Myanmar needs our support… but the silence is deafening!

Hi friends,

Some of us have heard of the Prague Spring.

It was in 1958 when the then Czechoslovakia, had a unique opportunity to liberalise politically even though it was still part of the communist Warsaw Pact.

Alexander Dubcek briefly wrested power from pro-Soviet politicians and from January till August of that fateful year, Czechoslovakians had illusions of democracy and political freedom.

This short-lived “spring” tragically ended with invasion by the Warsaw Pact forces. The rest of the world just stood and watched.

There are similar names of places and countries where thousands and even millions perished whilst the world just stood and watched.

Srebrenica, Rwanda, Cambodia, Sabra and Shatila, Soweto and now Myanmar?

ASEAN has used the excuse of the "principle of non-interference" to wash its hands off the affairs of the Myanmar people.

Are we going to just sit on our hands and wait for the makings of another “Killing fields” before guilt forces all of us to act?

Is it not exceedingly obvious that the vast majority of Myanmar people want to be freed from the yoke of oppression, represented by the military junta? They have been denied freedom and democracy for far too long.

Bloggers, your silence is deafening!

Are we content to just concern ourselves with narrow issues affecting our personal lives while barely 3 hours away, our South-east Asian brethren are fighting for their lives even while I speak?

For sure, any posts about gay rights (pro or against) or about CPF and longevity would get all of us hot under the collars, but not articles about poor and far-off Myanmar.

Sad but that’s life. Uniquely Singapore?

Dr.Huang Shoou Chyuan

ASEAN under pressure to act as Myanmar protests mountPosted: 25 September 2007 1425 hrs (AFP/Channelnewsasia)

KUALA LUMPUR : Southeast Asian nations have long been reluctant to confront their reviled neighbour Myanmar, but as protests mount in Yangon, observers say they risk losing credibility if they fail to act.

In the 10 years since it joined the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Myanmar has proved a major headache for the budding democracies of the region, who have been admonished by the west for failing to press for reforms.

"By any normal global international standards, ASEAN hasn't done much. I suspect many of the policymakers in Kuala Lumpur or Singapore or Jakarta or Manila will admit to that," said Hiro Katsumata from the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore.

"But this is not surprising because ASEAN needs Myanmar more than Myanmar needs ASEAN," he said, adding that the region feared the resource-rich nation could turn its back on the grouping in favour of closer ties with China.
In the face of the bravery of more than 100,000 people who stood alongside Buddhist monks in the streets of Myanmar's biggest city on Monday, regional governments are now facing loud calls to show their support.

"ASEAN can obviously do a lot more -- it's just a question of whether they want to. And with this internal protest and defiance of the people, it would be shameful if they kept quiet," said Malaysian lawmaker Zaid Ibrahim.

"They should use all their diplomacy and power and influence to pressure the regime," said Zaid, president of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Caucus, which was formed in 2004 to push for democratic reform in Myanmar.

Zaid said he was sure that although the ruling generals had not yet done anything to halt a week of street protests led by the revered monks, they would eventually "hit back" and that lives would be lost.

"I would expect some severe reprisals and crackdowns and more brutality from the regime. I think this is inevitable and I think the people of Burma know this and I hope they will not be deterred by it."

So far there has been little response from regional governments except the Philippines, which said Monday it wants to see democracy flourish in Myanmar.

ASEAN secretary general Ong Keng Yong has merely said he hoped the protests will remain "peaceful and calm", and his predecessor Rodolfo Severino indicated that little else would be forthcoming.

"Very little -- they could deliver a statement," Severino told AFP when asked what options the 10-bloc grouping had.

"What else can they do? Send in troops? I don't think ASEAN's in a position to do that. I think this is something that has to be worked out by the government and people of Myanmar."

Stirred into action by the United States and European governments which were highly critical of its performance, ASEAN has come out with some unusually bold statements against Myanmar's military government in recent years.

But despite mutterings about introducing a mechanism to suspend or expel the military-run state from the 10-nation bloc, there has been no action to match the rhetoric.

Jawahar Hassan, director of Malaysia's Institute of Strategic and International Studies, said that with the stakes now so high, nations in the region are even less likely to intervene.

"If nothing is happening in Myanmar they can issue some strong statements because it would not be seen as supporting opposition to Myanmar," he said.

