Political fires burn in Burma

JAQUELINE WAYMENT
Opinion Writer

Lately, there have been several reports in the British Broadcasting Corp. and Associated Press about the recent protests in Burma, also known as Myanmar.

People around the world were shocked to see a peaceful march consisting mainly of monks met with military violence.

The Burmese government reported that 10 people were killed and 2,100 were arrested in the last week. Hundreds of those arrested were monks that participated in the demonstrations.
It is estimated by outside sources that the death toll was higher and approximately 6,000 people were taken into custody.

In response, the United States and the European Union announced increased sanctions against the Junta, the ruling military government.

However, China and Russia vetoed any action by the U.N. Security Council.

This is not the first time something of this nature has happened in Burma. In 1988, the government decided to devalue the currency, causing people to lose their savings.

Demonstrations of hundreds of thousands of people including students, monks, and the public broke out. The government violently suppressed the protests, resulting in the death of 3,000 or more people.

In order to appease the people, the government held an election. The pro-democracy leader, Suu Kyi won in 1990 but the Junta refused to accept the results. Suu Kyi has been under house arrest for most of the past 18 years. She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 for her persistent campaign for democracy in her country.

Because of the current military regime, there are about 150,000 Burmese refugees living in Thailand. Some have been there for 20 years. According to the Human Rights Watch statistics, it is estimated that over 1 million people have been displaced since 1996. Currently, over 500,000 civilians are living along the border by Thailand in fear with little food or medical supplies.

Civilians are forced to leave their villages because the soldiers routinely drive them out and destroy their homes and their crops.

The landmines placed around the villages discourage people from coming back. This is a strategy used to purposefully starve the people and force them into conditions where disease is rampant.

“Recent surveys show that health indicators among the displaced population are some of the worst in the world, with 12 percent of the population suffering at any time from the most serious form of malaria, widespread malnutrition, high risk of injury from landmines and armed conflict, and high rates of infant mortality,” accoding to Human Rights Watch.

It would seem that the world has been ignoring what is happening in Burma, and now is suddenly shocked into action.
All because 10 people died, and 2,000 arrested (this is a conservative estimate considering it came from an oppressive government). Never mind the other human rights violations that have been going on for nearly twenty years that are much more severe.

No worries though, Laura Bush has made Burma one of her top priorities.

Mrs. Bush has come late to a cause that is, for most Americans, fairly obscure. “As I’ve lived here longer, I realize I became more aware of a chance to speak out about these issues that especially concern me,” she said. “And I wanted to take advantage of that,” as reported by the New York Times.

Really? Is anyone making a sincere effort at resolving this conflict? It could be argued that the UN might be. Personally, I wouldn’t call the UN envoy action. Then the question arises, why has it taken the UN nearly twenty years and a million displaced people later to actually do something?

Unfortunately, sanctions seem to be ineffective. While the United States and the European Union have increased their sanctions, too many companies have found a loophole. Or, they reside in a country that just doesn’t care, like China or Russia (note that these are the two countries that vetoed the Security Council).

Dated as of October 2007, as in right now, as you read this article, there are companies investing in Burmese oil and gas including Australia, the British Virgin Islands, China, France, India, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, Russia and the United States according to Human Rights Watch. And oil is the largest source of revenue for the Burmese government.

In 2006, $2.16 billion was made from gas exports, all of which went directly to the government. Chevron of the United States, Total of France, Nippon Oil from Japan, the state-owned Petronas of Malaysia and Thailand’s state-controlled company called PTTEP are just a few of the major companies involved.
China is currently negotiating the building of gas and oil pipelines in Burma.

South Korea and India are investing in natural gas products that will bring in revenue of $12 to 17 billion to the Burmese government over the next twenty years.

Human Rights Watch reported that India’s office of the president holds nearly 75 percent of the shares in Oil and Natural Gas Co. India’s minister for oil traveled to the Burmese capital a few weeks ago to sign an agreement for the investment in the amount of $150 million.

At the same time, thousands of protesters in Burma took to the streets to call for political freedom, an end to the government’s abuses, and for economic improvements.

Slightly embarrassing, I would think. Oddly, it also rings a little close to home.

What we have here is an oppressive military government, a Nobel Peace Prize winner under house arrest, monks being arrested and beaten (possibly even killed), a million displaced people, and who knows how many blown up or starved to death. Just contemplate that for a moment.

Now, consider this … there are at least 12 major countries with very prominent companies investing directly into the Burmese government.

One more thing … how many of you knew there was a crisis in Burma before reading this? I thought so.