BURMA'S JUNTA DEVOID OF COMPASSION

With tens of thousands dead and dying following the cyclone in Burma, now called Myanmar by its military leaders, it came as no shock to international rights groups that those same leaders appeared unmoved by the tragedy. Despite calls from world leaders and the UN to allow aid and aid workers to flow into the country the Burmese junta closed its nations’ borders to outsiders, especially the international media. When some aid arrived in the country generals put their names on it to convince the people it was a gift from them.
Burma was controversially named the Union of Myanmar by the junta in 1989 but it has really been a place apart since the military seized power in 1962 and eradicated all forms of dissent. A member of the Asian Human Rights Commission, who uses the pen name Awzar Twi, has provided the most telling description of what the country has become under the leadership of nineteen military figures:
“The gap between the haves and have-nots has grown so wide in the past few years that there are now said to be only two classes – those who have so much stuff they don’t know where to put it, and those who don’t eat.”
In recent years, “those who have so much stuff they don’t know where to put it,” have moved much of their private wealth into offshore accounts and into banks in places like Singapore and Hong Kong. The wives, children and relatives of the generals in power often travel abroad to buy the latest fashions and gamble in casinos. Most of them live in the largest city, Rangoon, now called Yangon by the junta, because it has a vibrant social scene and the largest mansions in the country. Gossip columns in Rangoon often describe the opulent lifestyles of the rich while the rest of the country lives below the poverty line. The population numbers 48.5 million and life expectancy is listed by the UN at 59 years for men and 65 for women and those figures are regarded as top of the range.
Any attempt to question the will of the military is suppressed and only the very rich have access to television. The media is so tightly controlled defeats by the national soccer team are not allowed to be reported. Anyone caught listening to BBC World Service or Voice of America is likely to be arrested. The junta fears democracy and rigs elections to keep its control on power. When it permitted free elections in 1990, Aung San Su Kyi and her democracy party won a landslide victory, which the junta quickly overturned. Since then Su Kyi, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, has been held under house arrest. They generals and their aides run everything from major industries to drug trafficking and the export of wood. They have been accused of widespread human rights crimes including the use and movement of forced labor, the promotion of child labor and the torture and killing of thousands of dissidents, including students and Buddhist monks.
An example of their love of the high life was exposed in 2006 when General Than Shwe, 75, the junta leader, held a lavish wedding party for his daughter. A ten minute video clip of the event ended up on You Tube and caused a sensation inside and outside the country when it was revealed that aside from the opulence on show, the bride received gifts totaling at least $50 million. That home video also provided a rare glimpse of General Shwe decked out in extravagant military dress, sporting a huge bunch of glittering medals.
Over the years, he has avoided being photographed; creating the impression he is a reclusive figure. It is public knowledge that he and his fellow generals are highly superstitious, a personality trait found in many dictators throughout history. His superstition may relate to a real fear that at any time the country or some of those around him, will revolt and demand his head. He frequently consults astrologers and it was his idea to build a new capital called Niypyidaw, which has been described as a capital without a population, resembling an outrageously expensive folly.
Like the other military figures who make up the junta, he has an obvious paranoia that the outside world may somehow corrupt the junta’s powerbase. As a consequence, he and his sidekicks have created a society very much like the Rumania of Nicolai Ceausescu and Russia under Stalin. When the cyclone hit, it was clear the junta feared that allowing US and other foreign aid workers to enter the country risked “contamination” – that democracy would somehow find its way into the body politic through the basic interaction between the Burmese people and foreigners.
In the past year, Washington has tried to encourage the international community to isolate the junta but that is easier said than done. Burma’s neighbors, China and India have been reprimanded for being silent about the plight of the Burmese people. The French, especially the oil company, Total, have been heavily criticized in the past for working with the junta to develop oil and gas throughout the country. In Europe, there were claims France deliberately blocked EU measures aimed at isolating the junta. But, unless India and China put an economic squeeze on the generals it is unlikely a cyclone and the deaths of tens of thousands will weaken their control on power.
One group that has found a unique, if not questionable way to embarrass the junta, is “Panties for Peace” based in Thailand. It is composed of women activists who have used the internet to encourage women worldwide to send panties to General Shwe and his colleagues. The tactic is predicated on the belief that the generals are not only superstitious but have promoted rape by their military as a tactic to silence women. The “Panties for Peace” website explains its message as follows:
“Superstitious junta members believe that any contact with female undergarments – clean or dirty – will sap them of their power…..You can post, deliver or fling your panties at the closest Burmese embassy. Send early, send often.”
The site provides a long list of addresses of Burmese foreign missions across the globe and in the past year many of those missions have received packages from women. In many instances panties have been left outside “Union of Myanmar” embassies in cities like Washington DC.