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BurmaNet News: February 17, 2000
- Subject: BurmaNet News: February 17, 2000
- From: strider@xxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 17 Feb 2000 05:34:00
=========== The BurmaNet News ===========
Thursday, February 17, 2000
Issue # 1464
=========================================
NOTED IN PASSING: "I think in some ways the people of Burma are more
ready for democracy now, a lot more ready now, than the people of Japan
were ready for democracy in 1945, because in Japan there was never a
struggle or movement for democracy. Democracy was simply handed to them
on a plate as part of the arrangements after the war."
Aung San Suu Kyi (See IHT: 'START WITH UNITY,' DEMOCRACY LEADER URGES
BURMA)
=========
Headlines
=========
Inside Burma--
IHT: 'START WITH UNITY,' DEMOCRACY LEADER URGES BURMA
BURMANET: MORE ON ASSK INTERVIEW
DVB: NORTH KOREANS ARRESTED FOR ILLEGAL ENTRY
International--
AFP: WORLD BANK TO CONTINUE TALKS WITH MYANMAR, BUT RULES OUT LOANS
LOS ANGELES TIMES: LAWYERS FOR U.S. SEEK END TO MYANMAR BOYCOTT
THE WEEK MAGAZINE (India): KIM DAVY IN KENYA? [KACHINS BUYING WEAPONS?]
Opinion/Editorial--
THE IRRAWADDY: TRIAL BY EXILE
Other--
ANNC: NEW BOOK ON BURMA OUT
=========================================
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
BURMANET: BURMA TODAY IN BRIEF--February 15, 2000
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
INSIDE BURMA
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
IHT: 'Start With Unity,' Democracy Leader Urges Burma
International Herald Tribune
Paris, Thursday, February 17, 2000
Q & A /Daw Aung San Suu Kyi
By Bernard Krisher International Herald Tribune
At the National League for Democracy headquarters in Rangoon, Daw Aung
San Suu Kyi, the Burmese opposition leader and 1991 Nobel Peace Prize
winner, spoke with Bernard Krisher, publisher of Cambodia Daily, last
weekend after she addressed about 300 party members at the party's Union
Day anniversary celebration.
Q. What was the main message that you conveyed today, and what
additional things would you like to say to your people?
A. In commemorating Union Day, I talked about the fact that unity cannot
be built without mutual trust and understanding, and that there is no
hope for peace or prosperity unless there is unity. So you have to start
with unity of a nation; that is the main message of Union Day itself.
Q. How would you gauge the level of your support today inside Burma?
A. I would not like to think of it in terms of my support as such. I
think we should think of it in terms of how strong the forces of
democracy are. I think I could say with great confidence that 90 percent
of the people of Burma want democracy.
Of course, of those who want democracy, those who really dare to go out
and fight for it politically are in the minority because there is so
much oppression by the military government and there is tremendous fear.
But we have a very strong group of people at the core, as you could see
today at the meeting.
Since about the autumn of 1998, when we founded the Committee of the
People's Parliament, it has been very difficult for us to hold any of
our commemorative ceremonies. Usually these ceremonies are an
opportunity for us to deliver political messages and to demonstrate our
unity, but from the beginning in September 1998 of the Committee of the
People's Parliament and throughout 1999 the authorities tried to
intercept every one of our ceremonies.
For example, last year you would not have been allowed in. They had
roadblocks in front of our headquarters and they prevented all
foreigners from coming. And they prevented certain representatives from
other political parties from coming. Diplomats were also prevented from
coming. Even members of our party had to produce their national
registration cards and were asked to prove they were members of our
party.
Huge roadblocks kept our people away. This went on through all of last
year. But still our people kept coming, and I think partly perhaps as a
result of such perseverance among our members, the authorities have
decided that there is not much to be gained by continuing this kind of
policy. Last month, when we had our independence day ceremonies, they
allowed in diplomats and foreigners and they did not use roadblocks.
-
Q. Some people argue that not all countries are ready for democracy.
What is your argument to support your contention that the Burmese people
are ready to live under a democracy.
A. If you want to put it that way, then you can say that in a sense a
democracy is never perfect; even in the United States of America
democracy is not perfect. We could also argue that the Japanese were not
ready for democracy in 1945, but they were given democracy and they have
worked and lived with democracy.
Sometimes - and this may be an arguable point - I think in some ways the
people of Burma are more ready for democracy now, a lot more ready now,
than the people of Japan were ready for democracy in 1945, because in
Japan there was never a struggle or movement for democracy. Democracy
was simply handed to them on a plate as part of the arrangements after
the war.
Now with regard to Burma, apart from the fact that Burma spent quite
some time under British colonial administration, which did structure
some forms of democracy, we became independent as a democratic nation,
as a parliamentary democracy.
So we have had experience of democracy in practice, and apart from that,
even if we leave aside the long years under Burma's Socialist Program
Party - when the desire of the people for a more open society, for a
return to democratic institutions was never crushed - we have now been
struggling for democracy actively for the last 12 years.
Q. What is your feeling about Japanese policy toward Burma?
A. We find that a lot of people in Japan who are very sympathetic to us
and to our cause, if they get to know about it. There are very, very
supportive groups of Japanese people and organizations. But there is not
enough information about what is going on in Burma.
Q. What about the Japanese government?
A. The government is quite often influenced by business considerations.
But it is not that alone. I am inclined to think there is a tradition
among Japanese governments, whichever government they may be, to try to
establish good relations with whoever is in power in whichever nation. .
And perhaps that, as much as - and perhaps even much more than - the
influence of the Japanese business lobby would incline the Japanese
government toward trying to establish good relations with the military
regime.
Q. Do you think that investments in Burma might be jeopardized if
democracy came to Burma? Would a new democratic regime continue to honor
such investment agreements?
A. We are not against business at all. This is the mistake a lot of
people make. They think the National League for Democracy and the
democratic forces in general are anti-business. We are not
anti-business. We are for a free-market economy. It is part of our party
platform. But now we don't have a genuine market economy. It isn't a
free-market economy at all. It is very much biased in favor of those who
are connected to the regime.
So we object to investments now not because we are against investments
per se, but because we don't think this is the right time. By investing
now, business is supporting the military regime. The real benefits of
investments now go to the military regime and their connections. They go
to just a small, very privileged elite. And the people get very little.
Q. How can people who wish to give humanitarian aid really help the
needy Burmese people without going through the military regime?
A. The first question to ask is how effective is this humanitarian aid?
What do they mean, exactly, by humanitarian aid? What kind of aid is
that? And how many people is it supposed to help? In general, whatever
humanitarian aid that nongovernmental organizations may be able to give
is a drop in the ocean compared to what is needed in Burma. What we
really need in Burma is substantive change, the kind of change that will
enable people to help themselves.
-
Q. What are the most serious economic problems in Burma?
A. The economy is in a mess. There are a number of major problems which
have brought the economy to such a state. There is no macroconomics view
at all on the part of the military regime, and there are the obvious
problems like the extremely unrealistic exchange rate of the kyat. And
then there were all those unproductive industries which are legacies of
the socialist regime and there is the inability of the civilian
administration, the civil servants, to operate freely. Everywhere the
military is dipping its finger in and not being efficient.
