The idea of a federal future for Myanmar upon the success of the revolution is gaining more traction. Long advocated for by ethnic groups as a durable solution to the problems of the Myanmar nation-state and military rule, the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH) has produced a federal charter and announced the abolishment of the military-drafted 2008 Constitution. Meanwhile, more ethnic armed organizations, general strike committees and civil society organizations are collaborating with the CRPH and offering their support to the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM).

The problems with the 2008 Constitution are well documented and images of demonstrators burning copies on the streets after the CRPH announced its abolishment are most welcome. Drafted by the Myanmar military and promulgated after a sham referendum, it centralizes political power, ensures that the military holds three of the most important ministries – Border Affairs, Home Affairs, and Defense – and that serving military personnel are allocated 25% Parliamentary seats. The 25% designation in Parliament was an effective veto for constitutional change, which necessitated a vote of over 75% in Parliament. While the Daw Aung San Suu Kyi-led National League for Democracy (NLD) party opted to work largely within the confines of this Constitution, ethnic groups, including ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) and civil society have consistently referred to the Constitution as a stumbling block for any meaningful reforms towards the establishment of a federal democracy.

With the announcement of a federal charter by the CRPH, which represents 76% of the MPs elected in the 2020 elections that the military is attempting to override with its February 1^st coup, and the declaration that the 2008 Constitution is null and void, there is hope for a more inclusive future. Rather than a return to a status quo of Bamar elite-led politics, however, in which a merry dance between the NLD and the military waltzed the country through genocide, a failed peace process and marginalization of religious and ethnic minorities, there is momentum for new system of governance that is not only based on federalism and ethnic equality, but one that recognizes Rohingya as a part of a Myanmar nation, embraces inclusivity, and protects the rights of all peoples. While the CRPH-led Federal Charter is a positive first step, a future Federal Constitution must follow a step-by-step process, co-led by ethnic political and civil society actors, and be inclusive of all peoples of Myanmar at all steps of the process, including a provisional constitution, to be agreed upon by a convention with all relevant stakeholders, before forming a national government, in order to address the root causes of the conflict and military rule.

An alliance between the Nobel-Peace prize nominated CDM and ethnic groups will be key to the success of the revolution. In fact, one of the key actors of the resistance, the General Strike Committee – Nationalities has urged EAOs to protect unarmed civilians, while several EAOs, including the Karen National Union (KNU), the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) and the Three Brotherhood Alliance, which comprises the Arakan Army, Ta’ang National Liberation Army and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, and the Peace Process Steering Team which includes signatories to the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement, have condemned the military regime and vowed to work against the junta. The military junta knows the dangers of a multi-ethnic alliance that also includes the CDM resistance currently on the streets of towns and cities across Myanmar, and has launched brutal military offensives in ethnic areas, aiming to stymie any efforts by EAOs to seize this moment while continuing its nationwide violent attack against civilians in urban and rural areas across the country. Last month it launched airstrikes against KIA positions, while in KNU areas, northern Karen State, airstrikes have been continuously launched since March 27, displacing 20,000 people internally and causing several thousand to attempt to cross the border with Thailand. Dozens of Karen villagers have died as a result, including children.

The KNU has always been one of the most politically important EAOs, and has been providing support and sanctuary for members of the CDM, political entities, civil society actors and activists, not hesitating to provide shelter and humanitarian aid. Not only should Thailand allow refugees to cross over from Karen territory, but also allow international humanitarian organizations and local service providers to work without restriction. International humanitarian organizations must provide aid to these groups, including the provision of cross-border aid which diminished in recent years amid the false promises of Myanmar’s ‘democratic’ transition. Local CBOs and political actors in ethnic areas already have their resources stretched as they resist the Myanmar military and help those displaced from the brutal airstrikes, as well as continue their support to existing IDP camps and populations in need due to decades of Myanmar military brutality. They cannot keep relying on individual donations, and as the international community remains paralyzed in terms of concerted action, cross-border humanitarian support is a concrete way to help the victims of the military junta’s awful violence.

The Myanmar military is only scaling up its violence in order to take complete control of the whole country, fearing the unprecedented unity of opposition to military rule. The violent dispersal of protests, the continuation of arbitrary arrests and the use of lethal force, demonstrates that the military has no intention of backing down, while the latest internet restrictions are further blocking information coming out of the country, (the self-serving, egotistical CNN trip aside). Cooperation between ethnic actors, the CDM and the General Strike Committees, supported by the efforts of campaigners and advocates from outside Myanmar and around the world, including efforts to impose targeted sanctions, will bring down the military regime. It will force them to fight on multiple fronts, all the while delegitimize them. This cooperation also provides an opportunity to rewrite Myanmar’s history, and constitute a nation that is organized around equality, justice and accountability, devolved power, and inclusive of the country’s myriad ethnic and religious groups. A federal future awaits.

Progressive Voice

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