A/HRC/43/18 governments to materialize the vision of Panglong has remained a key source of ethnic grievance, and remains the main challenge to the current peace process. Military rule and “Burmanization” b. 10. Following the military coup in 1962, ethno-nationalist ideology became a mainstay of military rule. Although never formally declared a state policy, this has been widely perceived as a process of “Burmanization” of the State and society, which implied purging all forms of foreign influence and galvanizing national unity through promotion of the Burman language and culture and the Buddhist religion, while suppressing ethnic identities and aspirations, including for federalism, portraying them as threats to national stability and unity8. 11. Under the socialist policies of General Ne Win, steps were taken to curb foreign influence in the national economy such as the 1963 Enterprise Nationalization Law, and over time there was an exodus of approximately 500,000 to 800,000 ethnic Chinese and Indians9. The education system and State institutions, including the State-owned media, were used to promote a unitary national identity based on Burman culture and history, with Burmese as a “unifying” language10 and Buddhism as the dominant religion. This trend was also manifest in the renaming of cities, streets, geographical landmarks from indigenous to Burmese11; curriculum and textbooks that taught history only through a Burman lens 12; construction of museums to institutionalize “Myanmar national culture” 13; outlawing or terminating instruction in many ethnic languages14 beyond fourth grade in education, placing non-native speakers of Burmese at an educational disadvantage15; and exclusion of ethnic minorities from senior levels in the military and the Government16. Restrictions on non-Buddhist religious groups were strictly enforced, including on educational activities, meetings, and importation and local publication of the Bible, Qur’an and other Christian and Islamic texts. Permissions were frequently denied for building or reconstructing Crosses and churches, which were often targeted and destroyed by the military in conflict areas. Some restrictions on religious activities and publications by non-Buddhists and on use of ethnic languages have been relaxed since 2011, but many legacies of these policies unfortunately remain.. c. Armed conflicts, displacement and poverty 12. While the successive military governments suppressed and restricted democratic rights and freedoms for all people in the country, the ethnic/religious minorities bore the brunt of some of the worst human rights violations, especially in the context of “counterinsurgency” whereby the military targeted civilians through its “four cuts” strategy 17. The protracted conflicts with ethnic armed groups has allowed the military – in the absence of any external threat – to legitimize its own central and outsized role in politics for over half a century. They also provided a context for the commission of grave human rights violations against ethnic and religious minorities by the military and, to a lesser extent, ethnic armed organizations. Such violations have included extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrest and detention, torture and forced labour. The use of sexual and gender-based violence by the 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies 2010, quoted in Walton, 2012. Holmes, R. “Burmese Domestic Policy: Politics of Burmanization”, 1967. South, A. & Lall, M., “Language, Education and the Peace Process in Myanmar”, 2016. South, A., “Karen Nationalist Communities: the ‘Problem’ of diversity”, 2007. South, A. & Lall, M., 2016, op.cit. Gravers, M. (ed.), “Exploring ethnic diversity in Burma”, 2007. Walton, 2012. Ibid. Smith, M., Minority Rights Group, “Burma (Myanmar): The Time for Change”, 2002. “Four Cuts” counter-insurgency policy was initiated in 1960s and still reportedly implemented, through “clearance operations” in which civilians are killed, entire villages are destroyed and resulting in mass displacement. See para. 76, A/HRC/39/64. 5