Q. Do you think membership in the Association of South East Asian
nations is having a positive or negative impact on Burma?
A. ASEAN is not having any positive impact on Burma.
Two years ago, before they admitted Burma as a permanent member, they
made the point that once Burma was a member of ASEAN it would be more
reasonable and they would be in a better position to influence Burma and
guide it along the right lines.
We argued that we did not think this was the case. What we thought was
that once Burma had been made a full member of ASEAN, which is what they
wanted, then they wouldn't try any more to be good boys - they would be
more oppressive, and they would just go ahead and do what they wanted
and they wouldn't really listen to any advice from the members of ASEAN,
and I think that this turned out to be absolutely true. They have turned
out to be most oppressive between 1998 and now. The oppression increased
noticeably after they became a member of ASEAN.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
BURMANET: MORE ON ASSK INTERVIEW
February 17, 2000
On Saturday February 12, Bernie Krisher publisher of the Cambodia Daily
attended NLD Union Day celebrations at the National League for Democracy
headquarters in Rangoon and interviewed the party's General Secretary,
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. Krisher has provided BurmaNet with the unedited
transcript which is reproduced here in full. Material in lower case
letters was used in the Feb. 17 International Herald Tribune (see
preceding article).
BurmaNet's interview with Krisher about the NLD's Union Day event
follows the unedited text of the Aung San Suu Kyi interview.
*****
Q--What was the main message that you conveyed today and what additional
things would you like to say to your people?
A--In commemorating Union Day of Burnma I talked about the fact that
unity cannot be built without mutual trust and understanding and there
is no hope for peace or prosperity unless there is unity. So you have to
start with unity of a nation; that is the main message of union day
itself.
Q--How would you gauge the level of your support today inside Burma?
A--I would not like to think of it in terms of my support as such. I
think we should think of it in terms of how strong the forces of
democracy are. I think I could say with great confidence that 90 percent
of the people of Burma want democracy. Of course of those who want
democracy, those who really dare to go out and fight for it politically
are in the minority because there is so much oppression by the military
government and there is tremendous fear.
But we have a very strong group of people at the core as
you could see today at the meeting . Since about the autumn of 1998
when we founded the committee of the people's parliament, it has been
very difficult for us to hold any of our commemorative ceremonies.
Usually these ceremonies are an opportunity for us to deliver political
messages and to demonstrate our unity but from the beginning from
September 1998 the committee of the people's parliament and throughout
1999 the authorities tried to intercept every one of our ceremonies. For
example, last year you would not have been allowed in. They had road
blocks in front of our headquarters and they prevented all foreigners
from coming. And they prevented certain representatives from other
political parties from coming.
Diplomats were also prevented from coming. Even members of our party had
to produce their national registration cards and were asked to prove
they were members of our party. Huge roadblocks kept our people away.
This went on through all of last year. But still our people kept coming
and I think partly perhaps as a result of such perseverance among our
members, the authorities have decided that there is not much to be
gained by continuing to do this kind of policy. Last month when we had
our independence day ceremonies they allowed in diplomats and
foreigners and they didn't use road blocks.
Q--HOW DO YOU KEEP UP YOUR SPIRIT IN THE FACE OF ALL THIS FRUSTRATION
AND HARASSMENT? WHAT KEEPS YOU GOING?
A--I THINK WHAT KEEPS MOST OF OUR PEOPLE GOING IS A SENSE OF HUMOR APART
FROM THE CAUSE OF OUR COMMITMENT. A LOT OF OUR PEOPLE TAKE THEIR
TROUBLES WITH A SENSE OF HUMOR BUT OF COURSE BASICALLY IT'S A SENSE OF
COMMITMENT BECAUSE IT'S NOT NORMAL TO HAVE TO LAUGH, TO LIVE WITH THE
KIND OF LAUGHTER THAT COMES OUT OF OUR PEOPLE. HAVING TO LIVE IN FEAR,
THAT'S NOT A NORMAL STATE OF BEING AND THIS IS WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO GET
OUT OF. WE'RE NOT TRYING TO DESTROY OR ANNIHILATE THE MILITARY REGIME;
THEY ARE ALWAYS THREATENING TO ANNIHILATE US BUT THAT IS NOT THE
PURPOSE OF OUR MOVEMENT. THE PURPOSE OF OUR MOVEMENT IS TO CREATE A
SOCIETY THAT OFFERS SECURITY TO ALL OUR PEOPLE, INCLUDING THE MILITARY.
Q-- Some people argue that not all countries are ready for democracy.
What is your argument to support that the Burmese people are ready to
live under a democracy.
A. If you want to put it that way then you can say that in a sense a
democracy is never perfect; even in the United States of America
democracy is not perfect. We could also argue that the Japanese were not
ready for democracy in 1945 but they were given democracy and they have
worked and lived with democracy. Sometimes--and this may be an arguable
point-- I think in some ways the people of Burma are more ready for
democracy now, a lot more ready now, than the people of Japan were
ready for democracy in 1945 because in Japan there was never a struggle
or movement for democracy.
Democracy was simply handed to them on a plate as part of the
arrangements after the war. It was not something they struggled for. Now
with regard to Burma, apart from the fact that Burma spent quite some
time under British colonial administration which did structure some
forms of democracy, some democratic institutions such as the rule of law
did come into being and they did start general elections, political
parties and after independence, we became independent as a democratic
nation, as a parliamentary democracy.
So we have had experience of democracy in practice and apart from that,
even if we leave aside the long years under Burma's Socialist Program
Party, when the desire of the people for a more open society, for a
return to democratic institutions was never crushed, we have now been
struggling for democracy actively for the last 12 years. So if people
say we are not ready for democracy then how about the Japanese? If they
were ready for democracy in 1945 we are many times more ready for
democracy now.
Q--What is your feeling toward Japanese policy toward Burma
A--We find that a lot of people in Japan who are very sympathetic to us
and to our cause, if they get to know about it. There are very very
supportive groups of Japanese people and organizations. But there is not
enough information about what is going on in Burma.
Q--What about the Japanese government?
A--The government is quite often influenced by business considerations.
It's just not that. I'm inclined to think there is a tradition among
Japanese governments, whichever government they may be, to try to
establish good relations with whoever is in power in whichever nation.
It seems to me that this is part of the tradition of Japanese
governments. And perhaps that as much as` and perhaps even much more
than the influence of the Japanese business lobby would incline the
Japanese government towards trying to establish good relations with the
military regime.
Q. THIS IS THE PATTERN THE JAPANESE GOVERNMENTS HAVE FOLLOWED IN REGARD
TO SOUTH KOREA AND SO IT MAY SEEM AWKWARD NOW THAT THEY ARE WARMED UP TO
KIM DAE JUNG TOWARD WHOM THEY REACTED COOLY AFTER HE WAS KIDNAPPED FROM
JAPAN AND TOOK NO ACTION TO HOLD THE REGIME THERE THEN ACCOUNTABLE FOR
IT.
