Letter (extract) CANBERRA, 5 July 1949
PERSONAL AND CONFIDENTIAL
We gather that the British Commonwealth talks with the Burmese Government have not made very much progress and indeed seem more or less to have broken down. But we are rather in the dark as to exactly why. Nor can we judge the significance of a recent proclamation by the Karens of a separate State, and the Burmese Government’s reaction to this. I need not give you the story of our attitude on the Burma situation; you will know the background.
We have not been as consistent as we might have been-but then we seldom are. The fact remains, however, that we should keep up to date on what is happening in Burma, and I am trying to do that in case we should at any time decide to take an active interest in it again.
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[AA: A5009/2, A7/3/6, ii]