To Hopeland and Back, the 24th trip
Day Nine-thirteen. Saturday-Wednesday, 17-21 December 2016
Troops, backed by jets and artillery, capture
Gideon outpost near Laiza. (AFP, 17 December)
I have breakfast with a Thai expert, who has been
holding several technical workshops with a certain union ministry.
“I
don’t know why I have been doing this,” he says. “Because they have yet to
implement the lessons they have learned. When I asked them why, they told me
they could do nothing until there was a directive from above. And there hasn’t
been any.”
It
seems I have been hearing the same story in different versions from other
people.
Starting
today, we are holding a 3-day strategic planning workshop. And as strategic
plannings go, they mostly talk about one’s weaknesses, so ways may be found to
overcome them.
Understandably,
I’m not going to dwell on them much, not only because they are distasteful, but
they also are supposed to be confidential. Except for the essentials, on a
need-to-know basis.
So
here we go:
§
The first step is
to establish the main Aim (and what is behind it).
A constitutional change in accordance with NCA Article
1.a and Article 22.d before 2020 elections
§ The second step, according to the 9 step method
outlined by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation/ Stiftung (FNS), is to establish the facts, following
by selections of strong points and weak points, both for others and yourself.
Here
are some of the interesting points that the planners come across:
1.
The powers of the
PPST chair are still unclear
2.
CT members wear
too many hats
3.
The UPDJC seems
to be depending too much on relationship orientation than principle orientation
4.
In the JMC, we
have good relations at union level but poor relations in state and local
levels, probably due to different interpretation of the NCA and the JMC ToR
During
the three days of planning, the planners also focus on the strong points and
weak points of the other side:
1.
For the Tatmadaw,
its empire building mindset is both a strong point and a weak point
2.
The same for NLD,
which despite being a party for democratization, is built upon “one blood, one
voice, one command” discipline
3.
As for the 3 levels
of legislature, ethnic parties are poorly represented. (They should try to win
the most at state level, and at least 25% at union level, remarks one. “Then,
both the military and the NLD will be forced to negotiate with them for any
change they want to make.”)
Here
are some of the interesting comments I overhear there:
§
The 2008
constitution assumes a human shape. But it still lacks the heart of a human
being. This is what we must try to implant.
§
Federalism alone
is not sufficient to roll back the role of dictatorship. We also need
democratization to do that.
§
We should also
try to make use of the present constitution to bring about change. Like,
election of Chief Ministers, General Administrative Department (GAD) to be
under state government, separate state finances, etc. Because complete change
may take time.
§
Of the 5 Ms
(Man-power, Material, Money, Management, and Morale), what we have is only the
last M.
§
On 16 December,
the State Counselor was reported to have said: Those who wield big power
should also be big-hearted. But on the contrary, those who have big power don’t
seem to have big hearts. If she really walks her talk, then there is hope
for peace.
§
On our side, we
have divided ourselves into two different camps: One is made up of risk takers
and the other sure thing operators. The result is, like Michael Jackson’s
famous moonwalk, we may be moving backward although we appear to be walking
ahead. “That’s what I call ‘losing your way on a superhighway,’” quips one, who
is the only guy in the room older than me.
§
According to one
Chinese expert, it will be a long, long way to peace. So, to be on the safe
side, the EAOs on the Chinese border who are still fighting against the
government, will have to be tolerated so long as Beijing is unconvinced about Naypyitaw’s
friendship.
Unfortunately, we don’t have time to complete the
required steps. So 9 January is named the day for the next meeting.
For me, it means I leave for home the next day. Only
this time, I’m flying to Tachilek, instead of Chiangmai, for I have a lot of
friends, both old and new, whom I haven’t met since January 2015.
Tags: Opinion