A. YES AND INCIDENTALLY WE ARE VERY GRATEFUL TO KIM DAE JUNG. WE FIND
PEOPLE DO NOT ALWAYS ACT THE SAME ONCE THEY ARE IN OFFICE AS THEY DO
WHILE WHEN THEY ARE IN THE OPPOSITION.BUT PRESIDENT KIM DAE JUNG HAS
BEEN VERY PERMANENT IN HIS SUPPORT OF DEMOCRACY IN BURMA AND WE
APPRECIATE THAT VERY MUCH. HE IS ONE OF THE VERY VERY FEW PEOPLE IN THIS
WORLD WHO HAVE NOT CHANGED BECAUSE THEY HAVE COME TO OFFICE.
Q. YOU WILL NOT EITHER, I BELIEVE.
A. I HOPE NOT. ONE DOES NOT LIKE TO ... I THINK IF YOU STAY IN POLITICS
LONG ENOUGH YOU DO DEVELOP A SENSE OF HUMILITY BECAUSE YOU SEE MANY
STRANGE THINGS GOING ON.
Q. GETTING BACK TO JAPAN, WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO TELL THE JAPANESE
PEOPLE AND THEIR GOVERNMENT. WHAT MISTAKES DO YOU THINK THEY ARE THEY
MAKING BY PUSHING INVESTMENTS AND SUPPORTING THE MILITARY REGIME?
A. WHAT I THINK IS REALLY AT STAKE HERE IS THE FUTURE OF THE
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BURMA AND JAPAN. JAPAN SHOULD NOT THINK OF BURMA IN
TERMS OF THE MILITARY REGIME BUT IN TERMS OF THE PEOPLE OF BURMA. IF THE
JAPANESE GOVERNMENT WERE TO THINK OF THE INTERESTS OF THE PEOPLE OF
BURMA THEN THEY WOULD BE IN A GREATER POSITION TO ESTABLISH TRUE
FRIENDSHIP BETWEEN THE TWO COUNTRIES.
Q. Do you think the investments in Burnma might be jeopardized if
democracy came to Burma? Would a new democratic regime continue to honor
such investment agreements?
A. We are not against business at all. This is the mistake a lot of
people make. They think the National League for Democracy and the
democratic forces in general are anti-business. We are not
anti-business. We are for a free market economy. It's part of our party
platform. But now we don't have a genuine market economy. It isn't a
free market economy at all. It is very much biased in favor of those who
are connected to the regime.
So why we object to investments now is not because we are against
investments per se but because we don't think this is the right time for
investing. By investing now, business is supporting the military regime.
The real benefits of investments now go to the military regime and their
connections. They go to just a small very privileged elite. And the
people get very little. The trickle down effect is such a tiny trickle
that it disappears by the time it gets down to the lower level.
Q. How can people who wish to give humanitarian aid really help the
needy Burmese people without going through the military regime?
A. The first question to ask is how effective is this humanitarian aid?
What do they mean exactly by humanitarian aid? What kind of aid is that?
And how many people is it supposed to help? In general whatever
humanitarian aid that NGOs may be able to give is a drop in the ocean
compared to what is really needed in Burma. What we really need in Burma
is substantive change; the kind of change that will enable people to
help themselves.
IT'S LIKE THIS WELL-KNOWN DICTUM THAT IT'S BETTER TO TEACH SOMEBODY TO
LEARN TO FISH THAN GIVE THEM FISH TO EAT. SO WE WANT TO TEACH PEOPLE TO
HELP THEMSELVES. WE WANT TO CREATE A SOCIETY WHERE PEOPLE ARE FREE TO
HELP THEMSELVES. BUT THE KIND OF HUMANITARIAN AID THAT IS GIVEN NOW,
SOME CLAIM IT IS GIVEN IN SUCH A WAY AS TO STRENGTHEN THE CIVIL
SOCIETY. BUT THERE ARE MANY QUESTIONS MARKS ABOUT IT.
IF YOU HAVE TO COOPERATE, OR LET'S PUT IT A LITTLE MORE STRONGLY, IF YOU
ARE FORCED TO COLLABORATE WITH THE MILITARY REGIME IN ORDER TO BE ABLE
TO CARRY OUT ANY KIND OF PROGRAM IN BURMA, HOW MUCH ARE YOU REALLY
CONTRIBUTING TO THE EMERGENCE OF A STRONG CIVIL SOCIETY? SO THESE ARE
THE QUESTIONS WE ASK WHEN PEOPLE TALK ABOUT HUMANITARIAN AID.
Q--SHOULD PEOPLE THEN JUST GIVE UP IN TRYING TO FIND A MEANS OF HELPING
THE NEEDY?
A. NO. WHAT THEY SHOULD DO IS TO HELP CHANGE THE TOTALITARIAN SYSTEM.
AND THEY CAN DO IT IN MANY DIFFERENT WAYS. ONE IS TO MAKE THE LEADERSHIP
IN JAPAN UNDERSTAND THAT THE JAPANESE GOVERNMENT CAN HELP THE POOR
PEOPLE OF
BURMA BEST BY PROMOTING THE DEMOCRATIZATION PROCESS RATHER THAN BY
COLLABORATING WITH THE MILITARY REGIME. BY COLLABORATING WITH THE
MILITARY REGIME THEY MAY BE ABLE TO GIVE LITTLE DRIBS AND DRABS OF
HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE BUT THAT IS NOT GOING TO HELP OUR PEOPLE
SUBSTANTIALLY AT ALL. SO IF THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY WERE UNITED IN
TRYING TO BRING ABOUT THE CHANGES THAT ARE CALLED FOR IN THE UNITED
NATIONS RESOLUTION ON BURMA, THAT WOULD HELP... COMPARE US TO CAMBODIA.
QUITE RECENTLY I WAS TALKING TO A BUSINESSMAN WHO IS PART OF A SOUTHEAST
ASIAN CONSORTIUM. HE SAID THE PROSPECTS OF BUSINESS IN CAMBODIA WERE SO
MUCH DIFFERENT THAN IN BURMA BECAUSE WITH ALL ITS PROBLEMS AND DEFECTS
CAMBODIA IS NOW HEADING TOWARD A FAR MORE OPEN TYPE OF SOCIETY THAN
BURMA IS. BURMA IS STILL A FAR MORE TOTALITARIAN AUTHORITARIAN STATE
WHEREAS CAMBODIA ALLOWS A NUMBER OF PRIVATE ENTERPRISES, NGOS AND
HUMANITARIAN ORGANIZATIONS TO OPERATE FAIRLY INDEPENDENTLY WHICH IS NOT
THE CASE HERE. A MEMBER OF AN NGO IN BURMA CAN GET INTO TROUBLE SIMPLY
FOR COMING TO SEE ME.
Q. WE WERE PHOTOGRAPHED COMING IN HERE AND I FEAR THEY MAY TAKE THIS
TAPE OR FILM AWAY WHEN WE LEAVE, OR AT THE AIRPORT.
A. YOU MUST BE FIRM...YOU ALWAYS HAVE TO BE FIRM WITH BULLIES AND
BASICALLY ALL AUTHORITARIAN REGIMES ARE BULLIES.
