It is easy to be feel negative of one’s opponent — if he’s doing nothing, “he’s bad as I have always told you.” If he’s doing something good, “he hasn’t done enough.”

That’s what happened with the Deed of Commitment for Peace and National Reconciliation that was signed on 12 February coinciding with the 68th anniversary of the signing of the Panglong Agreement. The majority of the non-Burman ethnic leaders had declined to put their signatures alongside those of the President and the Union Assembly Speaker, among others, despite the fact that most of the points and wordings have already been negotiated and agreed by the two sides.

Its positive significance was all but overlooked:

• That it was the first time the President together with the parliamentary leaders were making their signed commitment to federalism, the word that they and their predecessors have shunned for more than 50 years
• That a timeframe had been attached, also for the first time: the long anticipated political dialogue would begin before the elections (either late October or early November)
• That all these, and others, are the fruits of their (the ethnic leaders’) own relentless proactive (used here in the same meaning as “offensive”) throughout the past 3 years

Since 2011, excepting 17 August of that year, the day when President Thein Sein made the first move by issuing invitation to all armed resistance movements to hold peace talks with his administration, the government has been on the reactive (used in the same meaning as “defensive”) politically.

Sun Tzu, the author of the classic Art of War (Sun Zi Bing Fa), would have been proud to know that even after his death 2,558 years ago, there are still adherents to his teaching.

At first you are like a maiden,
So the opponent opens the door
Then you are like a rabbit on the loose
So the opponent cannot keep you out

• In 2012, the ethnic leaders came up with their 7 point roadmap proposal
• In 2013, another compelling proposition, Comprehensive Union Peace and Ceasefire Agreement (CUPCA)
• In 2014, the one-text (single text) procedure
• And this year, the Peace Pledge Agreement (PPA) proposal which later evolved into the Deed of Commitment signed on the Union Day

In negotiations, it is not unusual that we ask for more and get less. If it is that situation for us, we have company, because the government that wants more is also getting less. Getting less than we ask for is not considered failure in negotiations, because we take what we get to ask for more. This the leaders should know better than this poor editorial writer.

Now is the time to give the President, the Parliament and maybe even the military the benefit of the doubt to see if the promised political dialogue is forthcoming. Let’s hope they are, because our ethnic leaders will keep on their proactive with no let-up.

Note : The English translation of the Deed of Commitment is, deliberately or not, misleading. The Burmese original text speaks about “preventing clashes and confrontations between the two sides” but the English version becomes “between various armed groups”. As this can only lead to unwanted misunderstandings between the two sides, it should be corrected immediately.