no, listen: i'm firm on this. anybody arguing that myanmar should carve out an islamic state on it's border are on the wrong side of history, here. the burmese have the right to self-determination, and the right to defend their borders.

but, let's take a step back and remember how the region became the way it did, and why it became the way it did, as well.

so, this is a history lesson post...

most people know the british were in india until gandhi threw them out (i'm being facetiously simple). but, let's remember what the map of british india looked like:

british india, of which the british monarch declared itself emperor (and emperess as it may be), was not merely what we today think of as "india", but also included:

1) pakistan
2) bangladesh
3) burma (now called myanmar)
4) nepal
5) bhutan

this is a huge area, with a very large number of people in it.

even back then, the british fought conflicts in afghanistan against the russians and iranians, in an attempt to expand influence into central asia and cut off the russians from the indian ocean - which the chinese are attempting to gain access to through myanmar, today.

when the country was partitioned in 1948, it was very purposefully split into three regions, as demonstrated by the following map:

the partitions were as follows:

1) green is muslim
2) orange is hindu
3) blue is buddhist

now, there are still muslims in india and burma, it is true, but the reason it was partitioned this way was to give primacy to specific religious groups in the various areas.

so, when the country of canada walks into this space and starts undoing the partition, and trying to bully the burmese into opening up an extra space for muslims, they should rightfully be seen as an imperial agent trying to reassert the primacy of british colonialism.

an area for muslims was already cut out - it's the green area. and, if muslims in the blue area want self-determinancy, they should move to the green areas.