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Burma Out!!! Demos : The RIGHT



Subject: Burma Out!!!    Demos :  The RIGHT WING version


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1900 GMT, 990809 ­ Myanmar Rally Fizzles Out

In a follow-up to an earlier commentary, the anti-government protests
planned for Myanmar on August 8 were extremely anti-climactic [see STRATFOR
commentary]. Reports from the capital city Yangon say that a general strike
did not occur, and few people wore yellow to honor those killed in 1988.
Agence France Presse reported that the government did step up nighttime
patrols, but multiple sources confirm that there was no discernable
security increase on the day of the protest. Life seemed to be normal, as
markets were busy and people walked the streets. The largest protest took
place in Bangkok, as approximately 80 to 150 former students and Buddhist
monks protested outside the embassy of Myanmar. A smaller demonstration
took place in Malaysia as well, as an estimated 20 people protested outside
the Myanmar embassy in Kuala Lumpur. Activists blamed the poor showing on
the government, as Thet Oo, general secretary of the Burmese Students
Association, said, "Inside Burma, there?s a lot of pressure on the
opposition and the students. They cannot do much, but we must try," adding,
"I honestly don?t think there will be an uprising?"

Sunday?s non-event says a lot about the grassroots level of Myanmar
politics. We had said that the protest would be momentum-dependent, and it
looks as though that particular stone never got rolling. The strike needed
a critical mass of people, and that mass never materialized. Aung San Suu
Ky, her National League for Democracy (NLD), and the rest of the reformers
have been marginalized by the government of Myanmar and by their own
actions. The activists have blocked internal reforms whenever they could,
and have encouraged the rest of the world to isolate Myanmar, two actions
which haven?t helped their domestic popularity. The active but quite small
opposition is outside Myanmar, where it can have limited impact on anything
but global opinion. 

The average citizen in Myanmar is worried about getting a job, a roof, and
electricity. Their primary motivations are economic, not political. While
they aren?t wild about the ruling State Peace and Development Council
(SPDC), they do not particularly trust Aung San Suu Ky and her allies
either. The government has been trying to open up the country and restart
the economy, with some positive feedback from Europe and Asia, and it looks
like the majority of the people of Myanmar have decided to stand back and
see what develops. Economics should beat politics on the planned "revolt"
on September 9 as well, with most people concerned about their daily lives
rather than political issues.
 
http://www.stratfor.com/asia/commentary/c9908091900.htm
 
 
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© 1998, 1999 Stratfor, Inc. All rights reserved.
 

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film maker John Pilger,  HH the  Dalai Lama, The Free Burma 
Coalition, Dennis Skinner MP, Tony Benn MP, Congresswoman 
Maxine Waters, parliamentarians, Socialist Workers' Party, 
Dr and rugby star JPR Williams, sportspersons, Hendrix 
bassist Noel Redding, Abdullah Ibrahim, musicians,  All 
Burma Students Democratic Organisation, All Burma Students 
Democratic Front, and numerous others.  

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