THIS IS BY GEOFFREY MOWBRAY 11 Dec 11
Draft of note to Colonial Office
To
The Colonial Secretary
The Right Honourable Malcolm Macdonald
Warning of proposed petition to His Majesty King George the VI by a grouping of moderate Honourable Members Of Burman Parliament and His Majesty’s subjects whom, are of moderate politics and prominent position in Burma.
Part A. Cover letter
Part B. Attachment: Briefing on people and economy of Burma
Part A.
The young nationalist (Thakin Party) led by Aung San who fled to Japan in 1940 left behind them a substantial number of supporters made up of mainly younger sections of the populace. As is the nature of the impatience of youth they only see problems and those problems they believe require bold, simplistic, dramatic and rapid solutions. The present war emergency and the military successes of the Japanese is providing these radicals with influence amongst the Burmese and spotlighting issues that the basic common every day man in the paddy field can relate to.
There are several areas of complaint each of vary type and nature.
- Economic – The average Burman is or has been indebted to the Chettyar (Indian moneylenders) who are universally hated and detested. This is because of their exceeding hard headed and sharp business practices that had led to them now controlling the majority of the delta rice lands and much of the small business of the country. This has boiled over twice into uprisings and massacres of Indians.
- Political – The extent and nature of the authority of the elected Burma Parliament and Cabinet. Of course any politician wants more power, and the Burmans ones wish for more power and total control of all the peoples and lands within the borders of Burma. Those borders that have only last year been finally agreed to by China through treaty last year. Our position is that not all the peoples and lands that are in the borders of modern Burma have been historically under the rule of past Burmese Kingdoms and His Majesty’s Government has special moral duties and responsibilities, not to mention legal and treaty obligations to the majority of the hill tribes.
In a perfect world we could forcible buy the debts of the Burmans and transfer them to a Government Bank, renegotiate the loans or even write them off, also we could also forcible buy back from the Chettyar the small holdings of farmers and business people returning them to their original owners in exchange for low interest loans. This would make us exceeding popular, correct many injustices and the existence of a village level small loan/low interest capacity would greatly increase bottom up economic development. The Indian Government solution of regulating the interest rates of the village-money lenders required regulation and the establishment of thousands of local village co-operative financial societies has run into trouble with the lack of capital available at village level. Therefore a village level loan and savings system must be underwritten by the Burma Government, and in the short term that means the British capital and the British Government.
Against this is the precedent for a future Burman government to seize the assets of British investors and companies by claiming past unfair or unjust treatment. Also the complaint of the Indian Government to the seizure of assets of Indian nationals and the simple immense size and complexity of the task and cost, running into tens of millions of pounds. If these funds cannot be raised would the United States Government look upon this as a means of helping protect the Burma Road and speeding the end of British Colonial rule in Burma?
For the Burmans it is a matter of simple logical and pride that they should govern what we have governed as they become the successor state to the British Colonial government.
For the native hill tribes, they have claims to their own independence and some even can claim they have they have their own sovereignty being only under the protection of the British Crown. Also their economic, social, political and cultural history and connection the Burma vary greatly from tribal group to tribal group and would, in the interest of justice and law require the negotiation of individual relationships to any independent Burma, and their residual connection to the British Crown. The answer may lay in a form of lose confederation with the hill tribes having if they request it a token British presence and Nepal/Gurkha style relationship to Britain. No matter what guarantees we may negotiate between the parties any unitary state created would be overwhelmingly dominated by the valley Burmese. As any guarantees from Britain would ultimately be only enforceable if Britain is prepared for the commitment of the sanction of military force for all practical purposes would be worthless without the backing India or other neighbouring states in the future Asia.
I submit that these are a rough outline of a political position, but I believe that we must get in first with a deal, waiting to only react to these issues when we are forced to, will be too late. The perception is growing, correct or not, is that world wide, the “new dynamic” powers of Germany, Italy and Japan are sweeping away the past and they represent the future of the youth. We must be seen to be both the protectors of the best of the past but also the builders of the better future. It is a delusion that the Burman is going to fight for us out of loyalty and duty, the hill tribes are enlisting as a form of insurance for our protection of them in the future, the average Burman is enlisting because of our reserve of good will built up on good government, and the rule of law. This is a very limited reserve, as the average Burman wants us out, only the timing and how they cannot agree on. The Burmans must have a stake in fighting for Burma on our side and we must give it to then, or the Japanese will surely have some impossible dreamland promises to make all sections of Burmese society happy.
All this may seem radical steeps, but I believe after extensive consultations with local old Burma “hands” on political, military, economic, etc issues that we may be sitting a power keg if the Japanese can make politically significant military progress on the ground in Burma. We desperately need to give the moderates something to offer their supporters, for they fear that they and all that they have achieved to date may be irreparably damaged by associating with us. There is no stopping the “Burma for the Burmese” movement as it has too much momentum and also as it is the policy of His Majesty’s Government to prepare Burma for Dominion Status as a self-governing independent country in the British Commonwealth it is just a matter of the meeting and merging of the two ideals. If a deal can be struck now, or at least substantial progress on one, the price will be far less than one will be later. The reward is a politically safe base for military, economic and diplomatic operations, the active support the vast majority of the population and the recruitment over the next year of 100,000 men.
I have the honour:
Sign
(Sir Reginald Dorman-Smith)
His Majesty’s Governor of Burma
