Translated and edited from U Aung Tin’s post.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As Myanmar edges toward another controversial election, a destructive mindset is resurfacing: the belief that anyone with a different strategy is an enemy. This zero-sum attitude, deeply rooted in the national psyche, risks turning opposition groups against one another\u2014ultimately strengthening the very dictatorship they all claim to resist.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n For decades, Myanmar society has been plagued by a toxic mentality: \u201cIf you win, I lose. If you are not like me, you are my enemy.\u201d<\/em> This narrow view, ingrained across all communities, has fueled divisions at every level of politics and society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The tragedy is that even among those who oppose military rule, this same pattern repeats. Different tactics or approaches are not tolerated; instead, rivals accuse each other of being \u201cworse than the junta\u201d and vow to eliminate one another first. Such behavior persists, visible and corrosive, to this very day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n History itself offers lessons. Even brothers from the same family\u2014or leaders such as General Khin Nyunt and Dr. Than Nyein\u2014did not share identical visions. Yet today\u2019s opposition forces still cling to a rigid \u201cYou\u2019re with us or against us\u201d<\/em> stance that narrows political imagination. <\/p>\n\n\n\n As the next election approaches, these fractures are widening. Among the Karen, mutual threats and recriminations are growing louder. Soon, similar patterns are likely to emerge among the Kachin, Chin, Rakhine, Shan, Mon, and Karenni. If left unchecked, the people will end up fighting, killing, and destroying one another\u2014doing the junta\u2019s dirty work on its behalf.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The alternative is not na\u00efve unity but Strategic Political Division against Dictatorship<\/strong>\u2014a mature approach where differences in tactics are managed wisely, and competing groups recognize that their real enemy is the military regime, not one another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Otherwise, Myanmar risks repeating the proverb of the fighting cocks: weakening each other until both sides become a feast for the dictatorship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To resist tyranny, Myanmar\u2019s diverse opposition must break free from the destructive cycle of \u201cdifferent from me, my enemy.\u201d<\/em> Only by embracing strategic maturity can the people turn division into strength\u2014and deny the military the victory it cannot win on its own.<\/p>\n\n\n\nClosing Call:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n