 Current military leadership has successfully dealt with 17 major insurgent groups, whose 'return to legal fold' in the past decade has remarkably decreased the internal threats to state security, at least for the short and medium terms, even though threat perception of the possibility of external linkage to internal problems, perceived as being motivated by the continuing human rights violations, religious suppression and ethnic cleansing, remains high.Within the policy, the role of the Tatmadaw was defined as a `modern, strong and highly capable fighting force'.Since the day of independence, the Tatmadaw has been involved in restoring and maintaining internal security and suppressing insurgency.