Q. What are the most serious economic AND SOCIAL PROBLEMS IN BURMA?
A. The economy is in a mess. If we have to replicate the report of the
World Bank, then there are a number of major problems which has brought
the economy in such a state. One of the first things which come to mind
is the fact that this regime seems not to understand is the idea of
macro-economics. There is no macro-economics view at all on the part of
the military regime and there are the obvious ones like the extremely
unrealistic exchange rate. Officially the dollar is 5 kyat 80 the dollar
officially. But actually it is worth about 330. The dollar fell in
recent months . At one time it was up to 380 which is more than 60 times
the official rate. This is an extremely unrealistic exchange rate. And
then there were all those unproductive industries which are legacies
of the socialist regime and there is the inability of the civilian
administration, the civil servants to operate freely. Everywhere the
military is dipping its finger in and not being efficient.
Q. ARE THERE ANY CIVILIANS IN THE ECONOMIC SECTOR?
A. THERE ARE BUT THAT DOES NOT MEAN THE MILITARY REGIME NECESSARILY
LISTENS TO THEM. THAT IS ONE OF THE PROBLEMS. WE HAD A FAIRLY WELL
TRAINED CIVIL SERVICE BUT THE MILITARY AUTHORITIES DO NOT LISTEN TO THE
ADVICE OF THE CIVIL SERVICE, OF THE PROFESSIONALS. EVEN THE FOREIGN
OFFICE. THEY ARE REPLACING ALL THE FOREIGN SERVICE OFFICIALS WITH
MILITARY AND EX-MILITARY STAFF.
Q. GIVEN WHAT HAS BEEN HAPPENING IN THE REST OF ASIA--THE FALL OF MARCOS
AND SUHARTO, FOR EXAMPLE, AND THEN THERE IS THE ADDED FACTOR OF THE
INTERNET WHICH SPREADS INFORMATION THAT CAN'T BE SUPPRESSED BY THE MOST
AUTHORITARIAN REGIMES. HOW LONG DO YOU THINK THIS REGIME WILL LAST?
A. I DON'T THINK IT'S THAT FAR AWAY, LET'S PUT IT THAT WAY. I'M NOT AN
ASTROLOGER. I CAN'T SEE INTO THE FUTURE BUT I DO NOT THINK THE DAY IS SO
FAR OFF WHEN OUR PEOPLE CAN ENJOY JUSTICE, FREEDOM, PEACE ALL THAT
PEOPLES ALL OVER THE WORLD LONG FOR MAINLY BECAUSE THIS IS WHAT THE
MAJORITY OF THE PEOPLE WANT TO HAVE. THEY ARE TIRED OF LIVING IN FEAR;
THEY ARE TIRED OF LIVING IN A STATE OF INSECURITY AND THEY ARE TIRED OF
THE ECONOMIC MESS. THERE ARE SOME, OF COURSE, WHO ARE DOING VERY WELL.
YOU PROBABLY KNOW THERE IS A SMALL ELITE WHO ARE VERY PROSPEROUS EVEN
WHEN THE REST OF THEIR COUNTRY IS WALLOWING IN POVERTY. IT IS THE SAME
IN BURMA.
THERE ARE THOSE WHO ARE DOING WELL UNDER THIS REGIME BUT THE GREAT
MAJORITY ARE SUFFERING; PEOPLE WHO CAN'T AFFORD TO LIVE DECENTLY. AND
EARLIER YOU ASKED WHAT ARE THE MAJOR SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC PROBLEMS? I
JUST GOT TO THE ECONOMIC PROBLEMS. NOW THE SOCIAL PROBLEMS: THE WORST
THING IS THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM. WE ALWAYS SAID THAT WE WOULD MEASURE
THE SUCCESS OF THE COUNTRY IN TERMS OF HEALTH AND EDUCATION OF THE
PEOPLE. WE ARE NOT INTERESTED IN HIGH RISE BUILDINGS AND HOTELS AND
MONUMENTS AND PARKS.
THE WAY TO MEASURE HOW WELL PEOPLE ARE DOING IS BY LOOKING AT THE STATE
OF THEIR HEALTH AND THE STATE OF EDUCATION. AND BOTH ARE IN A TERRIBLE
STATE. YOU MUST HAVE HEARD THAT MOST OF THE UNIVERSITIES ARE CLOSED.
THEY HAVE OPENED SOME FACULTIES.
AND THEN THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM EVEN AT THE SCHOOL LEVEL IS SO TERRIBLE
BECAUSE THE TEACHERS ARE SO BADLY PAID. THERE IS NO PROPER EQUIPMENT IN
THE SCHOOLS. THEY WILL PUT UP A SHOWROOM OF COMPUTERS WHILE THERE ARE
CHILDREN WHO CANNOT EVEN AFFORD TEXTBOOKS AND THERE ARE NO ADEQUATE
TEXTBOOKS FOR ALL THE SCHOOLS IN BURMA. SO THE STATE OF EDUCATION IS
TERRIBLE AND AS FOR HEALTH, IF YOU ARE ABLE TO WALK INTO ANY HOSPITAL
IN RANGOON YOU WILL BE SURPRISED--NO EQUIPMENT, NO MEDICINES. PEOPLE
GOING INTO A HOSPITAL HAVE TO BUY THEIR OWN MEDICINE. THEY HAVE TO TAKE
THEIR OWN EQUIPMENT AND THERE ARE EVEN CASES WHERE THEY HAVE TO SUPPLY
THINGS LIKE SURGICAL GLOVES, BANDAGES, SURGICAL SPIRITS--EVEN THE MOST
BASIC EQUIPMENT HAS TO BE SUPPLIED BY THE PATIENT. SO ALL THE HOSPITALS
OFFER ARE EXPERTISE, THE EXPERTISE OF THE STAFF AND BECAUSE THEIR STAFF
ARE ILL PAID--EVEN THAT IS HARD TO COME BY.
Q. WOULD ASSISTANCE OF EQUIPMENT AND PHARMACEUTICALS HELP?
A. NO. WE HAVE HEARD OF GOOD MEDICINE BEING DONATED TO THE HOSPITALS AND
THESE MEDICINES END UP IN PRIVATE SHOPS BECAUSE THE WHOLE HOSPITAL
SYSTEM IS CORRUPT SINCE THE HOSPITAL STAFF ARE POOR. THEY ALSO HAVE TO
SOMEHOW MANAGE THEIR FINANCES. IF YOU WERE TO WANDER INTO A HOSPITAL IN
RANGOON, ONCE THE AUTHORITIES HAVE CAUGHT ON THERE IS A FOREIGNER ON THE
PREMISES, I THINK YOU WOULD HAVE TO LEAVE THE HOSPITAL PRETTY SOON AND I
ALSO DOUBT ANY OF THE STAFF WOULD DARE TALK TO YOU.
Q. HOW WILL THE LACK OF UNIVERSITY EDUCATION AFFECT THE NEXT GENERATION
ONCE BURMA OPENS UP? WILL THERE BE CAPABLE PEOPLE AROUND TO HELP RUN THE
COUNTRY?
