THE THEATRE OF BURMA

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_ By Jim McNalis

Two point set-up: _

• Burma is dominated by an arrogant, brutal regime headed by Than Shwe that intends to remain in power at all costs. It does not give a damn what the outside world thinks. They have enough trading partners to keep filling their pockets and to be unaffected by US and European sanctions. The regime has never had the slightest interest in negotiating with Aung San Suu Kyi, the NLD, or ethnic groups.
  It cynically manipulates UN representatives and any other organizations or governments that attempt to influence its policies.
• Other than the mild discomfort and annoyance of sanctions on the regime, there has been a complete failure of external influence on the regime. The UN envoys are viewed as impotent, easily manipulated pawns and a gutless ASEAN has not made any significant effort to bring the regime into line. No matter. Neither organization has ever changed the course of any regime.

What has existed for the past 2 decades is a charade; the regime‘s Theatre of the Absurd. A stalemate. It is the regime’s game and they are calling all the shots. Every time a UN representative comes on stage it’s as if they are characters performing in a play scripted by the generals. Meetings are held, gifts exchanged, and the obligatory “grip & grin” photos are taken of the representatives with officials. The hoped for trophy shots are those taken with Than Shwe and better yet, Aung San Suu Kyi.
Upon departure from the country, the UN representative holds a brief press conference:
Press: “Do you think your trip accomplished anything”.
UN Rep: “Yes we had substantive talks with the key players”.
Press: “To what end?”.
UN Rep: “We encouraged both sides to get together and to begin discussing progressing towards democracy together”.
Press: “Now that you’ve gone do you believe this is happening?”.
UN Rep: “We have no way of knowing but we certainly hope so”.

Next year, the UN Rep will return to play exactly the same part in this play written by Than Shwe. The status quo will be maintained, and multi-million dollar UN budgets will be approved again for these “necessary and valuable meetings on the road to democracy”.

One begins to wonder what the qualifications are for the UN representatives and how their effectiveness is evaluated.

After nearly 2 decades of this repetitive nonsense someone ought to slam the door on this non productive dance; this repetitive, theatrical performance penned by the regime. All participants should make it clear that they will no longer repeat their roles in the regime’s production. Diplomacy, tact and politeness are worthless in dealing with the leaders of this monstrous regime. What is needed is expertly driven, tough negotiations; hard bargaining that informs the regime that their cynical game is totally unacceptable and will no longer be tolerated. Conditions ought to be outlined for the regime and a timetable imposed. As we all know, there is small chance of enforcing this type of negotiating but perhaps the street-wise generals will begin to develop some respect for the “opposition”.

The international community should be ashamed of itself for ignoring the brutal and vicious treatment of the Burmese population by the regime. They need to stop parroting their predictable lines in the regime’s play; “Today, a strongly worded statement was made by (any developed, free country) with regard to the massacre of Buddhist monks on the streets of Rangoon“. Admittedly these are heart felt sentiments but even well intentioned nations can continue to play ineffective roles in the regime’s theatre.

The people of Burma have made it crystal clear that they want democracy led by Aung San Suu Kyi and the NLD, with representation and participation by all of the country’s ethnic factions. The one time they were given the opportunity to vote and express their views, the result was a resounding victory for democracy. Periodically their frustration at the lack of opportunities, support, or benefits of any kind from their inept leaders, the populace has taken to the streets. Remember, these are not rock or Molotov cocktail throwing, violent demonstrators, these are simply citizens asking for a fair stake and a role in the play that is their lives. The response by the regime has been chilling and merciless: the regime orders soldiers into the streets to open fire and shoot to kill these “disruptive elements”. Disruptive, that is, to the regime’s uncontested free ride on the gravy train at the expense of the populace.

The regime does not even espouse any recognizable form of government. They merely refer to themselves as the legitimate government of the country. With one of the largest armies in the world, the regime devotes nearly 40% of it’s budget to defense. With no known enemies, the regime is using it’s army for the sole purpose of remaining in power and subjugating and intimidating it’s people.

Commenting on the recent demonstrations, the regime blamed the “foreign media and dissident reporters sneaking footage and pictures out via the internet” for causing a drop in tourism and damaging the economy. To quote the state run newspapers; “some foreigners attempted to tarnish the image of Myanmar by posting on the web sites the photos of the protest walks”. Apparently the regime sees no significance in the protests and feels justified in a violent response to these peaceful demonstrators.

Ah but help is on the way. Here comes the UN envoy to ask the generals to please behave and to get another prestige photo with Aung San Suu Kyi.
Help is on the way. As blood again runs through the streets, most civilized nations will yet again issue another “strongly worded statement. The sun will set. The blood and body parts will be removed from the streets and the status quo will have been restored.

This is a synopsis of a theatrical play written by Than Shwe titled, THE BEAT GOES ON. It is not very entertaining but all the cast can be counted on to repeat their lines without mistakes. Like any repertory group of actors, repetition guarantees performance perfection.

The only truly realistic statements recently have come from Aung San Suu Kyi. She has made it very clear that her meetings with the newly appointed government mediator have focused on trivial matters rather than any serious talk leading to mutual progress.

Finally she has said. “Hope for the best but prepare for the worst”.

It would make a difference if there were new, younger activists inside the country and among the exiles outside of Burma… an activist with focus and fire to organize and inspire. Unfortunately anyone close to this description inside Burma is in prison or under arrest. The power of energetic and inspiring leadership cannot be overemphasized. The opposition’s movement. is still waiting for this player to emerge.

New thinking is required to address and solve the problems in Burma. Before the current regime can be replaced or remodeled, all the previous, old, repetitive methods and ways of thinking must be retired. All the players need to stop performing in this ridiculous play and start anew.

The problems in Burma are obvious. It is a matter of taking a fresh, forceful and realistic approach to the question, “what then can we do about it? What action can be taken?”.

Recent calls for a complete revitalization of the struggle; a call to summon a new generation of leaders inside and outside the country and a focus on the wellbeing of the people rather than on the dominance of a political party are all well advised.
It is a call to action and encourages a fresh new dialogue within the movement; it begins that fresh dialogue and is a strong step in the right direction.