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Civil Society is that realm of organized social life that is voluntary, self generating, (largely) self supporting, autonomous from the state and bound by a legal order or a set of shared rules. In this context, citizens act collectively in a public sphere to express their interests, passions, and ideas, exchange information, achieve mutual goals, make demands on the state and hold state offices. Civil Society protects the rights of the various social, political, and economical organizations under democratic governments and helps to promote and encourage the formation of democratic institutions under authoritarian regimes. There is abundant evidence in history and contemporary societies to support our belief that Civil Society and the vigorous associational skills it fosters are the bedrock of democracy. Civil Society in the western sense has no equivalent in the Burmese lexicon. Yet there was free and voluntary associational life in Myanmar both during the colonial period and again during the brief democratic interlude, albeit centered around religion and politics. Unfortunately, four decades of authoritarian rule has wiped out all vestiges of Civil Society as it existed in the Burmese society. Regimentation and the pervasive use of a state-sponsored network of spies and informers undermined the trust and bonds of social fabric. It is our belief that promotion of the concept of Civil Society and development of associational skills among the citizenry is a sine qua non to successful democratization in Myanmar.
We believe that a strong civil society will give way to change an oligarchic system into a democratic one. Myanmar has a weak civil society and we believe that promoting civic organizations to form and practice their rights will help change the system smoothly without bloodshed.
Myanmar is now in transition to a democratic system but the old elements are still hanging onto political power. Transition from the long rooted oligarchy system to a democratic system will face many stumbling blocks. Myanmar is lacking in communication, from society to society and person to person, which has led to misunderstanding amongst individuals, war between ethnic minorities and Myanmarns and racial conflicts between Buddhists and Muslims. We believe good communication will restore peace in the country and provide a chance to understand the real problem in order to solve it collectively. The door is now opening from the top and we need to push more to open it up for the grass root people who have had no opportunity for: information technology and higher education, vocational training schools after high school, and a quality health care system. This would enable fair competition on the business sector and most of all, would re-establish Rule of Law, which is still lacking today.
Under military rule, Civil Society has diminished in Myanmar. I strongly believe that a Civil Society is crucial not only for achieving democracy in Myanmar but also to maintain it." by Htun Aung Gyaw