"...federalism offers the best hope of creating a more stable and harmonious polity, especially in societies such as Burma that are deeply divided along ethnic lines. The architects of a new democratic Burma would do well to embrace this concept - with all its promise and all its challenges - but they need to work very hard to ensure that any future Burmese federation lives up to the high expectations of the Burmese peoples. Not only will the balance between unity and diversity have to be struck with a great deal of pragmatism, but every effort will have to be made to secure the widest possible consensus on the terms of the new federal settlement. More importantly still, no one should be left in any doubt as to the continuing price that every man, woman and child across the land would have to pay - in terms of patience, vigilance, tolerance and co-operation - to make federalism a success..."