Most people probably have never heard of Burma, and half of those who have (including me) could probably not find it on the map. I do know it is on the border of Thailand, thanks to having read this series of articles in The Independent.
This one talks of the excesses which are perpetrated daily on the population by what the article refers to as the nations illegitimate government.
This one focuses in a general way on the history of the nation over the last forty years, and how it's democratically elected leader, Suu Kyi, has been-due to her popularity with the masses-kept under house arrest for twenty years.
Burma was a former British colony, and the brutality the people have endured since it was relinquished is on a par with the same kind of atrocities noted in Cambodia, Rwanda, Darfur, and similar places, yet it has not received the attention, or anything approaching the same degree of international aid.
There are multiple reasons for this. One, the British government does a good deal of business with the regime, as Burma is a land rich in natural resources. Additionally, the foreign trade Britain engages with the regime is based on slave labor. Furthermore, aid is restricted by the very regime who evidently is committing intentional genocide against it's ethnic minorities, many of whom languish now in refugee camps in neighboring Thailand.
Here, rape is a weapon of war, and torture of political dissenters is an everyday fact of life. Recently, many British MPs have insisted action be taken against the regime, but in the meantime, the Python continues to squeeze, aiming apparently to slowly strangle the life and soul of the nation, and swallow up the carcase while it basks in the sun of international trade, ignorance, and general indifference.
This one talks of the excesses which are perpetrated daily on the population by what the article refers to as the nations illegitimate government.
This one focuses in a general way on the history of the nation over the last forty years, and how it's democratically elected leader, Suu Kyi, has been-due to her popularity with the masses-kept under house arrest for twenty years.
Burma was a former British colony, and the brutality the people have endured since it was relinquished is on a par with the same kind of atrocities noted in Cambodia, Rwanda, Darfur, and similar places, yet it has not received the attention, or anything approaching the same degree of international aid.
There are multiple reasons for this. One, the British government does a good deal of business with the regime, as Burma is a land rich in natural resources. Additionally, the foreign trade Britain engages with the regime is based on slave labor. Furthermore, aid is restricted by the very regime who evidently is committing intentional genocide against it's ethnic minorities, many of whom languish now in refugee camps in neighboring Thailand.
Here, rape is a weapon of war, and torture of political dissenters is an everyday fact of life. Recently, many British MPs have insisted action be taken against the regime, but in the meantime, the Python continues to squeeze, aiming apparently to slowly strangle the life and soul of the nation, and swallow up the carcase while it basks in the sun of international trade, ignorance, and general indifference.
2 comments:
Burma's main supporter on the international scene is China. All attempts to send UN troops to Burma were vetoed by China, not UK.
Sonia-thanks for the info. This would be a worthwhile topic for you to blog about as well, I would think it's right up your alley.
It doesn't surprise me about China. Before they joined the UN, it was still a bullshit organization, but when they joined they really fucked it up.
Kicking Taiwan out in accession to their demands was one of the most shameful acts in modern world history, in my opinion. It should really be disbanded.
So the idea that The People's Republic of China supports the illegitimate Burmese government certainly comes as no surprise.
I think though the focus of the Independent was the business done with Burma through British corporate interests, which therefore induces the British government to turn a blind eye.
The Independent is a British publication. I probably would disagree with most of their positions, but in this case I think they are aiming at arousing public indignation with a goal of influencing policy change regarding Burma. Which,if all this is true, is certainly laudable.
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