"But when all this is happening to have to be careful... ASEAN governments cannot be seen to be supporting any movement against the government which may turn out to be violent."

After years of saying that change in Myanmar must come from within, Southeast Asia is being warned that now that just such a scenario has presented itself, the region cannot stand idle.

"Certainly ASEAN will not look good," said Katsumata.

"Human rights and democracy are becoming important parts of global norms, so the slower the ASEAN approach is, the worse ASEAN will appear in the eyes of the international audience." - AFP/ir

Myanmar's brave Buddhist clergy and personal thoughts on peaceful protest

"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing"


Edmund Burke





Hi Friends,

I am sure that few of the Buddhist monks participating in the protests against Myanmar’s military junta know who Burke is, much less heard of his famous “triumph of evil” quote.

It is fair to say that it probably matters little to them as they have already taken upon themselves the duty to save Myanmar by literally putting their own lives on the line. To them, enough is enough and the oil price hike was but the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back.

I had written previously about Myanmar and Aung San Suu Kyi here.

Peaceful protest justifiable?

For the detractors of peaceful protest -and Singapore has many, where do they stand?

Shall they still say that it is futile and counter-productive to protest? That the military junta should just be allowed to rule ad infinitum or until they see the folly of authoritarianism and give power voluntarily back to the people? "Wait Long" I hear some amongst us utter in Hokkien!

I suppose in a clearcut case like Myanmar, where the ruling elite do not have any intentions of having democratic institutions such as universal suffrage from free and fair elections, almost all of you (including so-called detractors) would say without any hesitation- "Go ahead and protest. We support your marches."

What about back home in sunny Singapore, where some of us seemingly live in a sort of blissful Utopia, oblivious to problems and issues facing other human beings within or without our national boundary? That it is unwise to allow peaceful protests?or That it is justifiable for any 5 people walking together for any cause to be hauled before our courts and be charged for being part of an “illegal assembly”? Just because most of us have 3 square meals daily, have we forfeited the right of free expressions?

So to protest in Myanmar is good, but to protest in Singapore plain silly?

Think about it! And while doing so do have a thought or say a prayer for the brave souls up north!

My Myanmar friends, live long and prosper! I support your just cause!

With sincerest wishes for a peaceful resolution in your troubled land,

Dr.Huang Shoou Chyuan

Addendum: The SIIA (Singapore Institute of International Affairs) has a niece piece untitled "The Last Stretch for Myanmar?" here .


30,000 rally as Myanmar monks' protest gathers steam (AFP 24 Sept 2007)







Thousands of Buddhist monks marched in Yangon on Monday, piling the pressure on Myanmar's ruling military junta after a weekend that saw the biggest show of dissent in nearly two decades.



At least 30,000 people led by about 15,000 monks clad in orange and rust-red robes marched from the holy Shwedagon Pagoda and past the offices of Aung San Suu Kyi's opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) party.



As the monks walked by chanting prayers for peace, NLD officials came to the sidewalk, clasped their hands and bowed in respect to the clergy, and then joined the marchers.



Many of the marchers fixed onto their shirts small strips of rust-red cloth, taken from the robes of the Buddhist monks.



Shwedagon Pagoda has been the focal point of protests by the clergy that began nearly a week ago, which have swelled to include thousands of civilians.



"We are marching for the people," one monk said to the crowd, and urged supporters to remain peaceful and avoid chanting political slogans as they snaked through the nation's commercial hub.



On Sunday, about 20,000 people, half of them monks, thronged the rainswept Yangon streets chanting prayers and shouting slogans, while other rallies took place across the country.



Some 150 nuns joined the rallies for the first time.



They were the largest protests in Myanmar since a 1988 democracy uprising led by students, which was brutally put down by the military, killing hundreds, possibly thousands, of protesters.
Two of Myanmar's most famous actors, comedian Zaganar and heart-throb movie star Kyaw Thu, came to Shwedagon early Monday to bring food and water to the monks, witnesses said.
Both men had spoken on short-wave radio urging the public to support the protests.



Myanmar's junta have so far kept their distance. Any violence against the revered monks in this devoutly Buddhist nation would spark an outcry, analysts say, and the generals are likely keen to defuse the crisis peacefully.



"If the military kills a monk or a layman, then the demonstrations will quickly spread," said Aung Naing Oo, a Myanmar expert based in Thailand.



