“Young people have respect for General Aung San [but] it’s time now to implement General Aung San’s promises. Opposition to building the statue has emerged because we think the [government’s] focus should be on equal rights for ethnic minorities rather than statues.” - Kyaw Htin Aung, Union of Karenni State Youth

It is not just the military’s control over government that is problematic. The deeply centralized structure of governance and policies of Burmanization have perpetuated the lack of equal rights for ethnic nationalities, an issue that has been at the core of Myanmar’s civil war for over 70 years. The 2008 Constitution merely entrenches this.

“All the people of Rakhine State, including the Rakhine, Mro, Daignet, Hindu and Rohingya, have suffered enough,”

The dam could potentially flood an area the size of Singapore in Kachin State, displacing around 10,000 people, while effectively killing the life of the Irrawaddy River. This would put the security of the millions of people who depend on its large commercial waterways for survival at risk, not to mention the destruction of the ecosystem and habitats that depend on the existence of the river, while also destroying culture and history in the process.

The Myanmar military has a history of divide and rule, making ceasefires with some ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) while launching military attacks on other EAOs. There is a definite possibility that the motivations for the suspension of operations in the north is to prepare for a massive military operation to attempt to wipe out the AA, which is gaining legitimacy and territory throughout Rakhine State.