by Min Khin Kyaw

http://aminor-amajor.blogspot.com/

I don’t mind any engagement – even economic ones. But there must be watchful eyes. Also governments must guarantee their company won’t do any business with the junta whenever it uses forced labour. Forced labour has been the issue. People are forced to work for the junta and they don’t get paid but they have to provide their own food, etc. even. And all developments and incomes from the exploitation do not reach anybody but the junta. So there must also a condition that a fair percentage of all incomes must go to the local people to improve their livelihood.

If all income have to go to the junta only, as it is now, then how can people become better off? It can be ‘more investments, more forced labour’.

One thing that is certain is nobody can say these incomes will reach the people reasonably. Even the donation for the storm survivors went to the markets and sold as usual commodity.

If all incomes have to be filtered through the junta, we won’t see any change in the lives of the people…but will certainly make the junta to become nuclear ready. They need a huge amount of money desperately for military equipment. All income will go to that.

As the junta can force the UN out of Burma, deny humanity aids (hopefully it won’t happen again), lock up aid workers, lock up any political activists, political leaders, with a long brutal track record of human right abuses and forced labour and currently heading to a condition for better power grip, what type of engagements can make the conditions of the people of Burma better? Well, there must be a way. It is always great to hear any good news or advise at all. Especially, ASEAN should have come with a reasonable work plan how to solve worst human right abuses in the regional country Burma.

It’s been more than a decade that ASEAN has engaged with the junta as they desired ideologically. And they want to keep it as it is unconditionally. And they also want to persuade US and EU to come to their side. Then they should come with a proper working plan how they’ll engage with the junta toward democratic future.

But if nothing is to be changed, then they will have to make the junta and its collaborators wealthy, a lot wealthy, till they can no longer grab any wealth anymore – like the dams are filled with floods completely so they burst and let the water out. After that, the Burmese people will be able to get a share of some water.

Well, I’m not pessimistic at all. As only a few countries are siding with the junta, sooner or later they’d like to give it up – when they realise they are only handling the droppings.

Although the tasks need fixing seem to be so many, if you can fix one, only one, then everything can become normal again. But if you keep fixing these so many tasks, you are just like building a dike with sand. And if you don’t build dams but let the water flow directly along the rivers, then the people will be better off and the region will be nuclear free too. Or you will see many North Koreans in Burma sooner.