without achieving this the peoples of the Shan States cannot move forward. Fighting for the common cause should therefore be their priority.

Each group in the Shan State also has its own language, culture and religion, and each want their own autonomous region. As the population of the Shan State is diverse there will be issues in some areas, which can be resolved only by debate and discussion or votes. If they are to live together in peace, there will have to be understanding, tolerance and consideration for each other. But, this second process cannot take place while the Shan State is still under the control of the dictatorial regime, therefore it is important  that everybody knows that these are minor compared to the to fighting for their cause.

Now we come to the question of how can we achieve our goal? I think we must recognise that we are freedom fighters, fighting for liberty and freedom from oppression by a very strong institution of terrorists, who use terror tactics, killing indiscriminately to gain maximum impact.

Many people have fought for freedom from slavery and these freedom fighters have struck blow after blow against the institution, rallying for Black unity, freedom, rights and power. Nelson Mandela fought hard and long in his struggle against apartheid. There are many infamous freedom fighters who fought hard for their cause, but somewhere along the way were branded terrorists, like the regime does to the ethnic resistant fighters.

Freedom fighters can be politicians, religious leaders or ordinary men and women. At one time it was the top people who lead people to rebel, but now it is the voice and will of ordinary people that count. But as you know our people's knowledge of politics is so far below the rest of the world.  After being threatened for half a century to stay away from politics, they are still being psychologically infected with FEAR.

The dictators are bullies, they use political violence to intimidate, physical violence to inject fear and emotional violence to undermine. The more you show the bullies that you are frightened of them, the more they will bully you. This is seen in the behaviour of a bully even in the school play ground.

First and foremost we should encourage people to confront their fear, while at the same time make them understand that  we are freedom fighters trying to change the fabric of  society, and in order to succeed we must work together. Creating inner power within each of us will create confidence to tackle and confront the difficulties ahead of us.

The Marn (Burmese) generals are also cowards, they dare not compete with other ethnic nationalities on the same level, so they make sure they have a handicap by building a huge army. They are afraid that the ethnic nationalities will secede from Burma, leaving them stranded in the centre of nowhere. They go about the wrong way, by using force instead of trying to establish friendship.

The teaching of Buddhism and their duty and responsibility towards their Motherland can entice different groups to want to work together, although talking about Buddhism too much might alienate Christians.

It would be a good idea to have a network of people to explain and spread your political ideas and principles around the population. Although many youth organisations have sprung up, the Shan State also needs the voice and will of the ordinary to bring the dictators down. (By a necessary war? because such situation cannot go on forever) I have written what comes into my mind- I hope it makes sense.

The contributor is the daughter of the ruling prince of Lawksawk and the author of “My Vanishing World”.