In the last two issues of the Burma Digest, I tried highlighting the voices of exile democracy movement.  It did not recommend any radical changes or negotiate their demand for democracy but I argued a case for the Burmese politicians to get better in their activities and in evaluating their work of spreading the wisdoms of democracy to 40 million or so hostages in Burma captivated by their captor General Than Shwe.

So called the emergence of “third force” (according to the descriptions in Khipyein Paper) in the Burmese politics, which claims to provide solutions to Burma’s problems.  A serious study of the emergency of this group does not provide a tenable examples of any solutions to the problems of Burma but it appears to be the group which is pushing it’s way to claim their legitimacy in the international academic arena or media as a neutral group.  In the name of neutrality they criticise both Aung San Suu Kyi including NLD and quite moderately the military junta.  This new group of people want to create an international talking shop.

They are talking the talk of engaging with the government but one does not need to go far to look for evidence in falsifying their claims.  The “look East” approach that some would describe the constructive engagement attitude of ASEAN with the military junta is falling miserably.  In the infamous press conference given by the Burmese military ambassador to Manila, he mentions that democracy and release of Aung San Suu Kyi should not be the cards that international governments should be playing with them.  The constructive engagement is falling and the International pressure does not prove to be the ultimate success in making the illegal junta of Burma to bring about change but it does seem to make them respond light heartedly.

The “no change” approach is working and the notional fourth force of “no change” in Burmese politics is proving to be right.  The campaign against military junta can carry on as normal but with great articulation and force.  The more the adamant the junta behaves with the International community the more isolation it would create for itself.  When the angry and hungry masses of the country rise it would be unstoppable.  Most importantly the exile politicians need to ensure that they relay the message to the critical mass within the country that their poverty and destitution has nothing to do with sanction but the mismanagement of the economy engineered by the military junta.

The third force or the anti sanction camp often criticise Aung San Suu Kyi and the National League for Democracy (NLD) for not sparking off the revolt in Burma.  Aung San Suu Kyi rightly said often in her speaking tour that she alone could not ensure that Burma gets democracy but it is duty of every aspirer to work towards it.  The National League for Democracy is an elected political party of Burma and through which it can legitimately prevent the military junta gaining a complete legitimacy in international political arena or the least the International community cannot ignore her in dealing with the junta.  Any failed attempt to spark the revolt would allow the junta to declare NLD as an illegal party or it would even push the organisation to go underground and eventually to exile. The day NLD decides to go exile it’s influence and legitimacy will dwindle.  Aung San Suu Kyi would than fall into being a real victim of hero worship like the Dali La Ma of Tibet.

Last week in the Burma Digest, Terry Evan rightly raised the worries of creating Aung San Suu Kyi as a figurehead of democracy movement in Burma and the real issues would get side lined.  In view it is a needless topic to be worried about and it is unstoppable when the people of the world choose to glorify her as heroic.  Aung San Suu Kyi herself never hinted or glamorised herself as a hero of Burma.  Terry can rightly be worried about the way in which Burma advocacy groups in Western world selling her images and use her profile to create the profile of their own organisations.  Some time these organisations can over glorify one or two legitimate issues like sanction and UN Security Council’s action on Burma.  They cannot be criticised for their efforts in rightful cause but it is up to the exile Burmese politicians to lobby the international government intensely for not sidelining Burma issues.

The revolution in Burma or any where around the world cannot be created or manufactured by anyone.  No doubt, there are theories and books are written about by academics on the subject but people who take part in any revolutions knows the best that it happens with an instinct rather than someone sparking it.  Most of you of 1988 generation would rightly recall the fact that when people emerged out in the cities of Burma to protest against the regime they came from everywhere, every corner unexpectedly. A shop owner whilst shutting down his stall he secretly passed a bamboo stick to be used a flagpole for demonstration.

A group of school kids shouting slogan in a jammed packed bus were joined in by the rest of the passengers and ultimately the driver ended up driving the bus around with a student flag.  It became a democracy bus and another minute you turn your head around the dockworkers, civil servants and they all came out in the street.  The most important person who came out in front of my eyes turn out to be the chief justice Tin Aung Hein.  He waved his Burmese coat Ty-Pone from the veranda of the High Court.

I declare that when the changes comes in Burma it will come instantly and would multiply itself without any one’s prophesise or analytical analysis from this “third force” which is gallivanting around claiming to have a solution for Burma but they don’t.