A. WE WILL HAVE TO RETRAIN A LOT OF PEOPLE BUT WE SAY THE MOST IMPORTANT
THING FOR BURMA IS TO DEMOCRATIZE QUICKLY. WE WERE TALKING EARLIER ABOUT
HUMANITARIAN AID. WELL, WHAT IS A NEW SCHOOL BUILDING SOMEWHERE COMPARED
TO THE FACT THAT THERE IS GOING TO BE A FULL GENERATION OF UNEDUCATED
PEOPLE.
SO YOU HAVE TO GET YOUR PRIORITIES RIGHT. IT IS NOT SO IMPORTANT THAT
YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO BUILD A NEW SCHOOL SOMEWHERE WHEN THAT NEW SCHOOL
WILL PROBABLY NOT HAVE ANY EFFICIENT TEACHING STAFF BECAUSE THE
TEACHERS ARE GOING TO BE ILL PAID AND THERE IS A WHOLEGENERATION GOING
TO BE HALF EDUCATED. THE AIM THAT SHOULD BE BROUGHT ABOUT IS DEMOCRATIC
CHANGE. THIS SHOULD BE THE PRIMARY AIM FOR ALL THOSE WHO DESIRE THE
WELL-BEING OF THE PEOPLE OF BURMA.
IF YOU ASK ANY JAPANESE PARENT: DO YOU WANT YOUR CHILD TO
SIT ON A MAT ON THE FLOOR IN AN LITTLE THATCHED COTTAGE AND BE TAUGHT
PROPERLY OR WOULD YOU HAVE HIM SIT IN A NEW BRICK BUILDING WITH NOBODY
TO TEACH, I THINK THEY WOULD ALL SAY AUTOMATICALLY: IN A THATCHED
COTTAGE AS LONG AS THEY ARE GOING TO BE TAUGHT PROPERLY. SO WE HAVE TO
GET OUR PRIORITIES RIGHT: WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO WITH THE GENERATIONS
THAT ARE UNEDUCATED OR ILL EDUCATED? WE HAVE TO RETRAIN ALL OF THEM.
THE SOONER WE HAVE CHANGED, THE BETTER, BECAUSE THE EASIER IT WILL BE
FOR US TO REHABILITATE THE WHOLE COUNTRY.
Q. Do you think ASEAN membership is having a positive or negative impact
on Burma?
A. ASEAN is not having any positive impact on Burma. Two years ago
before they admitted Burma as a permanent member they made the point
that once Burma was a member of ASEAN it would be more reasonable and
they would be in a better position to influence Burma and guide it along
the right lines.
We argued that we did not think this was the case; what we thought was
that once Burma had been made a full member as ASEAN, which is what
they wanted, once they got what they wanted then they wouldn't try any
more to be good boys--they would be more oppressive and they would just
go ahead and do what they wanted and they wouldn't really listen to any
advice from the members of ASEAN and I think that this turned out to be
absolutely true. They have turned out to be most oppressive between 1998
and now. The oppression increased noticeably after they became a member
of ASEAN.
Q. BUT THE PHILIPPINES HAS COME OUT TO CRITICIZE BURMA.
A. BUT IS THIS MILITARY REGIME LISTENING? OF COURSE THE ASEAN NATIONS
ALSO DO NOT SPEAK OUT WITH A UNITED VOICE. THEY OUGHT TO JOIN TOGETHER
BUT THEY HAVE PROBLEMS IN THEIR OWN BACK YARD AS WELL.
Q. ON A PERSONAL LEVEL, DO YOU REGRET YOU DID NOT ATTEND YOUR HUSBAND'S
FUNERAL?
A. I DON'T ANSWER PERSONAL QUESTIONS.
Q. HOW DO YOU SPEND YOUR DAY.
A. MAINLY WORKING, WHAT YOU CALL FULL-TIME WORK. THIS IS MY OFFICE (NLD
HEADQUARTERS). I HAVE A STUDY AT HOME WHERE I DO A LOT OF MY PAPER WORK.
Q. HOW DO YOU COMMUNICATE WITH THE OUTSIDE WORLD?
A. WE HAVE TO FIND OUR WAYS OR MEANS. MY TELEPHONE IS CUT MOST OF THE
TIME. I HAVE NEVER BEEN ALLOWED AN INTERNATIONAL DIRECT DIAL TELEPHONE.
IDD TELEPHONES HAVE TO BE APPLIED FOR. THEY WOULDN'T ANSWER MY
APPLICATION. THEY DIDN'T ACTUALLY REFUSE MY APPLICATION. THEY JUST
SIMPLY DIDN'T RESPOND.
Q. HOW DO YOU REACT TO SOME OF THE RECENT DISSIDENT EVENTS ABROAD? THE
OCCUPATION BY PRO-DEMOCRACY FORCES OF THE BURMESE EMBASSY IN BANGKOK AND
THE HOSPITAL TAKE OVER?
A. THESE TWO INCIDENTS ARE CONNECTED BUT IN THE FIRST ONE WE THOUGHT THE
THAI GOVERNMENT BEHAVED VERY WELL AND WE COMMENDED THEIR RESTRAINT AND
THE WAY IT WAS SOLVED PEACEFULLY BUT THE SECOND INCIDENT WAS NOT SO
HAPPY. WE HEARD THERE WERE PEOPLE--THEY CALLED THEMSELVES THE MEMBERS OF
GOD'S ARMY--WERE EXECUTED IN COLD BLOOD. AS THE NLD AND THE COMMITTEE OF
THE PEOPLE REPRESENTATIVE OF PARLIAMENT, WE HAVE ASKED THERE SHOULD BE
AN INQUIRY INTO THIS. BECAUSE YOU DON'T EXECUTE PEOPLE IN COLD BLOOD.
###
BurmaNet Interview with Bernie Krisher on NLD Union Day event.
February 17, 2000
BurmaNet: What did you see in the NLD headquarters--what was the
atmosphere like?
Krisher: It is a ramshackle building. Our taxi stopped across the
street from the headquarters and there were a bunch of men with cameras
that wanted to take our pictures. I didn't realize at first they were
Military Intelligence so I just ignored them and we crossed the street.
The headquarters is a large, dilapidated building. The event was held
in a big long room with about enough room for 400 people. By the time
the event started, there were about 300-400 hundred there. There were a
few plastic chairs for the VIPs but most people were sitting on mats.
There ws a little lectern at the front.
Aung San Suu Kyi came in at 2:00pm. There were about 6-8 foreigners,
diplomats from the Australian, American, Japanese, British and French
embassies. A bunch of people [also] came in who looked like
journalists, stringers for the major wires, etc.
Most of the people seated on the mats were women with Suu Kyi buttons.
Some brought children. A few elderly men were on the sides. It was so
deja vu. It was what I saw 20 years ago at Kim Dae Jung rallies in
Korea, which were also mostly men. It was mostly women there too
because the men were too scared up, because they were more likely to be
punished.
She [ASSK] sat on the mat with the crowd, unlike the other speakers who
spoke from the dais. There were about a half dozen men, officials for
the party. They all made speeches and then there was a satirical play
put on by the youth. Everyone was laughing during the play. This went
on for about an hour and a half.
Afterwards, we went up to the second floor where she has sort of an
office. There was a large room with many desks. That is where she
works, she comes in several times a week....When we left, the same
people were taking photos from across the street, but no one detained or
stopped us.
