The recent revolts in Myanmar (Burma) have not quite caught America’s eye. Sure, the New York Times (bless their hearts) is following the events with daily stories. But how many people read the NYT? It is something of an elite paper. News in the US can be highly localized. I do try to read the local news wherever I go. It gives you a flavor of the place you’re in. But there needs to be a balance in the news between local and global, because each affects the other. The events in Myanmar have not met with enough international media attention. The American media spent weeks on Anna Nicole Smith’s death and the subsequent legal disputes, but is doing a poor job of increasing international awareness.
This is not restricted to the American media, though. The Hindustan Times, one of India’s leading English dailies, continues to bury this story in the middle of the paper while posting cricket news on page 1.
This week’s revolt stands out because, despite fierce repression in the past, the monks have stood up to the military government. In response, they have been arrested, shot at, and beaten. Here are a couple of links worth checking out.
http://burmadigest.info/2007/09/26/bloody-crack-down-in-burma/
http://ratchasima.net/2007/09/27/burmas-saffron-revolution/
The NYT, as I said, is also following the story.
Not enough is being done to restrain the junta. I’m not in favor of the invasion of sovereign nations, but there is an international system of political checks and balances (even if some think it ineffectual). Economic sanctions are one option, though in the end it might hurt the common person more than it hurts the government. I’m not a trained diplomat – I don’t know. But there are people who do, and they really need to do something.
Perhaps India and China need to reassess their diplomatic relations with the junta government, since they are the two major nations in that part of the world. The NYT, in their 26 Sept 2007 editorial says:
“[T]he greatest leverage to forestall disaster lies with China, Russia and India, who are making money off the junta and enabling it to stay in power. China, Myanmar’s chief trade partner and the host of the 2008 Olympic Games, has beefed up arms sales to Yangon, formerly Rangoon, prompting Russia and India to do likewise as a way of offsetting Beijing’s influence. Moscow has discussed providing the junta with a nuclear research reactor, and India – the democracy on which the United States hopes to build a key security and economic relationship for the 21st century – had a senior minister in Myanmar for energy talks, even as the democracy protests were under way.”
To the Indian government: shame! Selling arms to a repressive military government is not non-interference, and it is particularly shameful coming from a country with a history like ours, with a history of fighting a repressive regime and striving, at great cost, for freedom. What the Indian government should be doing, among other things, is working towards freeing Aung San Suu Kyi.
1 October edit: I’m listening to On Point (on the radio). They’re talking about the events in Myanmar. Burton Levin, the last US Ambassador to Burma, said that the junta were xenophobic and “nationalistic”, and wouldn’t care even if India, China, or Russia did step in and signal their disapproval (which, to date, they really have not). He also said that the junta were, however, very religious. So perhaps they would ease up on the repression? We’ll have to wait and see, but it sounds to me like nobody quite knows what to do about the events in Myanmar.
Aung San Suu Kyi has a certain power as a political prisoner. She is a symbol.
Careful, though… about taking other countries to tax on the issue of providing arms and aide to repressive regimes. In the United States we live in a big glass house, and it’s best not to throw stones too deliberately on that issue.
We have a history of funding, arming and training some of the most despicable oppressors on Earth. And those choices have caused many of the horrible quagmires our country finds itself involved in today.
Thanks for your comment, Amuirin. I guess, despite living in the US, because I’m still an Indian citizen I feel a measure of responsibility in the actions of my country. Which puts me in the reverse position from you – I can’t throw stones at any other country, the US included.
As for Aung San Suu Kyi, I agree that she is a powerful symbol of all that is right, and all that is wrong, in Myanmar. But I grieve for her as a person. The situation is unfortunate.