_ By May Ng       

From half way around the earth one could almost hear the rumbling of a new dawn as hundreds of monks chanted their way through the streets praying for freedom in Burma.

The struggle for democracy has intensified since January after China and Russia defeated the UNSC resolution to end the political conflicts in Burma.

Since then China continues to deny that, escalating political conflicts and government atrocities in Burma pose a threat to peace and security in the region. Mean while Amnesty International reported that China has been the main supplier of weapons, cash, political and strategic supports for Burma since 1988. The report also said that India, China and Russia, the two permanent members of UNSC, have supplied Myanmar army with military equipments, army vehicles, and aircrafts.

While supported by powerful neighbors, Myanmar army is accused of rape, torture, extrajudicial executions, forcible relocation, forced labour, and forcible recruitment of child soldiers, by the Amnesty International, ILO, UN Human Rights Commission, ICRC, EU, Human Rights Watch, and other NGO organizations.

But the discovery of large oil and gas deposits in Burma has meant that even India, the largest democracy, refuses to interfere in Burma’s internal affairs. China and India are selectively drawing on their shared past experiences in ‘anti-colonialism’ and ‘resistance-to-foreigners,’ to justify their diplomacy of ‘non-interference’ in Myanmar’s sovereignty, while competing for access to Burma’s rich natural resources.

Right after World War II, the Communist government in China promoted the century old ‘opposition to encroachments upon the territorial and political integrity of Chinese sovereignty’ as ‘the supreme interest of each government and people,’ by reasoning that there will be no human rights without the sovereignty.

But, Chinese people suffered in the hands of their own leaders during Cultural Revolution between 1969 and 1979 as much as they suffered in the hands of foreigners during colonialism. Since the end of Second World War many nations continue to suffer not from foreign invasions but from native barbarity risen from post war ultra-nationalism and strong man politics.

A narrow definition of sovereignty that only benefits the government elites but not the country’s majority is misleading. China and India can no longer hide their heads in the sand with a feeble excuse of not wanting to infringe upon a narrowly defined Myanmar’s sovereignty. China and India must stop protecting the domestic tyranny in Myanmar and start taking responsibility for their parts in prolonging the sufferings of the majority of the people in Burma.

The UN Watch reported in November 2006 that beside China, Russia and India, the United Nations routinely failed to address gross human rights violations. The UN also failed to end politicizing and selectivity in championing the UN Charter’s democratic values. The UN Watch continued that although UN Human Rights Council had heard more than 40 special rapporteurs’ reports identifying serious human rights issues in countries like Burma, it acted on none of them.

To remedy these, the UN Watch recommended that the UN Human Rights Council’s liberal democratic members must become more assertive and proactive and speak out sooner, and more often, and in greater numbers, and stop allowing the repressive regimes to dominate the debate at the UN.

The recent bloody crackdown in Burma has prompted the International Federation for Human Rights and the Parliament of the European Union to call for new program of sanctions by EU members and to call on the ASEAN to take more robust measures against the military, exceeding the power of China in Asia.

As for the United States, in spite of its steadfast support for human rights and democracy in Burma, and a deep commitment by the first lady Laura Bush; an independent political observer, the ISA Consultants, has given the U.S. a less than favorable report for failing to follow up on the political rhetoric with real actions.

The ISA reported that ‘while President Bush is likely to press Chinese Premier Hu Jintao on Myanmar at the APEC summit, there appears to be little political will in Washington for a confrontation, given Chinese cooperation on North Korea. Myanmar does not loom large on the US State Department’s foreign policy radar and it is this fact that has allowed India to cultivate its ties with Naypyidaw.’

Burmese people are paying a very high price for their determination to continue pressing for democracy, while remaining independent of outside influence.

The U.S. may be preoccupied with challenges from Radical Islam and the emergence of great authoritarianism, but the U.S. should still help a friend who may one day join its side. To balance the power of China and Russia, United States must take strong actions to support the democracy movement in Burma.

The monks are finally speaking up and as they inch closer to freedom, tension is mounting and there is danger of the powerful military cracking down on the innocent protesters in Burma.

If the good people in free countries stand by and do nothing while the great wrong is done to the innocent people in Burma, moral sanction is granted to those who are doing wrong. The U.S., UN, EU, and ASEAN must all stand up for justice and freedom and prevent Myanmar government from attacking the innocent protesters.

The world must join the Burmese people in solidarity and blacklist those men who bash helpless citizens, and the generals who commit crimes against humanity under the cover of darkness, and ban them from the civilized world.

(Because of the important message in it this is the updated version of my article from 18 September on another website.)