Soe Win as hardline junta members, opposed to Khin Nyunt’s relative tolerance of the pro-democracy movement, accused him of insubordination and corruption.11 Government agencies and commercial enterprises associated with Khin Nyunt’s faction were seized and dissolved, his supporters purged, and his power base dismantled. Besides the control of the state and business, the other ‘control’ issue is territory. The military leaders do seem to be preoccupied with the integrity of Burma’s sovereignty, not just against foreign powers but against their own diverse ethnic populations, mostly along the eastern border with Thailand.12 In one of the world’s longest running insurgencies Shan, Karen and Karenni ethnic rebel groups have for more than half a century fought for autonomy from the Burmans who dominate government and the military,13 and an estimated two million people have been expelled from their homes since the civil war began. Any thought of bringing modern telecommunications to rural areas, or of the junta opening the doors to direct foreign investment in networks, has to deal with the fact that the junta at the highest levels seems to be as much influenced by atavistic notions of Burma’s glorious past as a major regional power as by today’s economic realities. Telecommunications Strict adherence to ideology and commercial self-interest, in the guises of ‘national security’ and military-controlled state-enterprises, has confined access to telecommunications to a few. A World Bank report of 1995 notes the general lack of private access to physical infrastructure, including telecommunications, and how this skews foreign investment towards joint ventures with the state (World Bank, 1995). Apart from the inadequacies of Myanmar's physical infrastructure, private businesses have only limited access to these facilities and services compared to state enterprises and government departments. It appears to take private entrepreneurs considerably longer than state enterprises to obtain power, water and telephone connections, or to have goods cleared through the port and stored in warehouses. Apart from the advantages of incumbency enjoyed by state enterprises, the lack of formal interaction between representatives of the domestic private sector (such as the Myanmar Chamber of Commerce) and key policymakers is a contributing factor. And, the fuzziness of land ownership and use rights even in urban areas makes it difficult for private firms to acquire land and get access to public services. These relative advantages enjoyed by state enterprises in their access to infrastructure and 11 Khin Nyunt ostensibly resigned because of ‘health reasons’. Myanmar watchers saw the tension between Khin Nyunt and Than Shwe and his close deputy Maung Aye as the interplay of three different levels of ‘tension’: one, the classic tension between an intelligence czar and the regular army; two, a turf rivalry in the business deals which are an integral part of the military-run system; and three, disagreement over the approach to the NLD and ethnic rebel groups. (Straits Times, October 21, 2004) 12 According to Ye Zaw Aye, Myanmar’s consul in Hong Kong, ‘The civil war originated in Myanmar’s independence in 1948 – because of a cunning divide-and-rule conspiracy by the colonialists. Our government is patiently trying to end this “chronic” situation.’ He added that ‘Aung San Suu Kyi is not under house arrest. Our government is just taking care of her security because of the severe split in her party, the National League for Democracy.’ Letters, South China Morning Post, 19 March 2007. 13 By 2005 the Karen are the last resistance group not to have signed a permanent cease fire, but then renewed fighting broke out between the military and the Shan.