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POLITICS AND POLICY
/* Written 24 Sep 11:00am 1998 by drunoo@xxxxxxxxxxxx in igc:reg.burma */
/* --------------" Politics and Policy "---------------- */
POLITICS AND POLICY
*******************
Recently there have been alarms and criticisms raised by
sources from certain quarters regarding with the
pro-democracy movement's lack of policy on various matters,
such as counter-narcotics efforts, economics etc. To large
extent, this is true: we still have no concrete policy and
plan on many matters to begin with. Then again, it is not
to be too desperate, at this stage, about ourselves to be
able to put forward plans. On the otherhand, we must, in
all fairness, expect Aung San Suu Kyi and our leaders to
come-up with all necessary solutions on these matters.
To be able to devise solution to these problems, an open
and transparent political environment is required as a
starting point. We could then make a gradual build-up
of ideas and start on consolidating policies.
DOING POLITICS: WHAT DOES IT MEANS?
***********************************
It is a rather provocative, at this point, to ask any Burmese
activists about their own "interpretations" of doing politics.
While there is no one right way to accurately describe it, my
own interpretation of "doing politics" is that of consolidating
and implementing policies. We can see that this task is not a
striaghtforward and simple by any means.
FUNDAMENTAL ISSUES
******************
In politics, there are issues of fundamental nature which
everyone could see problem exists but difficult to solve and
tackle effectively. For example, issues such as homelessness and
drug-addiction in America, the unemployments in Australia and
many developed countries, are such fundamental issues.
Fundamental nature of such issues may be apparent when
considering in those countries--USA, Australia etc.--problems
persist despite attempts by many competent policy-makers
with governments of all persuasion are committed to solving
these issues.
All issues related to political transitions may also be considered
as fundamental. For example, economic transitions in Russia and
Eastern Europe; economic globalization in many of developed and
developing countries are also considered to be issues of
fundamental nature. Our own case of human rights problems and
transition to democracy is also of the fundamental problems.
Refugee problems around the world, for example, are cartainly
of the fundamental problems.
POLITICAL CONSOLIDATION IS NEEDED
*********************************
On tackling political problems, first and foremost, the accurate
data and assessments about situation are required. For example,
when we tackle the problem of forced labour in Burma--a human
rights problem--we must have accurate knowledge of how such
problem occured. In this respect, recent report made by ILO
inquiry can be helpful. After understanding the problem, the
next step is devising viable solution, i.e. promoting policy.
On tackling other issues, such as economics transition and
drug-eradication will also require accurate data and
assessments. It can be seen that the grassroots participation
in collecting data/ideas have been very important, as many
of above examples showed. Likewise, a parliament as a formal
institution or a newsmedia(censorship-free one) are pricipal
tools to serve in grassroots participation of political
process.
In an absence of formally organized political entity (in a
movement, for example) the grassroots initiatives are even more
important in implementing policies. When implementing a viable
public policy, it is more helpful in grassroots understanding of
policy than that of giving loyal supports to political leaders.
In fact, the basis of political power of an entity, for example
a political party, rests upon the understanding of
its policy-decisions by its supporters and general public.
In otherwords, the grassroots supporters, by themselves, must
be able to understand the issues and meaningfully participate
in implementing political policy. In a political movement,
the blind faith (or) blind supports to its leaders must at
all time be avoided.
With best regards, U Ne Oo.
*****************************************
___________________________________________________________________
! drunoo@xxxxxxxxxxxx !
! http://www.physics.adelaide.edu.au/~uneoo !
! ***** NOW ALSO ON ***** !
! http://freeburma.org/ (A one stop homepage for all Burma info.) !
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BURMA-DEMOCRACY ASIA: AUNG SAN SUU KYI AND PRO-DEMOCRACY MOVEMENT GO NOWHERE
DATE: 01:36 21-Sep-98
ASIA: AUNG SAN SUU KYI AND PRO-DEMOCRACY MOVEMENT GO NOWHERE BURMA DEMOCRACY (
FEATURE)
EDS: Note date refs in sixth par from end
By Juergen Dauth of the Frankfurter Rundschau
RANGOON, DPA - "The happiness of a simple, satisfied life keeps
you young. It is much more beautiful, and certainly makes you
happier, not to own anything."
King Anawrahta offered the poor Burmese masses this pearl of
wisdom, which has strong religious undertones in a Buddhist
society, in the hope of reconciling them to their poverty.
Now, almost 1,000 years after the king who ushered in Burma's
"golden age", General Khin Nyunt builds pagodas to make merit marks f
or his sins against their descendants.
Khin Nyunt, of course, heads military intelligence and for the p
ast decade has been the strongman behind the junta which oppresses
the people of Burma as surely as Anawrahta ever did.
Highly symbolic is the common sight in the country today of a
saffron-robed Buddhist monk doing the daily absolution as ceremony
without a congregation. A lonely litany because the Burmese are no
longer willing to absolve their political masters.
There are, however, no signs that they are about to try
overthrowing them again.
Motivated by the People's Power movement which had toppled the
dictatorship in the Philippines two years before, the Burmese last
confronted their rulers directly a decade ago, hoping to end three
decades of military rule and to begin escaping the social hardship
plaguing much of the country.
The Sangha, the brotherhood of Buddhist monks which a century
before had started espousing the political Buddhism of Phra O
Uttama, inspiring Burmese peasants to stand up to British
colonialism, had been a major catalyst for change.
It was a false understanding of their faith, the Sangha argued,
for Buddhists to claim it endorsed authoritarianism and violently
arbitrary political power.
The Sangha even preached that following Buddhism's Eightfold
Path to deliverance meant resisting such morally illegitimate
government.
