Racism and Democracy in Burma

[john@xxxxxxxxxx]

On 7 Jul 1995 TMYINT@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:

> Subject: Re: Statement On 33rd Anniversary of July 7th (NLD & ABSL) 
> kkay@xxxxxxxxxxxxx (Kendrick Kay) wrote:
 
> >Don't forget the 1967 anti-Chinese riots instigated by the Burmese
> >Revolutionary Council Government. Jun 27, 1967.
 
> 	This is Burmanet. News and statements are Burma-focus materials.  If
> you want to read the pride of Chinese, go to Chinanet and post there. If you
> love too much to your fellow native Chinese, why don't you go and complain about
> Great Cultural Revolution and 1989 Tiananman Square Movements in which many of 
> your innocent fellow Chinese were brutally slaughtered by Chinese.
> 
> 	Keep in mind that not everything that BSPP and SLORC have done are
> wrong. There are certain things we ought to respect on what they have done.
         ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> 	Take care,
> 	Tun Myint 

Dear Brother Tun Myint,

I am rather surprised to hear this sort of support for the 
institutionalised racism of the Burmese fascist dictatorships coming from
you. I have always valued your posts and respected your opinions, so it 
is difficult to imagine what would cause you to take such a position.

Perhaps you have a rational reason for such a statement. If so, you had 
better put it out for all to see. If not, please limit this kind of trash 
to soc.culture.burma, or to your private e-mail. Kendrick Kay's comments 
certainly relate to Burma, so you had better make more of an effort to 
answer them rationally if you intend to maintain your public credibility.

As to the content of your comments on the Chinese: After a year of working
with student, ethnic, and political groups on the Thai border and in
Bangkok, I have come to understand to some extent why the the resistance
movement has such a difficult time uniting against such an obvious evil as
the SLORC. In part, it is because there is irrational hatred and racism
latent in all of us. If we fail to rise above our own weaknesses, the
enemy happily uses that failure to support its own position. Every time we
curse each other, we are doing the fascist's business. Please do not let 
the enemy seduce you, Brother Tun Myint.

In our situation, we have the great good fortune to have a living example
of politics based on a genuine love for all the people of Burma. So let us
please think of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, and of all the people suffering at the
hands of a regime that most certainly does not care whether anyone outside
its small circle lives or dies, before we start turning the guns on each
other. 

Otherwise, all the goodwill from all the people in all the countries of the 
world will not suffice to bring peace and freedom to Burma.

As for your comments about grammar in the posts, please note that it would
be helpful to our cause if our publications were in the clearest and most
readable English. This is not to ignore the great efforts made by Burmese
students and others to communicate in a language that is not their native
tongue. I'm sure that there are many people (myself included) who would be
happy to proofread any documents before publication. 

Lastly (since I am posting this letter to the BurmaNet), I would like to 
welcome brother Kendrick Kay to our group. I hope he will add his own unique 
perspective to the daunting task of bringing democracy and prosperity to 
all the people of Burma.

Sincerely,

John Morton

["Another Schoolteacher for Love and Truth on Planet Earth"]