February 14, 2010: One reason the dictatorship has lasted so long has been the battle with the ethnic minorities in the north. Even before the generals took over half a century ago, the country was split on how the north should be governed. The tribal minorities, that make up a third of the population, and occupy the northern two-thirds of the country, were never part of Burma before the country was formed in 1947. Britain, which had formerly administered the tribal territories separately, allowed the majority Burmese and the tribals to form a "Union of Burma", on the Burmese promise that the tribals would have autonomy. The Burmese reneged, and the fighting has been going on every since. The Burmese have more people, money, technology, weapons and unity, but not enough to crush tribal resistance. It's a forever war.