Five Burmese ethnic political parties which won 57 seats out of 1,160 seats in the Burma election called on Western nations to lift sanctions against the Burmese military regime which was followed by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) which praised the election on November 2010 as “conducive and transparent”. Those demands to the western nations proved that ASEAN has no moral value at all.

Let see what was happened before November election:

1. Main political party NLD faced the pressure to fire its own leaders including General Secretary Aung San Suu Kyi.
2. Political prisoners are still in the prisons before and after the election
3. UN and foreign observers were not allowed to monitor the election
4. Government party USDP only has all the privilege to access direct government funding, infrastructure, transportation, prosperities, full help from local authorities, free to go any where for the party organizational trips
5. On the other hand, opposition political parties were facing intimidation and blockage to access to the people, they had to apply permission from the police station, local authorities to give a speech, blocked to get donation from foreign countries, some potential ethnic leaders were refused to register as political parties or as an individuals, prevented some potential ethnic parties for campaign trips.
6. Forced to join USDP for government employees
7. Threat of arrest if not vote for USDA
8. The acting government Prime Minister was appointed as USDP Chairman before the election.  As a result USDP party got all the privilege from the regime.

On the Election Day:

1. Opposition parties’ members were not allowed to monitor the voting places
2. But USDA party members were allowed to get into the voting places and ignored when they openly pressure the voters to vote for them
3. After voting period end, opposition party members were not allowed to watch the counting of ballots.  All the counting were not made public but counted by election commission appointed by the regime.
4. Some candidates were announced as winners at voting day but they were informed the next day that USDP candidate was a winner.
5. Many political parties agreed that the election was a sham and announced that they would not recognize the election result.
6. In addition, recorded cheating system called pre-voting (advance voting) system designed to cheat openly by adding ballots as advance voting to favor USDA candidates who lost in the election day.  Opposition party’s candidates were not allowed in the counting process only election commission members counted the votes with no transparency. It is obvious that the election was rigged.

Those were the tip of the ice berg.  But ASEAN said the election was transparent and want to favor the regime by pressuring the west to lift sanction for its potential economic partner.  We are now living in the electronic age.  Practicing blackout news and censorship by authoritarian regimes to hide the truth of days are numbered.  But ASEAN, India and especially China closed their eyes and supported the Burmese regime without hesitation.  What is the meaning of Asian value?  The Asian value is interprets as doing business for economic benefit for its own country and personal fortune for politicians because ASEAN politicians are deeply corrupted.   Even though the regime killed many innocent people and drove out millions of refugees to its neighboring countries, jailed many politicians, tight control on press and media, ignored the 1990 election results and stole the 2010 election by using dirty tricks, the ASEAN raised its voice and shamelessly said the election was “conducive and transparent”.  In addition, lie to the world on behalf of the regime for their own economic benefit by speaking out loud that the regime is in the right direction and democratic change will follow in positive way.

Five ethnic groups only won a small portion of the seats in the election have no political power for change but they are pleasing the regime to get favor for their own party interest or self interest.  Lifting or not lifting sanction is not related to their constituency at all but they do it any way.

In Addition, the creation of three Hluttaws such as Pyithu Hluttaw (People’s Congress), Taiyintha Hluttaw (Ethnic Congress), and Amyotha Hluttaw (National Congress) will convene in the end of January but all the elected representatives are not allowed to bring camera, recording devices, cell phones and electronic devices.  It means even though they are elected representatives, there are no rights for them to record what they discuss in the three congresses.  In other words, people have no rights to know what they discuss in the Hluttaws.  Some politicians claimed that they will change the military dominant constitution from within the legal process but the current restriction proved that those dreams will not come true by using legal process.

Any way lifting sanction might eliminate the accusation on NLD and Aung San Suu Kyi and it will prove that without sanction, the regime will not uplift the sinking economy in Burma.  The regime and its elite group are the only ones who have full responsible for the poor economy, obsolete education, inadequate health system and still one of the least development nations in the world.

Regards

Htun Aung Gyaw

428 Winthrop Drive

Ithaca, New York

USA

Tel: 607-266-8942