BurmaNet: You have worked in Cambodia and North Korea [Krisher organized
a campaign to provide rice to N. Korea after floods wiped out crops in
1995]. Can you compare Burma with what you've seen in North Korea and
Cambodia?
Krisher: Burma is the worst. On the one hand, it has a little sense of
Hong Kong and Malaysia. You can see the British influence and how
elegant the city must have been once. The Burmese do have a culture and
a sense of how to do business well and how to run a country. In the
shops, people speak English and are very polite. It has among the best
service staffs I've ever seen. Under proper rule, it could become
another Singapore.
However, the military--and this in unanimous--the people there feel the
military are uneducated and have no concern for their country. They are
xenophobic and think NGOS are spies. There are only 13 NGOs in the
country and they are very restricted and limited. Most are involved in
anti-HIV and educational work.
The North Koreans do care for their people. They don't know how to
administer things too well but they care. Before the floods they
provided universal healthcare but that fell apart after the floods and
famine, and after the Soviet Union fell apart. When they had resources,
the children were pretty well taken care of. They were immersed in
propaganda but they didn't close any colleges. This has fallen apart in
Rangoon.
Some of the faculties are reopened but most of the college age students
are a lost generation. Most of the other countries in Asia do care for
their children and people. They try, sometimes ineptly, but they try.
The generals don't. They have little education and they have a complex
about that.
Cambodia is almost paradise compared to Burma. You almost feel there is
no hope [in Burma]. It is just such a waste.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
DVB: NORTH KOREANS ARRESTED FOR ILLEGAL ENTRY
Democratic Voice of Burma, Oslo,
in Burmese 1245 gmt 14 Feb 00
Translation by BBC Summary of World Broadcasts
Excerpt from report by Burmese opposition radio on 14th February
There have been many cases of arrests of North Koreans, who entered
through China, at border areas in southern, eastern, and northern Shan
State.
SPDC [State Peace and Development Council] security personnel arrested
two North Korean nationals, Son Na-chan and Pau Ki-se [names as
received], at the entrance of Namhkam during the second week of last
January. The North Koreans entered through Shweli. Similarly, a North
Korean national, Pak Chun-hee [name as received], was arrested at a
restaurant in Ta Lau village in Tachilek Township during last November
and another North Korean national was arrested in Thapin village in Keng
Tung during December.
North Korea is ruled under dictatorship and its people have been
suffering from famine and hardship due to three years of drought. The
North Koreans said they fled their country to escape from famine and
hardship. The arrested North Koreans were deported back to China under
Section-7 of the Immigration Act...
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
INTERNATIONAL
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
AFP: WORLD BANK TO CONTINUE TALKS WITH MYANMAR, BUT RULES OUT LOANS
Agence France Presse
February 15, 2000, Tuesday
BANGKOK, Feb 15
The World Bank intends to continue its talks with the military regime
in Mynamar but will not grant it any loans due to the political and
economic situation in the country, a top official said here.
"We wish to continue to discuss with the government. We try to convince
both opposition and government of the necessity to improve the economic
policy in order to improve the fate of the people," said bank
Asia-Pacific director Jean-Michel Severino late Monday.
"For the moment being we have no lending relationship with Myanmar for
two sets of reasons. One is that we have disagreements with the
government of Myanmar on its economic policies.
"Second is that our shareholders, for political reasons, do not wish our
institution to be engaged in a lending relationship with that country."
Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has argued that only
sanctions imposed by the international community will force the junta to
launch reforms.
In a report published in December, the World Bank said the junta must
first commit to political reforms before the country could reach an
economic level equivalent to its neighbours.
It blamed the country's economic stagnation on the carelessness of the
leaders rather than the fallout of the regional financial crisis which
erupted in July 1997.
The World Bank also said the policies followed by the junta had
exacerbated poverty and damaged the country's social cohesion.
Diplomats in Yangon say that the country's economy is being strangled by
western sanctions, the junta's inability and the lingering effects of
the Asian crisis.
Under the international sanctions, foreign companies are actively
dissuaded from investing in the country and all aid from the World Bank
and International Monetary Fund (IMF) has been frozen.
Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) won 1990
elections but the junta has refused to recognise the sweeping victory
and has imprisoned hundreds of party supporters.
Since 1990 hundreds of party members including elected MPs have resigned
after being detained by the junta. Foreign governments and NGOs also
accuse the military of widespread human rights abuses in a bid to
suppress the pro-democracy movement.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
LOS ANGELES TIMES: LAWYERS FOR U.S. SEEK END TO MYANMAR BOYCOTT
Wednesday, February 16, 2000
Trade: Massachusetts case before Supreme Court could affect laws in
L.A.,other cities.
By DAVID G. SAVAGE, Times Staff Writer
WASHINGTON--Clinton administration lawyers chose free trade over
human rights Tuesday, saying cities and states may not boycott companies
that do business with repressive regimes abroad.
The United States must speak with "a single, national voice" in the
global economy, the administration said, and it urged the Supreme Court
to rebuke Massachusetts for refusing to buy from firms that do business
with Myanmar, formerly known as Burma.
If the high court agrees, its decision probably will strike down
similar laws in at least a dozen cities, including Los Angeles, San
Francisco, Oakland and Portland.
The Massachusetts case, to be argued next month, tests whether
cities and states can consider moral standards when doing business.
In 1996, it became the first state to formally boycott firms that
do business with the military regime in Myanmar.
During the 1980s, many American cities, states and colleges
announced that they would not do business with the apartheid regime in
South Africa or with companies that operated there. But those laws,
while unpopular with
corporate leaders, went unchallenged in court.
Over the last decade, concerns over human rights, the environment
or forced labor have figured in boycotts announced by cities and states.
China, Cuba, Nigeria, Sudan and Switzerland have been targeted by
boycott laws.
States need not "trade with dictators," lawyers for Massachusetts
said in defending its Myanmar law. "The states should be free to choose
their trading partners . . . and to apply a moral standard to their
spending
decisions," they argued.
The law posed a high-stakes dilemma for businesses, since the state
made purchases of more than $2 billion per year. As a practical matter,
they were forced to choose between doing business with the state or
Myanmar.
Two years ago, the National Foreign Trade Council, a coalition of
American and foreign firms, filed suit in Boston and contended that the
state was unfairly discriminating against them. The European Union and
Japan
also protested the Massachusetts law.
Last year, the U.S. Court of Appeals struck it down as
unconstitutional, leading to a showdown March 22 in the Supreme Court,
when the case will be argued.
In siding with the corporations, administration officials said they
feared the specter of 50 foreign policies, one for each state, and
perhaps many more if more cities joined in.
"The ultimate authority to act on behalf of the United States . . .
in the international arena resides with the president and Congress
alone," U.S. Solicitor General Seth Waxman said in his brief to the high
court. Cities and states "impermissibly intrude into the national
government's exclusive authority over foreign affairs" if they use their
purchasing power to condemn human rights abuses abroad, he said.
Massachusetts Assistant Atty. Gen. Thomas Barnico said he had not
seen the administration's brief and refused to comment.
