an open letter II (r)

[dohrs@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

This has been a thoughtful and useful airing of grievences and opinions.
However, it seems to me that the key issue is not being examined.

The fact is that the Burma Democracy movement, in all its forms, has
accomplished a great deal, especially in the international arena, on an
absolute shoe-string.  The emphasis should not be on squabbling over who
gets the crumbs of the pie, but on increasing the size of the pie that all
must share.  Remember, the sum total of all the funds provided to the
support of freedom and democracy in Burma amounts to a small fraction of
the money invested in a single project, such as the SLORC/Unocal/Total/PTT
pipeline.

We must ask, who has an interest in the development of democracy in Burma?
1) The people of Taiwan, whose own bold experiment with democracy is a
challenge to the Beijing regime.
2) Those in Hong Kong who wish to preserve an environment of openness in
Asia and in their own city.
3) All Thais with the exception of the most greedy and selfish.
Thailand's interests are much better served by political pluralism in
Burma than by an unaccountable, violent military dictatorship, whose
dishonesty and arrogance is always on display along the Thai-Burma border.
4) Anyone with the foresight to see the value of open societies in an
ascendant Asia.  Conflict resolution between open societies has less
chance of being violent.  Justice and equal opportunities are greater
where there is rule of law.  Stability is enhanced where corruption can be
exposed rather than left to fester unseen.
5) All those working for justice in China, Indonesia and Vietnam.  How can
they hope to press for change, if change can not be brought about in
Burma, where the people have spoken both in the streets and at the ballot
box?  The most obvious example must be dealt with first, and that is
Burma.

Lots of people, including many with the resources to help this movement,
have an interest in democratic development in Burma.  How valuable it
would be if we could all commit to reaching out to those people?  Let's
not end up as slum-dwellers fighting over scraps.

Larry Dohrs
Seattle