A new frontier problem has developed since 1949: a transnational zone in Thailand of exiled persons from several ethnic groups, a major estimated 120,000) being Karen, and groups living in Western countries supporting the various opposition organizations. Bangladesh till hosts some 200,000 Muslim Rohingya refugees, some of whom may be recruited by international Muslim organizations and terrorist groups This transnational zone is a political space it is very much influenced by the ethnic spatiality inside Burma, yet it is very different and contains othe identities. As well as this fragmented space there are those who are neither inside nor outside: the estimated one million internally displaced persons These populations, inside and outside Burma, also contain a generational gap in experience between those who left before and after 1988, as well as differences in education, religious orientation and in relative suffering. These differences will inevitably influence their views and the struggle for representation. This problem has to be addressed openly in debates in order to be reconciled. New subjectivities have developed inside Burma within ethnic groups and between neighbouring groups. However, we cannot expect that the ethnic organizations always endorse such variations in experience and opinion. The new Panglong initiative is well aware of these problems and can definitely contribute to their reconciliation. On the other hand, if ethnicity is still promoted as the determining political principle of the various national states in the federation, it will be necessary but difficult to secure minority representation within the states as well as to prevent new ethnically inspired rebellions. s Moreover, although the NLD has endorsed tripartite negotiations, we are still waiting for more concrete proposals on how Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the Burman part of NLD envisage a federal constitution. Finally, the military has always justified its rule by claiming an identity of primary guardians of a unitary state and will probably not even discuss federalism. The basis for a dialogue however is flexibility and willingness to discuss all proposals with all parties involved;