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rebuttal to "Bright light in Burma"



my rebuttal to editorial "Bright light in Burma," Wednesday, 10 July 1996
that i suspect they won't print; at least all you good folks on burmanet
can see it, even if it is preaching to the converted...
---------------------------------------------

The Orange County Register
PO Box 11626
Santa Ana, CA 92711
USA


Dear Editor:

Your editorial ("Bright light in Burma," Wednesday, 10 July 1996) is
perhaps well-intentioned, but completely misses the mark when it comes to
an appropriate approach to dealing with Burma's ruthless military
dictatorship.

You support cutting the sanctions from Senate Bill 1511, (the "Burma
Democracy and Freedom Act"), and recommend simple condemnation.  History
has shown us that the generals are immune to even the most negative
international opinions.  Sweeping sanctions would get them where it hurts:
their wallets.

A quick look at the so-called Burmese middle class would show that the only
people profiting from international trade with the regime are the members
of the SLORC, their families and friends.  Trade gives the regime the money
(read: arms) it needs to keep the rest of the population in a perpetual
state of fear.

President-elect Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has herself called for an end to
international investment in Burma. Just as we supported Nelson Mandela with
a campaign of sanctions directly responsible for the abolition apartheid in
South Africa, so we should support the democracy movement in Burma by
passing SB 1511 intact.

Bruce Malcolm

Nagoya, Japan

bmalcolm@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx