Myat Thu Pan
Mizzima News (www.mizzima.com)
November 20, 2007 - The world, according to Thomas Friedman the Pulitzer Prize winning New York Times journalist, is flat. He was referring to the instantaneous cyber connection in the outsourcing of tech jobs from the United States to India in his book "The World Is Flat." But the generals in Burma did not realize that the world is even flatter now, as evidenced by the leaking of their brutal crackdown on the monk-led recent demonstrations on the streets of Rangoon. More than a dozen young Burmese bloggers with nothing but high-tech competence and a savviness unknown to the regime, were making the world even flatter than Mr. Friedman's world.
They were able to post deeply moving images and horrendous photos of the killing and violence inflicted on monks and civilians by the soldiers. The whole world's mainstream media instantaneously picked up the images and stories and thus the Burmese regime's way of putting down civilian unrest was brought onto the center of the world stage. The small pitiful country that Information Minister Brigadier General Kyaw San described in his scathing speech against the United Nations, was transformed overnight into a wrathful entity in the limelight of the global stage.
No matter that the regime tried to minimize the number of deaths and clean up their image, the whole world did not buy it, not even the Chinese or the Russians. The video showing the killing of Japanese journalist Kenji Nagai has wiped away any ounce of credibility the regime had been trying to achieve. The direct and brutal assault on the Japanese journalist gave an insight into half a century of killings and violence on Burmese citizens that the regime had successfully maintained under wraps.
As the truth was told through these visual images, the military junta had nowhere to hide. Moreover, now news coming out of Japan says that Nagai was under surveillance by the junta before he was killed, as evidenced by the Burmese guide that Nagai hired and to whom he entrusted his second camera in case he was killed. He evidently knew the ruthlessness of the Burmese junta. The saga of the daylight murder of Nagai may not end quickly. Nagai's Burmese guide was brought to Japan in October by APF News for safety. The news of the surveillance on Nagai was reported by his Burmese guide to a meeting at the Diet in Tokyo. The acts of the junta will keep on being revealed in spite of the clampdown on news in Burma after the demonstrations.
The world had indeed been creeping up on the generals without their knowledge. At present, at the ASEAN summit, reports in the media say the Burmese Ministers have been trying to block Gambari's scheduled presentation on Wednesday. This fact clearly shows the guilty conscience of the junta. If they had nothing to hide why would they want to block Gambari's speech? They don't seem to realize that they are now major villains on the world stage and any move they take is going to be scrutinized under a microscope. They now have nowhere to hide.
There will be a long shadow which will follow the junta wherever they go, like Angulimala, the villain during the Buddha's lifetime who had killed 999 persons before he met the Buddha. Although Angulimala became enlightened while meeting the Buddha, legend has it that wherever he went stones and rocks rained down on him from which he could not escape. Likewise with the junta's karma of inflicting murder on innocent countrymen and disregarding and violating human rights, the vipaka of such acts will be like a shadow following the junta wherever they go.
The fact that the ASEAN ministers are going to converge on the Burmese ministers behind closed doors already has the Burmese junta on the defensive. They are in fact getting the first taste of distrust from the Southeast Asian community of nations in the aftermath of the brutality they have committed on their unarmed countrymen. ASEAN may not kick them out, but they do not fully trust the Burmese junta either. Otherwise why would they question the Burmese ministers before Burma signs the new ASEAN Charter which is to promote human rights and democracy. In other words, ASEAN will not let Burma off lightly. At the same time they are giving recognition to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, which is a sign that they recognize her as a bona fide political figure in Burma. That should bring some balance to the junta's might.
Whether the human rights accord is binding or not, once the junta become one of the signatories, they are morally bound to the ASEAN community to abide by the mandate stipulated in the Charter. If they don't, and continue to inflict human rights violations and undermine democratic institutions, it will give the world the opportunity to put greater pressure on ASEAN to reconsider the membership of Burma in their club. In so many ways the accord is binding and a smart move on the part of ASEAN to keep the Burmese junta under their watchful eyes. But the cost of it is that ASEAN also has to shoulder the burden of playing nursemaid to the wayward Burmese military and try to bring them in line. This will be the most interesting and intriguing part of the saga with respect to the Burmese junta, which is now considered the black sheep within the family of ASEAN countries.
In a flat world this is what happens. No regime or country is an island and none can exist in isolation. The Burmese junta is no exception and they will find that out pretty soon.
Mizzima News (www.mizzima.com)
November 20, 2007 - The world, according to Thomas Friedman the Pulitzer Prize winning New York Times journalist, is flat. He was referring to the instantaneous cyber connection in the outsourcing of tech jobs from the United States to India in his book "The World Is Flat." But the generals in Burma did not realize that the world is even flatter now, as evidenced by the leaking of their brutal crackdown on the monk-led recent demonstrations on the streets of Rangoon. More than a dozen young Burmese bloggers with nothing but high-tech competence and a savviness unknown to the regime, were making the world even flatter than Mr. Friedman's world.
They were able to post deeply moving images and horrendous photos of the killing and violence inflicted on monks and civilians by the soldiers. The whole world's mainstream media instantaneously picked up the images and stories and thus the Burmese regime's way of putting down civilian unrest was brought onto the center of the world stage. The small pitiful country that Information Minister Brigadier General Kyaw San described in his scathing speech against the United Nations, was transformed overnight into a wrathful entity in the limelight of the global stage.
No matter that the regime tried to minimize the number of deaths and clean up their image, the whole world did not buy it, not even the Chinese or the Russians. The video showing the killing of Japanese journalist Kenji Nagai has wiped away any ounce of credibility the regime had been trying to achieve. The direct and brutal assault on the Japanese journalist gave an insight into half a century of killings and violence on Burmese citizens that the regime had successfully maintained under wraps.
As the truth was told through these visual images, the military junta had nowhere to hide. Moreover, now news coming out of Japan says that Nagai was under surveillance by the junta before he was killed, as evidenced by the Burmese guide that Nagai hired and to whom he entrusted his second camera in case he was killed. He evidently knew the ruthlessness of the Burmese junta. The saga of the daylight murder of Nagai may not end quickly. Nagai's Burmese guide was brought to Japan in October by APF News for safety. The news of the surveillance on Nagai was reported by his Burmese guide to a meeting at the Diet in Tokyo. The acts of the junta will keep on being revealed in spite of the clampdown on news in Burma after the demonstrations.
The world had indeed been creeping up on the generals without their knowledge. At present, at the ASEAN summit, reports in the media say the Burmese Ministers have been trying to block Gambari's scheduled presentation on Wednesday. This fact clearly shows the guilty conscience of the junta. If they had nothing to hide why would they want to block Gambari's speech? They don't seem to realize that they are now major villains on the world stage and any move they take is going to be scrutinized under a microscope. They now have nowhere to hide.
There will be a long shadow which will follow the junta wherever they go, like Angulimala, the villain during the Buddha's lifetime who had killed 999 persons before he met the Buddha. Although Angulimala became enlightened while meeting the Buddha, legend has it that wherever he went stones and rocks rained down on him from which he could not escape. Likewise with the junta's karma of inflicting murder on innocent countrymen and disregarding and violating human rights, the vipaka of such acts will be like a shadow following the junta wherever they go.
The fact that the ASEAN ministers are going to converge on the Burmese ministers behind closed doors already has the Burmese junta on the defensive. They are in fact getting the first taste of distrust from the Southeast Asian community of nations in the aftermath of the brutality they have committed on their unarmed countrymen. ASEAN may not kick them out, but they do not fully trust the Burmese junta either. Otherwise why would they question the Burmese ministers before Burma signs the new ASEAN Charter which is to promote human rights and democracy. In other words, ASEAN will not let Burma off lightly. At the same time they are giving recognition to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, which is a sign that they recognize her as a bona fide political figure in Burma. That should bring some balance to the junta's might.
Whether the human rights accord is binding or not, once the junta become one of the signatories, they are morally bound to the ASEAN community to abide by the mandate stipulated in the Charter. If they don't, and continue to inflict human rights violations and undermine democratic institutions, it will give the world the opportunity to put greater pressure on ASEAN to reconsider the membership of Burma in their club. In so many ways the accord is binding and a smart move on the part of ASEAN to keep the Burmese junta under their watchful eyes. But the cost of it is that ASEAN also has to shoulder the burden of playing nursemaid to the wayward Burmese military and try to bring them in line. This will be the most interesting and intriguing part of the saga with respect to the Burmese junta, which is now considered the black sheep within the family of ASEAN countries.
In a flat world this is what happens. No regime or country is an island and none can exist in isolation. The Burmese junta is no exception and they will find that out pretty soon.
No comments:
Post a Comment