Dr. Sgeal & SLORC's Myanmar

[tmyint@xxxxxxxxxxx]

	I have rested quite a long time having debates and making 
	reasoning in Burmanet and soc.culture.burma. The reason is
	I am busy with my studies and some social activities.
	This time, Dr. Segal's article "Why Myanmar?" posted in 
	soc.culture.burma by a SLORCist invited me to give some reasoning
	why Dr. Segal has written such a self-corrupted article for 
	neo-facist SLORC. Dr. Segal argues that U.S should exploit from
	Myanmar's current situation. Otherwise U.S will be way behind 
	Japan, Singapore, and other Myanmar's neighbouring countries, 
	which are what he describes "quitely" doing business with SLORC of
	Myanmar. 
 
 
	First, let me prelude with request to readers. If you know how 
	this article could reach to Dr. Segal, I would like to request you
	to go ahead and forward to him. I would appreciate if you do that.
	
	If the article "Why Myanmar?" is directly written by a SLORC's 
	assigned spy or informer or internet guerrilla, I will not take
	this much time to reply the article. Mr. Segal is a a scholar and 
	is grown in country like America where human reasoning and human
	dignity are highly valued. I am surprised to see such scholar and 
	professional gentle man has sympathy toward the dictatorship like 
	SLORC of Myanmar. In his assumption and analysis, the victims of 
	neo-facist dictatorship Gen. Ne Win's army have been put aside and
	considered to value what SLORC (Ne Win Army) has done some part of 
	what he called "development" in Myanmar during last three years.
	Dr. Segal failed to consult with his own education that he had
	earned from high institutions in US and therefore, he failed to value 
	the victims' investment for democracy and justice in Burma.
 
	I am sure, Dr. Segal knows how peaceful demonstrators calling for 
	peaceful political transition in 1988 were fired by G-3 rifles of
	Gen Ne Win's army. I am sure Dr. Segal has knowledge of knowing how
	SLORC has been using varieties of tactics to continue holding power
	without transferring elected representatives of 1990. I am sure 
	Dr. Segal has enough education to judge what the democracy and
	justice mean. I am sure Dr. Segal has sufficient I.Q to bear wisdom
	whether making business with neo-facist SLORC is ethical.  However, 
	Dr. Segal failed to consult with all of his own ability and
	education to justify whether making business with SLORC will help
	44 million of people or a few of SLORC generals. By the way,
	neo-facist SLORC is not the whole Burma Army but very few generals
	who have absolute power to control the Burma Army and use as a
	tool to protect their power in Burma's politics. No doubt there
	are truly patriotic generals and enlightened soldiers who love
	Burma to develop for the people of Burma and to protect the national 
	independence.  Now is time for these generals and soldiers to
	clear cut their position in Burma as a patriotic soldiers who
	entered Burma army to serve for the people. These soldiers should
	be aware of modern economic war going on in open market field
	promoted by such unethical businessman like Dr. Segal who see a place 
	like Burma as an open field to exploit for the benefit of their
	own, without caring how local citizens of Burma are suffering from 
	relocation projects, forced labor, porters, and oppression of
	freedom of expression under SLORC's generals.
	
	Burma under SLORC, in this modern economic war, is going to be
	defeated by neighbouring cash-hungry countries and companies like 
	Dr. Segal's which completely know the whole situation of country and
	try to take the benefit of this situation. If we, Burmese citizens, 
	loose in this economic war, we are going to be enslaved by unethical 
	capitalism which worship money rather than religion of human 
	dignity. Being in modern form of slave under unethical capitalist,
	the citizens of Burma will become waged workers, secretaries of
	opportunistic capitalists, and finally people lives will be drawned 
	under modern credit unions. The best example could be found in our 
	immediate neighbour Thailand. This is not the goal that the
	generation of 1974 and generation of 1988 are struggling for
	democracy and basic rights in Burma. However, this kind of
	situation is going to be happened in SLORC's Myanmar as I have
	read an article in a prominent magazine. (I omited the name of
	magazine because the magazine is facing serious warning from SLORC).  
	The article was about a Shan lady from Lashio with IFL (Institute
	of Foreign Language, Rangoon University) certificate in Japanese
	went to Rangoon to apply for a job at a joint-venture company. She
	met with the author of article at the Airport on the way to her
	home town Lashio. The author asked the Shan lady what she was
	doing in Rangoon. She explained that she came to Rangoon to look
	for a job to support her family and a younger brother who was
	studying at Lashio College.  The author continued to ask what kind of 
	job she was doing. She explained that she refused to accept the
	job and decided to go back to Larsho. The author wondered why. So he 
	continued to ask "because they pay you not well?" "No", the lady
	replied "I just had interview with the company manager and he
	didn't ask me anything about my qualifications or my educational 
	background, but he looked around my body and decided to pay me
	8000 kyat per month." The lady continued "as a secretary, I have to
	follow wherever he goes and must stay together with him all along
	his business trip." With her angry face, she continued "I have my
	own education and I cannot do that kind of job" and "he is a foreign 
	businessman," the lady said. (a translation from Burmese).
 
	Gentlemen, the patriotic generals and soldiers, your country
	Myanmar is what Bo Gyoke Aung San had warned it could become "Phar
	Naing Ngan" (country of prostitutes) if we don't unite and work
	hard to develop Union of Burma. This trend is more likely to
	become under SLORC's economic open door policies, which is different 
	from Deng Xiao Peng's open door policy for greater China.  People
	like Dr. Segal know all of these, but as far as these problems are not 
	directly theirs, they are not going to care whatever happen to
	Burma. It will be logically wrong to say they are wrong because as a 
	truck driver at the picketting at PepsiCo last Friday Oct. 27 in 
	Bloomington, Indiana said "it is their (Burmese) problem, they
	kill themselves."  No doubt Dr. Segal idea is the same as truck
	driver's idea because Dr. Segal said "Japan, Singapore, and other 
	neighbouring countries are quitely doing business with Myanmar,
	why not U.S." 
 
	I am, at this point, thinking why U.S become a world respected 
	democratic and justice state. It is not because how much money US has 
	or how US is rich, but because how U.S has tolerance toward the
	search of justice and human dignity. Citizens like Dr. Segal is going to 
	destroy U.S's reputation.
 
	Dr. Segal might have some rational reasons like Samuel Huntington who 
	wrote "Political Orders in Changing Societies" and "Third Wave." 
	I have sympathy with Huntington for his time and condition of the
	world to promote such an idea that the "effective" authoritarian
	government is needed at the political transition in societies. It was in 
	unstable time. And now is the time of shaping enlightment for
	better humanity and reasonable justice under common sense.  Governing a 
	country with absolute oppression is unacceptable and it is the
	enemy of social justice in modern world.  It is a wrong message for 
	future's history books that will certainly be applied as text
	books in the class room of Dr. Segal's grandchildren and our children.  
	It is evidence that the baby boom generation of WWI & WWII learned
	war is the solution for self-justice and therefore, revolutions in
	USSR, China, and Eastern Europe had experienced nasty, brutish, and 
	killings each others. Nowadays shouldn't have any space for such
	kind of activities that degrade "natural given" or "God given" 
	humanity.  However, Dr. Segal seems not to care the time for the
	future of our children, but just to care the time of his survival. 
	It is narrow minded and it will help nothing to develop better
	humanity. Therefore, he dare do promote to do business with SLORC
	which is committing nasty, brutish, and killings that could even 
	combined WWI & WWII's atrocities. Dr. Segal and SLORC are associated
	to develop Myanmar but not Burma.

	Tun Myint.