David Mathieson, Myanmar consultant with New York-based Human Rights Watch, told AFP that civilians joining the monks in the numbers seen Sunday marked a significant escalation in the protest movement.



"I'm heartened by the fact that there hasn't been a violent crackdown by the authorities, (but) this is still an incredibly tense time to see how they react," he said.



In a surprise move on Saturday, armed police allowed about 2,000 monks and civilians to pray outside the home of democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.



The women known here simply as "The Lady" stepped outside the lakeside home where she has been under house arrest for more than a decade and greeted the monks and supporters.



"Walking down University Avenue and going to see Aung San Suu Kyi is something that people have been secretly dreaming of. And they did it, and the army let them, and that is what is really remarkable," Mathieson said.



But on Sunday, riot police blocked the road leading to the Nobel Peace Prize winner's house, and a smaller group of monks were forced to turn back.



Extra forces were again deployed around the home on Monday, witnesses said.
Anti-government protests began after a surprise rise in the price of fuel on August 15.



Initially, prominent democracy activists led the rallies, but the generals cracked down, arresting up to 150 people, human rights groups say, and now it is the monks who are spearheading the marches.



Smaller rallies have also been taking place in cities in central Myanmar, in a bold show of dissent in a nation that has been tightly controlled by the military for 45 years.



The United States and European nations are also preparing to round on Myanmar at the annual United Nations General Assembly this week, with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice branding the military leadership "brutal."

Aung San Suu Kyi: Yet another year in detention!

Hi Friends,

All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.

Edmund Burke Irish orator, philosopher, & politician (1729 - 1797)

It is shameful that in this day and age, Myanmar continues to mistreat its own people with impunity and in total disregard to basic human rights.

Efforts to free Aung San Suu Kyi are made more difficult by countries like energy-hungry China who are eyeing her resources.

More should be done to get the Nobel Peace Prize winner freed!

I wrote this (Does Myanmar deserve ASEAN) in July 2006 and NOTHING has changed since then!




Dr.Huang Shoou Chyuan



1. Burma extends Suu Kyi's detention

Burma's military junta has extended the house arrest of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi by one year, officials say.

25 May 2007 BBC News

The move was swiftly condemned by the United States, which called for Ms Suu Kyi's immediate release.

The pro-democracy leader's latest period of detention, which began in May 2003, had been due to expire on Sunday.

Ms Suu Kyi has spent 11 of the last 18 years under house arrest. In 1990 her National League for Democracy won polls that were annulled by the army.

She has never been allowed to take power.

The extension order was widely expected, as under Burmese law Ms Suu Kyi's house arrest must be renewed every 12 months.

A US State Department spokesman described the decision as "unfortunate" and "condemnable", and urged other countries to put pressure on Burma to release Ms Suu Kyi and other political prisoners.

Last week, 59 world political leaders including former US Presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter, and former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung, called for her release in a letter to Burma's military ruler, General Than Shwe.

In November 2006, Ms Suu Kyi was allowed to leave her house to meet UN envoy Ibrahim Gambari for one hour.

Burma's military junta took power in 1988.


2. China will stay out of Myanmar's affairs

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

23 May 2007

BEIJING -- China said Wednesday that the detention of Myanmar democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi is an internal matter for the Southeast Asian country's government, declining to join other nations urging her release.

China's stance came a day after the 10-country Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, broke with its core policy of noninterference and pointedly called on Myanmar's military-backed government to release Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate.

China's Foreign Ministry said in a statement that "the Aung San Suu Kyi matter is Myanmar's internal affair. The Chinese side hopes to see Myanmar maintain political stability and continue to make progress in the process of national reconciliation."

The discord between ASEAN and Myanmar - one of its members - puts China in a bind.

China has worked hard to build close relations with the group's members, seeing their support as crucial to its economic and geopolitical rise, and is trying to portray itself as a responsible world player. But Beijing has also provided diplomatic support to Myanmar's junta and crucial investment, especially in oil, gas and minerals.

In a sign of this balancing act, China, along with Russia, vetoed a U.S.-backed resolution in the U.N. Security Council in January, calling on Myanmar to end political suppression. However, in doing so, China's U.N. ambassador said Beijing would support ASEAN in its policies toward Myanmar.