Burmese military regimes as a Totalitarianism
May 3rd, 2011
Taungpyarthan on May 2, 2011
Dictatorship like Burmese military regime has become the modern fascist of the 21st century. The people of Burma have been totally controlled by the military junta with the ideology of totalitarianism. Burma with consist of different ethnic nationalities had been united as a federal nation after the Panlong agreement emerged in 1947 and Burma gained independent from British colony in 1948. Panlong agreement guaranteed for the ethnic nationalities such as Kachin, Shan, Chin and others ethnic to enjoy equal right under Burma federal union and the right to secede anytime from Burma after ten years of independent. However, the ideology of fascism has significantly destroyed not only the life and cultures of ethnic nationalities but also the ethnic Burman.
In the article “civil war knocking at Burma’s doors”, written by Zin Linn and published by Asian Tribune reveals that Burmese junta’s new constitution, approved in May 2008 referendum guarantees the Burmese junta to control the entire people of Burma and the social and political of all ethnic nationalities including ethnic Burman will stay under sovereignty of the junta (Linn, 2009). According to Yale political scientist Juan Linz (2009), political systems whereby a state regulates nearly every aspect of public and private life is described as a concept of totalitarianism. Totalitarian regimes retain themselves in political power by means of an official all-embracing or ideology and propaganda disseminated through the state-controlled mass media, single-party.
The totalitarianism ideology of the Bumese military regime is reflected to the term what Sternhell (1979) has made that all sectors of public and provide must be under one man and a single political party. No one will play the above of this single political party. All other political parties system is resolutely abolished. For example, as Linn (2009) has argued that the political parties such as National League for Democracy (NLD), Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD) and other ethnic nationalities who have won the National Election in 1990 have been eliminated. NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi and SNLD leader Khun Tun Oo have been jailed. And recently, the ethnic armed groups have been forced to turn into border-guard and the armed conflicts have broken-down after the ethnic Kokang has denied to accept the border-guard and thousands of civilian have been displaced. There are two millions Internally Displaced People (IDP) and is increasing as the Burmese junta is trying to rid off all ethnic people (Linn, 2009).
“The struggle for total domination of the total population of the earth, the elimination of every competing non-totalitarian reality, is inherent in the totalitarian regimes themselves; if they do not pursue global rule as their ultimate goal, they are only too likely to lose whatever power they have already seized” (Arendt, 1979, p392). Although Burmese junta does not have the power to dominate the global scale with their totalitarianism ideology they certainly influents some countries in Southeast Asia. For example, Burma’s neighboring countries have become friendship with the military regime and urged the neighbor countries to crackdown on their opponents. Even a country such as Australia has been influenced by the regime because sometime Australian government reluctant pressures the Burmese regime.
Reference:
Linn, Z, 2009, Civil War Knocking at Burma’s Doors, Asian Tribune, viewed 6/9/2009 http://www.asiantribune.com/news/2009/09/05/civil-war-knocking-burma%E2%80%99s-doors
Sternhell, Z. (1979). ‘Fascist ideology’ in W. Laquer. (ed.) Fascism: A Reader’s Guide. London: Penguin Books. Pp. 325-408.
Arendt, H. (1979) ‘Totalitarianism in power’ in The Origins of Totalitarianism, San Diego, New York, London: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.