Ignoring the Screams Next Door
October 3rd, 2007 by Anindita Sengupta
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
~ Dylan Thomas
The bloodbath that followed the peaceful protest of monks in Burma last week has the world reeling. Unarmed protesters were beaten, tear-gassed and shot at — all in a day’s work for Burma’s ruling junta which has stifled every gasp of freedom in the country for the last 50 years or so. Thousands of monks have been imprisoned, “disrobed and shackled”. Now, they will be sent away to prisons in the far north of the country. It is doubtful that they will ever emerge once they are sent away. Meanwhile, it’s hard to know exactly what is going on in Rangoon because the government’s stranglehold on media remains strong.
What one does glean is that an UN convoy has had talks with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and the world is looking anxiously to Asean countries to use their influence on Burma. But economic links and trade ties seem to have blindfolded and gagged Burma’s neighbours, even if one of them is the world’s largest democracy. India is not only practicing a level of ‘diplomacy’ that is faintly disgusting, it also continues to supply arms to Burma’s government. This article points to the strategic concerns underlying India’s low key response. And this earlier story in Himal Magazine looks at the India-Burma embrace in greater detail.
Though India continues to request cooperation from the Burmese side in counter-insurgency operations, the generals have at best been lethargic. Upon pressure from New Delhi, they attack the NSCN-K camps in Burma, but show little interest in cracking down on the other insurgent groups.
In trying to work with Rangoon, Indian policy makers forget that many of the problems they face are linked to the nature of governance in Burma, which precludes a sustained and co-operative bilateral relationship. There is no space for dialogue, freedom of speech and political expression in a country where the foremost pro-democracy leader and Nobel Laureate remains under strict house arrest. It is estimated that around 1000 political prisoners, including members elected to Parliament in 1990, are detained in jails across Burma.
China has also largely remained quiet, driven by its commercial interests and its need for stability in the region. Here is an article analyzing where the country stands with regard to the Burmese issue. To me, here is an important point:
China’s Communist-dominated domestic politics also explain its reluctance to intervene.
“If you support peaceful political change in Burma, then it opens too many doors and questions like ‘Why aren’t you supporting it here?’ ” says Russell Leigh Moses, a Beijing-based China specialist.
So between commercial priorities, political backslapping and the pot being unable to call the kettle black, it looks like Burma’s monks can depend little on anyone to come to their help. This is disturbing but I’m sure surprises no one really. Commentators can do little except shake their heads solemnly and articulate once again the sanctions which, if imposed on Burma, would compel the government to change its mind. Or talk about how nobody’s clean in the Burmese blame game. Or suggest a rethink, without actually offering any concrete solutions. Well, comment is free and in the absence of any other choice, we can do little else.
You can, however, add your little bit to the fight by signing the Awaaz petition. A drop in the ocean is better than none at all — and who knows, maybe the monks will actually be freed some day. Hope is what we all live on.