Burmese Situation Calls for International Empathy

Myint Thein Kyu

Burmese military junta plans to hold a fake election on 7th November. The aim of this election is to annul the previous results of 1990 multi-party democracy election, in which Daw Aung San Suu Kyi-led National League for Democracy (NLD) won a landslide victory, and to make the incumbent regime legitimate. That 1990 election was organized with a devious plan by the regime itself and, accordingly, transfer of power to the NLD is deliberately ignored.

It is certain that the junta will do by hook or by crook for winning the November election. Nothing could be expected to be free and fair. Since the very beginning, standard democratic practices and what they do for the election are poles apart. The elected party, the NLD and some other prominent parties were announced unlawful. The regime blatantly disregarded for all demands of the UN and international community.

Proposal of sending election observation team by the UN was turned down flat; anyone of political prisoners has not been released yet; Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is still under house arrest, too. However, election candidates of the junta’s party are enticing people for winning their votes by distributing cell-phones priced US$ 1500/each free-of-charge, concrete flooring of roads in townships using public municipal finance assuming its own, issuing national registration cards to illegal immigrants of Chinese and Rohingya so on and so forth.

Intimidation, persuasion and paying money to government employees and the public to grasp their votes are reported. As such the military dictator makes plan carefully to prolong his reign. It is, therefore, very obvious that during election-day will also be too far from being free and fair. Vote-rigging and electoral frauds will be inevitable on 7 November. As a result, supporting election suggests destroying democracy process in Burma and pushing the people to be under military rule for several decades again and not to be able to come out of poverty.

The 1990 election has proved evidently that Burmese people don not accept military rule. Thus, democracy activists are in the meantime campaigning to oppose against the November election both inside and outside Burma on the ground that it could make the junta a lame duck stuck along their roadmap if it succeed. Recognition of new government and relation with it after election is not the way to bring in democracy process in Burma. It will tread on the hope of our people instead.

Cruelty of the junta has rare rivalries – it killed even religious priests, Buddhist monks. From September 1996 to date a total of 3500 villages have been destroyed, about 500,000 people are absconding in remote jungles owing to the perils of junta’s army and more than ten thousand people are living in neighboring countries as refugees. Many more cases are waiting to be recorded. Human rights abuse committed by the regime is much more than that necessary to put up to the ICC, said a report of former UN representatives to Burma.

Nonetheless, to get incessant support, junta leader Than Shwe visited India, China and Laos, introduced his deputies, would-be successors, to leaders of these countries and tried to get support for the election as well. China’s US$ 4.2 Billion worth of loans, a benefit of that trip for him, without interests will be reinforcement to his staggering junta to sustain in power and vice versa, China can get every thing from Burma at very low bargain prices.

Chinese leaders are awful and unethical – can exchange dignity with materials. Consequently, they have unquenchable thirst and greed to exploit incompetence of Burmese junta and some other developing countries. Their eyes may now be glancing at the Shwedagon Pogada to strip the gold off it one day.

Very recently, Prime Minister of Thailand knelt down in front of a jade statue of the Buddha allegedly sculptured to look like the face of notorious general Than Shwe. Abhisit Vejjajiva approached to win approval of the general to invest or do whatever is beneficial to his country: in energy sector or hydro power or trade or infrastructure inside Burma. Leaders of some neighboring countries are happy as long as this illegal junta is in power so that they can siphon Burmese wealth of natural resources into theirs. A country that is ruled by evil dictator is prone to not only economic but also political colonization especially by immoral neighboring countries.

The only ways for the international community to show empathy towards Burmese people is (1) to refuse for the recognition of the election, which action is momentous and can help enforce to result in disfavor for effectiveness of junta’s 2008 constitution; (2) to support and engage with the course of bringing Burmese Generals to the International Criminal Court through the UN General Assembly proposed by Mr. Tomas Ojea Quintana. Our people’s efforts and these outside measures are believed to put to an end of military rule and create democratic process in the country leading to peaceful, prosperous and dignified society.

Burmese people would like to have international empathy for the democratic revolution.

Myint Thein Kyu
18-October-2010