BROWN AGANIST THE PURPLE INTERVIEW,

[uneoo@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

POSTED: 6:15AM 17-DEC-98

DEMOCRACY TRIBE? BROWN AGAINST THE PURPLE INTERVIEW.
---------------------------------------------
Some remark re: South African movement was made by DASSK in an
interview, that
was reported by CFOB newslettter "Burma Link" in August 1998. Could
anybody
being able to find that interview, please post to the net.--Regards, U
Ne Oo.
--------------------
"THE BROWN AGANIST THE PURPLE"
(from Burma Link, Aug 1998 by CFOB)

In a recent interview, DAw Suu Kyi was asked how broad mobilization
regarding
the situation in South Africa could be translated to Burma. Her answer
was "It
(Burma) is not a matter of black and white. It is a pity. I've always
thought
that all of us who are for democracy should turn into a different
colour. We
should all turn purple, so it could be the brown against the purple".

---------------

Mikio Oishi wrote:

> Dear friends,
>
> Currently, two national authorities exist in Burma, and this is a great
> step forward to achieve the transfer of the political power from the
> military junta to the democratically elected government. Of course, one of
> the great challenges for the government of the Burmese people is to win as
> wide an international recognition as possible.
>
> However, I am also interested to know what is going on at the local level
> in Burma. In a number of Asian countries, democratisation has been
> sustained and supported by the momentum coming from the parallel process at
> the local level. This has been the case in Japan (as a Japanese, I don't
> think that Japan has been a genuine democracy so far), where a successful
> democratic change at the municipal level has just begun to spill over into
> the national level. The same pattern may be observed in China, where the
> on-going economic democratisation and increasing participation by the
> people in the local political decision-making may pioneer the national
> level political democracy. Perhaps, the most relevant to Burma is the
> experience of South Africa. Well before the democratic forces took over the
> power from the apartheid regime, there had been a "war of position" at the
> local level. Activists and trade unionists set up the alternative centres
> of authority in black townships, which acted as de facto local governments
> providing necessary services to the local people, and thus gradually
> sidelined and undermined the officially appointed ones.
>
> I am wondering whether similar things are taking place in Burma. If we
> consider the current economic situation in the country, particularly in the
> rural area, I think the potential of alternative authorities to local
> military councils is enormous. I feel if the democracy movement in Burma is
> to be sustainable, it should be supported by a parallel process at the
> local level as well as by the international community. The situation may be
> more difficult in Burma under the SPDC/SLORC than the apartheid South
> Africa: the former is much more totalitarian than the latter was. They
> allow almost no space for independent activities by the local people. But
> human beings can be creative.
>
> Could any of you give me any information (or relevant websites, etc..
> from where I can get the information) about initiatives by the local
> Burmese people?
>
> Thank you.
>
> Mikio Oishi, in Kuching, Malaysia



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