Mass Destruction of Economy by SPDC

By Sunthorn Sripanngern (IMNA)

It seems to the international communities that the ruling Burmese military junta is leading to national reconciliation and building for a disciplined democratic country by having cease fire agreement with ethnic nationalitie's armed groups, inviting these groups to participate in the national convention to implement 7 step roadmap proposed by self-appointed Prime Minister Gen Khin Nyunt. But its real policy is just to bring the ethnic armed groups under the SPDC's control, in order that the junta can maintain the power longer. There is nothing for the people, the junta didn't care about the life of the majority people in the country. It is leading to the destruction for the country's economy because of their own policy and their mismanagement, no economic sanction from the outside did destroy their country.

In late 1995 after the New Mon State Party reached cease fire agreement with the State Peace Development Council, SLORC (now SPDC), many people thought for the better situation particularly in Mon State. There were some agreement for resettlement of Mon refugees to their home and cross border assistance via Thailand. General Khin Nyunt, S1 of the SLORC, promised for modernized Mon State within 3 years. Nai Shwe Kyin, President of New Mon State Party traveled troughout Mon State and made speeches to the public saying that their cease fire agreement will bring about better of life of the local people, no need to go out for seeking the job in the neighbouring countries. We were so happy with them after watching the vedio recorded the NMSP's public gathering in Mon State. One of my senior Burmese friend named Dr Myo Nyunt, a professor of Edith Cowan University, Australia did also happy with the news too. He dedicated to work for local development program in Mon State. Even though Dr Myo Nyunt is a Burmese and I am a Mon we can work together for our people and for our local development. The problem is not with us, not with NMSP, but it was stuck with the regulations of the ruling military junta that restricted the people in the country. For instance, a ordinary farmer is not allowed for transportation of his crops, to mill his paddy rice and sell his products freely. A peson who want to do furniture with rubber wood from his own farmland is needed to apply permission for cutting the rubber trees, permission for transportation of the logs, need licen to have even a small engine for the home factory because of no electricity. The regulation of the ruling junta was so complicated and every level of its authourities were involved in corruption.

Noetheless the ruling junta granted some business concession to the cease fire groups in the field of transportation, construction, mining, banking, finishing and and so on. By doing so it can split the unity of the cease fire groups between the party leaders and members and created corruptions and hatred from the local people.

In the 2000, one of the armed groups in northern Burma MDA (formerly Burma Communist Party) faced conflict between its leaders and members as a result of business opportunities granted by SPDC that led to fighting each other. When both sides became exhausted, the SPDC came with huge military troops and demolished them all.

What did the NMSP get from the cease fire agreement, the Burmese dissident groups ridiculed that Nai Shwe Kyin, the NMSP leader was granted a Burmese passport as a reward of cease fire agreement. From 1995 up to 2004, for 9 year period of cease fire, the local people in Mon State lost about 9,000 arce of their farmland to the SPDC soldiers (Please see No Land to Farm at <www.rehmonnya.org/landreport.php>. Land confiscation take place in ethnic states such as Mon, Karen, Karenni and Shan States. As a result, the farmers became unemployed, displaced persons and then fled into the neighbouring countries for their survival. After confiscation, the farmlands become property of military battlion, there would be no crop, no produce from these lands, finally they would be sold the the foreign firms and the money go into the pockets of military officers. That was a mass destruction of the economy of the country.

Among the Burmese migrant workers in Malaysia, the majority is the people from Mon State. Each worker have to pay between 1200,000 to 1500,00 Kyats to the authorities and brokers. The Malaysia employers keep the passports and work permit, so that the Burmese workers could not change the job and part of their wages is cut for tax requested the SPDC embassy in that country. The farmers in Burma were forced to pay the SPDC 30 percent of the produce from the land and apart from that they were forced to work for the SPDC's development project, such as building its military bases or road constructions in stead of using machines. The poor people of Burma have to pay heavy tax to the state, while the rich people pay bribe to the elite groups never to the state. And how the SPDC spend the budget from the tax extorted from the poor people, gave to unproductive groups such as its military troops. The national budget is not spent to increase agricultural products, not for the benefit of the people such as public health, education and etc.,. the SPDC didn't care about these issues, but only affraid to lost the power.

The governments in the neighbouring countries do the best to help their people in any ways, when there is not enough water for the farmers they make artificial rain, when there is low price of their crops the government intervent by purchasing with reasonable price. So the farmers are happy to work hard, no need to force them. In central Thailand, the farmers plant rice three times a year while in Burma only one of some time flood some time dry. Now Thailand and SPDC have agreed for free trade, but what the SPDC has to export to Thailand except the natural resources such as wood, gem, natural gas and fish, the prices of all consuming goods in Burma are higher than Thailand. For example at Three Pagoda Pass 1 Kg of onion is 20 Baht in Burma side, while on the Thai side is only 15 Baht.

In Three Pagoda Pass alone each day several dozens of second-hand cars were sold to the Burmese people. The Thai custom office systematically collects the export tax, but on the Burma side car import is officially prohibited. How do these cars can go up to the towns in central Burma. This is SPDC's open market and free trade system. In stead of illegal import without paying tax to the state, why they didn't allow to import directly from Japan to Rangoon, so that the import tax go to the state? In fact these kind of goods are not important for the country at the moment, however it could not be stopped.

The most important things for the poor people in Burma now are basic 4 namely, food, edicine, clothing and housing. And extraordinary care for working forces or productive groups.

When we were at primary school, we learnt about the story of the goose and its owner. The goose laid an egg everyday providing food for its owner, but the greedy owner wanted to have more eggs so he splited the goose, then his goose was dead and he didn't get any egg. The ruling military juntary named itself as State Pease and Development Council, SPDC, but the SPDC now become Special Policy Destroying the Country.