Lawyers for California and 21 other states supported Massachusetts,
as did a group of major cities, including Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Georgetown law professor Robert Stumberg, who filed a brief
supporting the state, said he was disappointed but not surprised by the
administration's stand.
"Massachusetts is not regulating anybody or saying you can't do
business here," Stumberg said. "They are just saying: 'We the people of
Massachusetts don't want to do business with you under these
circumstances.'
"
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
THE WEEK MAGAZINE (India): KIM DAVY IN KENYA? [KACHINS BUYING WEAPONS?]
February 20, 2000
He has 46 passports and as many aliases; he speaks a dozen languages,
including Hindu; and he can raise half a million dollars in no time with
a couple of telephone calls. Small wonder, Jan Christien Neilson alias
Kim Palgrave Davy alias Peter Johnson roams free while his hirelings who
airdropped arms over Purulia in West Bengal in 1995 are behind bars.
British arms runner Peter Bleach and five Latvian aircrew were jailed
for life on February 2, but Davy ? a slightly-built man with piercing
eyes ? has remained elusive. There were reports that he might surrender
to a court in native Denmark, but Bleach shrugged them off. "He is too
big guys behind him to give up so easily. And the Indians have not done
enough to chase him," Bleach told The Week minutes after the sentence
was passed.
Few Indians have seen Davy, who vanished from Mumbai airport where the
arms runners were forced to land on the night of December 21, 1995. Now,
the Ananda Marga sect, which has been absolved in the arms dropping
case, has demanded a judicial inquiry into his mysterious escape act.
"We have good reasons to believe Davy was escorted away by Indian
intelligence officials," said the sect's spokesman, Bhaveshananda
Avadhuta.
According to Bleach's friend and former MP Sir Teddy Taylor, Davy has
been seen in company of British and American intelligence officers and
diplomats in Nairobi, from where they support Sudanese rebels against
Khartoum. "They may be protecting Davy," Taylor told The Week.
At Hotel Sarina and Hotel Safari Club in Nairobi, Davy has also been
seen with John Garrang, commander-in-chief of the Sudanese People's
Liberation Army (SPLA). These Christian rebels in south Sudan have
successfully fought Marxist and Islamic regimes in Khrtoum over the
years.
The Americans, who have not hidden their love for the SPLA, apparently
used Davy to fly weapons to Garrang on Soviet-made transport aircraft he
purchased cheap. Unlike in Purulia, he did not airdrop the weapons since
the SPLA controls a wide expanse of Sudanese territory. He could safely
land.
But Davy is no mere arms dealer. He has his hand in minerals, gold and
precious stones. In early 1995, his Howerstock International Trading Ltd
commissioned a Filipino geological consultant, Declaro Zafra and
Associates, to survey the rich gold deposits in Kapoeta in south Sudan.
Zafra identified five distinct gold-bearing localities in Kapoeta and
estimated the total recovery potential at some 12 million ounces. At
$350 per ounce, it was worth $4,150 million. The rebels, who give armed
cover during the survey, were to be paid royalties for each ounce mined.
Howerstock or any of the other companies owned by Davy had no presence
in the mining world before he commissioned the survey. They were anyway
too small to enter gold mining. Obviously, Howerstock was being funded
by a global mining giant. Howerstock operates the mines, recovers the
gold and brings it out of south Sudan through Kenya, which has given it
an assay certificate legitimising the shipments.
Howerstock gold initially brought down prices in the global market. But
the giant backing Howerstock was only test-marketing the gold, and
prices again stabilised once it became known that it would take a few
years for full scale mining to start. The mining giant was treading
cautiously before heavily investing in a politically unstable country.
South Sudan offered Davy a weapon-mining-insurgent combination. Purulia
has iron ore and coal mines in the vicinity, but no gold or diamond
which he is interested in. But a weapon-mining-insurgent combination of
interests exists further east, in the Kachin State of Myanmar.
The state has a powerful rebel army ? the Kachin Independence Army
(KIA), FORMED IN 1961, FOUGHT Burmese forces for decades and maintained
control over the northen region bordering India and China. The rich jade
mines of Hpakam and Longkin are located in that area, which also has
rubies and sapphires. The Kachin area is also supposed to have gold
deposits.
In 1992-93, the Burmese army, beefed up with Chinese arms, launched a
fierce offensive against the Kachins and compelled them to sign a
ceasefire agreement. By 1995, it was clear that the military junta would
not grant autonomy to the Kachins. The KIA chief Malizup Zau Mai went
looking for arms and allies.
The Kachins could find some support in the eastern part of Arunachal
Pradesh, even as India was trying to cultivate the junta. In April-May
1995, the Burmese army was involved in a holding operation during the
Indian army's 'Operation Golden Duck' against a joint rebel column of
the Ulfa and two other rebel outfits from Assam and Manipur.
So it could well be that a mining giant offered the Kachins weapons in
exchange for permission to do gold and diamond prospecting in areas
under their control. The Kachins were the ideal candidates for receiving
a Purulia-like airdrop.
The Ananda Marga may be interested in securing a few revolvers, or even
rifles, but only an outfit like the KIA, which takes on the Burmese army
in set piece battles, would need anti-tank weapons. Bleach admits that
the drop was not meant for the Ananda Marga, though Davy had been a
Margi in the 1970s.
When the air traffic controllers asked the AN-26 to land in Mumbai, Davy
burnt all his papers in a bin, but carefully left behind in the
cockpitone of his old photographs with some Ananda Margis. This was
perhaps to
confuse investigations.
But how did the weapons land in Purulia if they had been meant for the
Kachins? Bleach says that when the parachutes came on board at Karachi
for airdropping the weapons, the Latvian crew picked up a fight with
Davy because they had been under the impression that they were carrying
"technical equipment" to Bangladesh. During the rest of the flight, Davy
wielded an AK-56 rifle to keep the Latvians under control, but Bleach
says, "They were really angry and did everything to mess up the drop."
Bleach says the real drop zone for the weapons "was much further east".
Davy had tried for landing permission in Dhaka, and sent his sidekick,
Perter Haestrup, to "buy of the guys at Dhaka" with $50,000 but that did
not work.
Why did Davy want to land in Dhaka unless the aircraft was planning to
drop the arms further east? Flying out of Dhaka would make it much
easier to drop over Kachin hills, an area considered difficult for
fliers because of the "hump" there. So, was he trying to open a new arms
supply route to Kachin?
Subir Bhaumik
(He is BBC's eastern India correspondent.)
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
OPINION/EDITORIALS
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
THE IRRAWADDY: TRIAL BY EXILE
Feb. 2000
Vol 8 No 1
Editorial
In the past year, Burma once again occupied precious little of the
world?s attention. Events elsewhere, notably in Kosovo and East Timor,
raised the possibility of international intervention in Burma, where
similar abuses of the most basic human rights have been committed for
decades; but few people seriously expected to see foreign troops on
Burmese soil. In fact, apart from a few carefully stage-managed events
hosted by the regime and the usual round of atrocities that take place
in areas foreigners are never permitted to visit, very little action of
any sort has been visible in the country for quite some time. The
resounding silence of the 9-9-99 movement, effectively suppressed months
ahead of the ninth of September, was evidence not of ?peace and
stability?, but of the overwhelming force that has been brought to bear
on those who oppose Burma?s military regime, and indeed, on the entire
population of Burma.
