Federalism should not be treated as the theory of separatism, rather it can nurture more unity and patriotism among the Burmese- this is how a former Burmese General commented.
A lawmaker in Burma Parliament, former Lt Gen U Shwe Man made this comment while addressing the members of Union Solidarity Development Party (USDP) recently. Presently the Speaker of Burma Parliament U Shwe Man attended the three-day convention of his party that concluded on June 24.
The BBC (Burmese service) aired the news during the evening program on June 24 after interviewing an USDP member named U Hla Shwe. Quoting the politician, the report revealed that U Shwe Man argued that a federal system can help the Prime Ministers from States and Divisions of Burma to perform their duties more effectively.
If one goes with some high placed sources in Naypyidaw, Burma is considering to adopt a federal system to resolve the conflicts with various ethnic armed groups.
The concept of federalism has been nurtured by many ethnic minority dominated insurgent outfits and their political wings. They always cite the 1947 Panglong Agreement where General Aung San, Burma’s independence hero, pledged for a federal system to allocate more power to the larger ethnic groups of the country.
The three-day USDP convention also elected U Shwe Man as the president of the party, which was earlier occupied by Thein Sein, the present President of Burma.
