The British press

The Times: “The first country to leave the [British] Commonwealth will assume its new status with the old friendship and goodwill between the Burmese and British peoples strengthened and not weakened, and the achievement of so fortunate an issue must be accounted among the chief successes of the present Government.”

The Times commented on the treaty granting independence to Burma: “It is an example of practical statesmanship on both sides. It can be an outstanding contribution to the political settlement in South-East Asia.”

The Daily Telegraph: “Though she is the first country to detach herself from the British Commonwealth, Burma’s future will be watched with goodwill and full sympathy.”

The Sunday Times: “When Lord Listowel [British Secretary of State for Burma, 1947-48] was recently in Burma he visited the famous Shwe Dagon Pagoda in Rangoon. On the topmost terrace of this holiest Burmese Buddhist shrine, he found prayers being publicly offered for the preservation of friendly and happy relations between an Independent Burma and Great Britain. It is in this spirit that both countries, I hope and believe, will look upon the measure of relinquishing British suzerainty over Burma which will be presented to Parliament very soon”

John Bull: “The indigenous races of Burma have made their choice and without let or hindrance they are going on their own way; the parents-child relationship is ending; a son has under the guidance of a father grown up to manhood and the relationship is changing. Changing but not ending: for Lord Listowel, Secretary of State for Burma, was told in Burma during his recent visit that the British were never respected, admired and loved by the Burmese so much as they are to-day.”

The Manchester Guardian: “The [Independence] Treaty represents a fair balancing of the interests of the two parties. Such complete and final transfer of power would clearly have been impossible had not Thakin Nu [Burma’s first prime minister] and his Government succeeded in uniting Burma and placing themselves in a position in which they could unquestionably speak for their whole country.”

The New Statesman and Nations: “Burma now reassumes her nationhood without a struggle; with minimum bitterness and a maximum of confidence and trust on both sides. It is a new epoch and a welcome one.”

US press:

The New York Herald Tribune: “The British are showing the same flexibility in dismantling their empire that they did in assembling it. The latest evidence on this point is to be found in the Anglo-Burmese Treaty now made public, and in the Bill to create a Republic of Burma introduced in the [British] House of Commons. Burma is to become independent, not ever remaining in the British Commonwealth of Nations as a dominion. Lord Listowel, British Secretary of State for Burma, has reason to be proud of the outcome of the negotiations. So has Burma’s Premier, Thakin Nu. These two men and their associates have demonstrated their adroit and devising methods of mutual assistance under most difficult circumstances.

News and Observer: “Though it has been often forgotten and sometimes trampled upon, the Atlantic Charter is not wholly a dead letter. Its first fruits were when the United States gave independence to the Philippines. That act, inherent in the Atlantic Charter, was promised by Roosevelt to go into effect at the end of World War II and President Truman carried out the pledge. Later, the Labor Government in Britain followed suit and granted independence to millions in India. And now the Labor Government in Britain, in the spirit of the Atlantic Charter, has agreed to transfer power over Burma which will make that country a completely independent country. These are the first fruits of the people of self-government for all peoples that Franklin Roosevelt placed in the Atlantic Charter. The day is not far distant when all countries now held in bondage will enjoy the right of self-government. All mandates and colonies are on the way out.”

The Dallas (Texas) Morning News: “The Burmese people have a high rate of literacy, her farm land is unusually fertile, the country is not over-populated, and her minority problems are not serious. Though not all of the people are Burmese or Buddhists, no racial or religious antagonism is as bitter as that between Hindus and Moslems in India. Normal exports of rice, petroleum, teakwood and precious stones can pay for much of the equipment Burma needs for industrial development.”

The New York Times: “Burma, last of the Asiatic nations to be swept by force into the British Imperial domain, now becomes the first to withdraw peacefully from the British Commonwealth.”

The Baltimore Sun: “Britain’s action in setting Burma free was the second time it had recognized the complete independence of part of the empire. The first and only previous time was when a treaty [granting US independence] was signed in Paris on September 3, 1783, by Hartley for Britain and the Americans John Adams and Benjamin Franklin. But American independence was won by force of arms, whereas this transfer of sovereignty, as Prime Minister Attlee pointed out, is unprecedented because it has not resulted from the exercises of the threat of force.”

French press

Le Monde: “We do not doubt that those events will have considerable repercussions in South-East Asia. Britain, with her experience of dominion relations, has learned to prefer practical adjustments to systematic construction. She creates elastic ties, frequently purely moral, rather than rigid links.

To exchange her former domination for the goodwill of her former subjects, to avoid a clash with native nationalism while offering economic, technical and even military aid—that is British policy in East Asia.”

Burmese press

The New Light of Burma: When the India Bill was presented to Parliament, it met with no obstruction and Mr Winston Churchill and his Conservatives allowed it to be rushed into an Act without as much as a murmur of dissent. It is however, a matter of surprise that Churchill and his party threw their whole weight into the attempt to stay and stop the passing of the Burma Independence Bill. Conservative dislike for the Treaty should convince the Burmese people that the Treaty is not to the taste of the British commercial magnates whom the Conservatives represent in Parliament.”

The Economic Daily: The Treaty does not create rigid rules. It is flexible, changeable, and if required, revocable. There are ways and means of working it. It is not the letter of the Treaty, but the spirit that counts, and it is for the Burmese people to go to work, and by working discover the true spirit of the Treaty.

Progress: Taken as a whole, the Burma-British Treaty is one worthy of acceptance by the country. Clause III of the Defence Agreement is very satisfactory. The rights of entry given to British ships to Burmese ports refer only to peace-time conditions and this is in accordance with international practice.

Oway: If Articles VII and VIII were deleted, the Treaty would be one worthy of full support. There is, however, time enough to amend those articles.

Hanthawaddy: A small state cannot afford but seek the protection of a patron state and through the Treaty we have obtained much without fighting. If the leaders and the people were to work in unity and concord, further advances can be made. After all, treaties can be amended.

People’s Forum: Burma is strong, united and determined. Were Burma to secure freedom by armed force, she is in a position to do so. That is one of the reasons why she has been granted freedom.

The Communist Daily: The Treaty will not bring any change in the present conditions of the Burmese. They will remain where they were, half-starved, unemployed, afflicted with disease, landless and homeless. The scourge of being a “colony” will persist.

New Times of Burma: The Treaty shows a spirit of moderation deserving of credit. It is a crystallization of friendship and goodwill, an eager desire to give help to the other party, a determination to keep peace and do things in the constitutional form instead of by the way of violence.

Burma: As a really independent country, Burma will be legally free to follow any economic policy she likes. She will be at liberty according to her own constitution, to adopt any political attitude towards the other world. In all her foreign relations, she will have only her strength to consider and consult. The main task before her is to build her own strength.