While the international community has tried various means of setting the
wheels of political progress in Burma in motion, through organizations
such as the United Nations, the International Committee of the Red
Cross, and the World Bank, as well as through the initiatives of
individual governments, such as those of Japan and Australia, Burmese
forced to live in neighboring countries have grown increasingly
impatient for change. These people, numbering in the hundreds of
thousands, include dissidents, ethnic refugees, and illegal migrant
laborers?all victims of a vicious cycle of political oppression and
economic ineptitude that has only gained force over the past decade.
Their numbers represent the magnitude of human suffering in Burma, and
even as most Burmese within the country have been rendered mute by fear,
the very existence of so many exiles sends a loud and unequivocal
message to the rest of the world that life in Burma is far from what the
generals who rule it portray.
Those who have voted with their feet have found themselves at the mercy
of a world that seems at best ambivalent about their plight. For the
countries most directly affected by this massive flow of humanity,
genuine sympathy is mixed with legitimate concerns about national
security; add to this the element of cynical exploitation that has
characterized the actions of some individuals, and it becomes clear that
mere survival may be more than many of these people can hope for. It is
only the certainty that things are much worse where they have come from
that makes this uncertainty seem infinitely preferable.
What becomes of the people who have left and continue to leave Burma
varies dramatically: from the prime minister-in-exile to the girl who
has been sold into prostitution, the fate of the stateless is subject to
unimaginable vicissitudes. But in general, the vast majority remain
vulnerable to every conceivable abuse and indignity. Even those who
escape the worst will eventually chafe under the constraints of their
situation if they feel deprived of any chance to develop as human
beings. Enforced idleness and limited educational opportunities breed
frustration that has in some instances been exacerbated by the
heavy-handedness of authorities.
But by far the greatest source of exasperation amongst exiles has been
the mounting evidence of their powerlessness against a regime that is
deemed illegitimate by much of the world but which remains in control
after more than a decade.
Last year, we witnessed the beginnings of a disturbing trend that has
already begun to escalate: the hostage-taking incident at the Burmese
embassy in Bangkok in October has given rise to another, ultimately
fatal, attempt to use violence to grab the world?s attention and get
much-needed assistance. The seizure of a hospital in Ratchaburi, near
the Thai-Burma border, demonstrates that sheer desperation, rather than
any sort of strategy, has become the dominant factor in determining the
actions of some who oppose the Burmese regime.
Such episodes inevitably cause unnecessary hardship, not just for the
innocent hostages who must live through the terror of being held at
gunpoint, but also for the people who have already been victimized many
times in the past by the familiar patterns of violence that made it
necessary for them to flee Burma. In an effort to contain the spread of
violence, new restrictions may be imposed on those whose status already
makes them susceptible to arrest. Forced repatriation or re-settlement
in third countries may bring some relief to their present hosts, but the
benefits, if any, will be short-lived unless there is a concomitant
effort to achieve a meaningful breakthrough in Burma. As long as the
current regime remains the sole source of authority in the country,
Burma will continue to export more than its fair share of suffering
humanity.
These are trying times for the vast community of Burmese living in
exile, as conditions beyond their control continue to make it almost
impossible for them to present the united front that they will need to
restore democracy to Burma. But if Burmese exiles hope to return to
their country one day without fear of imprisonment or worse, they must
work harder not only to win the confidence of the international
community, whose involvement will be essential to improving the lives of
Burma?s fifty million people in the years ahead, but also find more
effective means of cooperating with one another. This often comes down
to a matter of leadership, and this may be an appropriate juncture at
which to reiterate that leaders have a responsibility to step down when
they are no longer capable of representing the interests of their
constituencies, supporters and non-supporters alike.
Ultimately, however, the greatest threat to the unity of Burmese
struggling against institutionalized violence in their homeland is the
use of violence to achieve this end. The small minority who resort to
such tactics do incalculable damage to their cause, as even those who
understand and sympathize with their motives are obliged to reject their
methods if they clearly grasp the significance of what the people of
Burma are trying to achieve. Burma has already been cheated of the
fruits of its first struggle for independence by the tyranny of
violence. For the second struggle for independence to truly succeed,
violence must not be allowed to steal the show again. As recent events
have shown, gains made through violence are reversible; the damage done
to innocent lives, however, often is not. Burma does not need to go
through another trial by fire to prove its desire for freedom.
Email: waddy@xxxxxxxxxxxx, waddy2@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
OTHER
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
ANNC: NEW BOOK ON BURMA OUT
Kevin McGrath [mailto:mcgrathk@xxxxxxxxx]
THE SCREAM OF THE BUTTERFLY is Sean McGrath's autobiographical/fiction
novel about a young American's physical and spiritual journey through
the initiations of adolescence - and the need during his constant
moving, for an anchoring love. His long and impetuous infatuation with a
beautiful Eurasian girl named Tanya ends in obsession and rejection -
and his futile search for the "reasons why," in many of the wrong
places. His odyssey takes him for a visit with a mysterious monk in
Burma, on an adventure with a 'lion man' conservationist who is killed
by poachers in Kenya, to an encounter with mercenaries implicated in the
assassination of the president of the Comoros Islands, an orientation
session with a doomsday cult and experimentation with drugs and sex in
the red light district of Bangkok.
During his college days in the United States he is reunited with Tanya
whose eventual 'betrayal' leads to his addiction to amphetamines,
rehabilitation in a psychiatric ward and a brief encounter with a
radical revolutionary group. His spiritual awakening begins while on a
Red Cross mission to the areas devastated by the eruption of Mt
Pinatubo and his volunteer work in the Cordilleras of the Philippines,
leads to a psychic healer's clinic, an encounter with the Pope on World
Youth Day in Manila, volunteer work for the UNHCR at Bataan Refugee Camp
in the Philippines, an FAO sustainable development project in Nepal -
and culminates at a funeral pyre in the shadows of the majestic
snow-capped Himalayas.
"It's a splendidly readable book- which is to say, it is not always
pleasant, and thankfully not always politically correct, but always
carefully and gracefully written. Its readers will be well rewarded with
a view of the world, both harsh and haunting-in McGrath's memorable
phrase, 'like eating honey off the edge of a knife.'" * Jose Dalisay,
Jr PhD University of the Philippines
"(The narrator) makes sense of his own body's engagement in the voyage
of enlightenment-how his mortal self holds out and yields to the rolls
of love's betrayal, how the senses open as sentient doorways in meeting
the sacred, how he is both the fragile anchor and pieced landscape where
the wound and the scar of wandering glow, indelible as tattoos." * Danny
Reyes
A web site (www.screamofthebutterfly.com) is available for more
information.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
The BurmaNet News is an Internet newspaper offering comprehensive
coverage of Burma (Myanmar). For a subscription to Burma's only free
daily newspaper, write to: strider@xxxxxxx
Letters to the editor or enquiries should go to the same address or
BurmaNet can be contacted by telephone or fax:
Voice mail +1 (435) 304-9274
Fax +1 (810)454-4740
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
===END=============END=============END===
_____________________________________________________________
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