A unifying symbol still of relevance to the current generation
of young people had already been found in the general and hero of
the Burmese liberation struggle, Aung San, who had followed in O
Uttama's footsteps to lead Burma to independence from Britain. Aung
San Suu Kyi would be effortlessly identified with the charisma of
her father, who was murdered by rivals in 1947.
Ironically, Aung San Suu Kyi had been without political ambition
when she returned to Burma after a long absence to care for her
mother.
She had even less political experience, but earlier attempts to
introduce civilian government had ended in chaos. The small pool of
credible figures was exhausted, and the democracy movement had been
threatened with dismemberment by its own feuding factions.
Against this background she was thrust atop the protest
movement. She set up the National League for Democracy, and when
international pressure finally forced Burmese leaders to hold an
election in 1990, the party won 80 per cent of the seats in parliament.
When the rulers refused to allow the NLD to take power, a vacuum
was created in which Aung San Suu Kyi was left to fight on as by
far the most prominent pro-democracy leader.
In her first public declaration, Aung San Suu Kyi had made it
clear that Buddhism inspired her political principles. "My refuge
is in Buddha," she said in one typical statement. "My future is in
dharma, the pure teaching. I take my shelter in the Sangha, the
holy order of monks."
She had not said a word about her actual political program, but
no matter - then. Aung San Suu Kyi legitimised herself with the
masses of deeply religious, rural Burmese who had not taken part in
the 1988 uprising in Rangoon and who were still guided in almost
all matters by the Buddhist heirarchy.
Aung San Suu Kyi now realises that in the conservative Buddhist
hinterland there is not enough support for a militant rebellion.
Her goal is gentle persuasion, and in this she demonstrates an
inner strength and discipline that led to comparisons with Mahatma
Gandhi. That is no coindience: her mother having been Burmese
ambassador to India, Aung San Suu Kyi spent much of her youth in
New Delhi, where she studied the politics and philosophy of India's
non-violent independence movement. It was excellent training for
the martyr's role she would go on to play against the powerful
military dictators at home.
She has threatened them with few specific political objectives,
however. Indeed, her vision of the future - apart from reform of
the governing system - has remained largely similar to theirs,
except for one key point which has perhaps helped her popularity
abroad.
"I think that no one in Burma wants for us to live in poverty,"
she said at one point. "As soon as we have to come to some
understanding with the authorities, we will work on bringing
investment to Burma which will serve the welfare of the people."
Her father had stressed Burmese nationalism and self-reliance,
and by breaking with his legacy in this way Aung San Suu Kyi opened
a breach that the junta could exploit, portraying themselves as the
champions of Aung San's policies and criticising his daughter for
speeches that were increasingly western in tone.
Indeed, western politicians and news media became her major
propagandists, and the Nobel peace prize she won in 1991 served
only to brand her as a western lackey in the military's eyes. The
generals cited centuries of Burmese history in which every opening
up of the country led to disaster.
There would be no compromise with the NLD as long as they feared
Burma's interests would be sold out, the generals warned. It was on
this basis that they refused to acknowledge the 1990 elections and
arrested most of the League's deputies, sitting back ever since as
Aung San Suu Kyi - too internationally prominent to simply arrest -
has continued to exhaust herself in trench warfare against them.
Stopped three times in recent weeks outside Rangoon while
driving to see rural supporters, for example, she prepares for a
fourth try; it gets headlines abroad, but does little for her
popularity at home.
In fact, the generals have long undermined her political base,
purging the monasteries to make sure they are led, and young
novices are taught, by politically reliable monks. Military
intelligence now even decides who can become a monk in Burma.
All this has cost the NLD leader her momentum in the contryside,
and the political Buddhism of the early 1990s is being absorbed by
Burma's traditionally milder, more passive form of the religion -
the cornerstone of which was laid by King Anawrahta almost a
millennium ago.
Nor can Aung San Suu Kyi, according to a US expert on Burma,
Ronald Findlay, fall back on a tradition of successful political
parties. Quite simply, Burma has none.
And an even bigger problem for her, the Rangoon-born Findlay
added, is her failure so far to come up with specific policies for
how the masses' huge problems would actually be solved under a
democratic system.
As Findlay rather bluntly put it: "She has nothing to offer
beyond history - her father's history."
****************************
MYANMAR INFORMATION COMMITTEE
YANGON
Information Sheet
N0.A-0612(I) 18th September 1998
SPECIAL FEATURE
Government of Myanmar Notes with Interest NLD Decision to
Convene Parliament
The Government of Myanmar noted with interest the announcement by the
National League for Democracy on 17 September that it was forming a 10-person
commitee that will serve as a parliament to govern Myanmar.
It is also interesting to learn that the NLD has decided that all laws
enacted in Myanmar since September 18, 1988 are illegal.
It remains unclear which responsibilities of government this new
committee intends to take over, what its policies are, or how it intends to
implement those policies. Will the committee also serve as the judicial and
executive branches of government, or only as the legislative branch ? Under
what constitution will it govern ? Will it defend Myanmar sovereignty ? Will
it send envoys to other countries ?
It would be interesting to hear more about how this committee intends to
govern. Since it was formed ten years ago, the NLD has never put forth any
serious, specific ideas on the structure of government; economic policy;
counter-narcotics policy; foreign policy; defence policy; or, in fact, any
other area of governing.
Moreover, the new committee appears to be confused even about its own
decisions. For example, the NLD has decreed that its new committee will serve
as a parliament until another parliament can be convened under the 1990
election law. However, the NLD has also decreed that all laws enacted since
1988 are illegal. So is the 1990 law valid, or invalid ? Under what law should
the parliament be convened ?
While the NLD's committee puzzles over these issues, the current
Government will continue to shoulder the real responsibilities of governing
Myanmar, and will continue the National Convention that is writing a
Constitution that will lead to a stable, sustainable democracy in Myanmar.
*************