One could scarcely call the government of Myanmar something other than repressive, but they have taken that label to new heights over the past two days. Soldiers are firing automatic weapons into crowds, invading Buddhist monasteries, and have cut off electronic communications available to civilians. Demonstrations, sparked by a large increase in fuel prices, have been estimated to have numbers up to 100,000. The nation of Myanmar rivals N Korea as a closed and repressed society.
Myanmar's chief patron, China, has blocked UN condemnation, but has offered platitudes about how "all parties in Myanmar exercise restraint and properly handle the current issue so as to ensure the situation there does not escalate and get complicated.” Evidently unarmed civilians and monks need to restrain themselves from getting killed by automatic gunfire. We really ought to spend lots of money on Chinese made goods, just to make sure they can have the influence to make such a statement stick.
Buddhism is a non-violent philosophy/religion and it is once again being faced with forceful violence. Evidently a saffron robe is poor protection from bullets. The military junta running the place does not seem to be overly concerned that bullets won't win the day. They may be running a large risk of backlash within the military ranks, people who have and know how to use, firearms. BushCo is moving to freeze the assets of the identifiable leaders, but over the last 20 years Myanmar has ignored such actions.
I am not an advocate of taking leaflets to a gunfight, nor am I overly impressed with the technique of resistance involved in taking a bullet, admirable as Buddhism may be, self-destruction to no end gain seems wasteful. While I might be willing to die for an idea, that concept also includes helping someone on the other side get there first. I have noticed that there's not much reportage regarding the fact that "non-violent revolutions" have managed to get significant support from heavily armed contingents before they became successful (that or they involved revolution from a government politically incapable of brutal repression - ie Ghandi/Britain).
It is important to understand that one day Burma had one government and the next day it was Myanmar and these murderous thugs. These things happen, not because they just do, but because they can happen. When something is possible, it tends to happen; when power and force are concentrated in a single group; that group is able to make decisions for all - and back it up. Those who scoff at the Second Amendment disregard that the outcome is mutual destruction, something elites are not willing to be a part of. If Myanmar's economic elite perceived such destruction you can rest assured the murders of the last few days would not have occurred.
At this point things are still pretty fluid, but at some point people are going to be unwilling to die without some hope that things will go their way.
7 comments:
Not one word about their enabler: CONOCO, union oil to most and their new parent Co. Natural gas deposits, is the booty, if I remember right. This marriage has gone on long before 1990 Prime-Minister-Elect Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was exiled in her home and is allowed no visitors from the press or from outside.
So why after all these years is Amerika so intertsed? All because of TV?
I don't think Americans are yet quite so jaded that the spectacle of unarmed resistance to a repressive government is non-newsworthy. Despite your cynical facade, KISS, you still care. You wouldn't show up here if you didn't.
You've been coming around long enough to know what you'll find here, straight tough talk with hope as a consistent subtext. I wouldn't do this site if I didn't have a strong faith in the spirit of the American people. I know so many fine people, Democrats, Republicans, Indies, that I see BushCo as an aberrant minority needing spanking.
Well Chuck, I find the phrase Cynical facade amusing I prefer to think of myself as a Cynic, no if ands or buts. I do read your blog once a day as well as many other blogs. The main attraction is that you are a gun-toting Democrat, as I was. I say was because I'm changing my registration to Independent. I will not vote for corporate lap dogs.
"Bush Co as an aberrant minority needing spanking." No Bush needs imprisonment, but than again who has the guts to impeach? Not your fine democrats who are lap-dogs of the same corporations profiteering from government welfare. I would easily vote for a Moderate republican than a left-wing democrat. The extremes of both parties are out to gut the average man. Even a die-heart democrat, as yourself, must admit that social engineering is the platform of both parties. It all boils down to control.
As for Burma I spelled it out, when the diabolical revolution occurred in the 80"s 90's , not much was said and the news media was silent. Than there was Rhodesia and Sudan and Darfur.Hell, most of my American brethren don't even know where these places are or, sadly, don't give a damn.
Watching goons shoot down unarmed civilian protesters makes me thank God for our founder's wisdom for including the second amendment. Too bad so many progressives would put us into the same category as Myranmar.
I wonder if Tiananmen square would have started the end of the Chinese Communist dictatorship if Chinese civilians had weapons.
Kent State? Probably an accident.
The Red Chinese did a Revolution, they had no intent of repeating. No doubt Tianamen might have played differently, but who knows, our elites have had something to lose in total chaos.
Stupid Monks.
They should have accepted British Rule, and not pressed for Independence,
Now look what they got
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