No Subject Given (r)

[john@xxxxxxxxxx]

A few comments, dear Cameron, if I may:

On 12 May 1995 cameronb@xxxxxxxxxxx wrote:

> >From: "David Mathieson" <PTDSM@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> >
> >Searching for all relevant sources of information, particularly in
> >print books on Burma and current politics. And does anyone know
> >Bertil Lintner?
> 
> Just at a guess, I'd imagine lots of people know him.  Moreover, isn't he
> famous?

He may be famous, but that doesn't necessarily mean that a lot of people
know him. He may like his privacy. And maybe this guy wants to know if 
anyone knows him in, you know, the "biblical" sense.

Anyway, what does it mean, to know someone? As Socrates once said,
"Know Yourself". Although I'm sure that was more a suggestion than a
command. Besides, nobody was listening, right?

As for books on Burma, you might have recommended that he try a bookstore
or library-- I'm told that these are also available in Australia. And for
current politics, how about the newspapers? That way, he could also find
out about the local weather. 

No, you get only a B+ on this one, Cameron. Nice try.

Now, as for the desperate situation in Burma, I've already suggested
organizing an International Aung San Suu Kyi day to our local NCGUB
office. Everyone seems to like the idea, but no one has actually done
anything to promote it. Coordination and teamwork seem to be lacking in
this resistance movement. 

Things like writing to the UN Secretary General (on letterhead, of course), 
getting the various organizations in their different countries to 
approach local and national governments/legislatures to drum up official 
support, printing T-shirts, organizing concerts, etc. She is, after all, 
our best-known asset in fighting the SLORC.

The situation has become desperate. If she is not released by July 20 this
year, the SLORC will have no more legal pretext for detaining her. And if
the world continues to do business with it after that date, the accepting
of such business by foreign governments would amount to a de facto
recognition that her detention is irrelevant. 

Once Aung San Suu Kyi is thus marginalized, the possibility of finding
any sort of political or financial help to rid Burma of its plague,
becomes greatly reduced. The only way to hurt the SLORC at that point
would be direct assaults on the source of its income, the cash flows that
allow it to remain in power. 

However, the foreign investors and tourists bringing in the cash seem
unperturbable...  How they could be dissuaded from investing in Burma's
suffering is beyond my ability to imagine. Perhaps some others may be able
to think of an effective means of reducing their enthusiasm for slave
labor, torture, and blood money. 

Yours in truth and love, 

John