Buddhists Gone Wild: Suu Kyi's Burma

Editors, Wisdom Quarterly; guests Tun Khin, Richard Weir, Rohingya Muslim Salma Begum, Hosts Nermeen Shaikh and Amy Goodman (democracynow.org, Sept. 7, 2017, KPFK.org)

When the military deposed Aung San Suu Kyi and took the Buddhist country into decades of military dictatorship, no one could have guessed she would one day join them. Has she?

Side with us, Suu Kyi! You'll never regret it. I'm pres., she's the future-pres. We'll put you in office. What could go wron? We'll rule as the faces of the real rulers.

Burma was, until recently, one of the most Buddhist countries in the world. This was because of it being closed off. It was the source of George Orwell's works: Burmese Days, Animal Farm, Shooting an Elephant (about the futility of imperial British rule in the third world), and Nineteen Eighty-Four. Orwell, a British citizen and imperial soldier in the service of the crown, was born in India, which then included Colonial Burma as another Asian colony.

Burma, now called Mynamar, got is name changed from Dictator Gen. Than Shwe, the "Asian Hitler." It is a police state that a few years ago took off its Orwell Sad Face and put on a Huxley Happy Face, pretending to be an American-style democracy instead of what it really still is, a totalitarian dictatorship with generals in the new super-secretive capital of Naypyidaw pulling the strings.

The formerly imprisoned and house-arrested heroine Aung San Suu Kyi is now a member of Parliament and the face of the country.

• Profile: Aung San Suu Kyi (BBC)

The ruling generals hide with the help of their stolen billions and prop up representatives in the new political system they set up with the help of former US Sec'y of State Hillary Clinton and Pres. B. Obama, who were trying to seduce Burma into a capitalist relationship so that it would distance itself from influential neighbor China.

Barry, you also have a Nobel Peace Prize, what does it feel like to be behind killings? - Uh... uh, Suu Kyi, Lady, umm, don't ask me that. You'll know when you do it. It's part of the Game. Let's hope they don't take our medals back (Pete Souza/White House).

.

Golden Buddhas in splendor in Buddhist hall

When the country was a closed society ruled by dictators, Theravada Buddhism could carry on an unspoiled tradition free of exterior influences (like Tibet once did).

But the Chinese exerted influence, and the ruling junta took advantage of the people. And the nation's heroine, Aung San Suu Kyi, daughter of its hero Aung San, was put under house arrest. 

Soldiers and police beat peaceful monks.

Finally, the Buddhist monks rose up to join then lead the people in what came to be called the Saffron Revolution against the totalitarian government (as seen in the American movie "Beyond Rangoon" with Patricia Arquette).

It did not end well (as seen in the secret documentary "Burma VJ," the VJ standing for video journalist).

But she was not killed because the sheepish people would have risen up at such a provocation. Although she was once democratically-elected, those elections were cancelled when the military took over and declared martial law. She was never allowed to take the highest office. Yet, surprisingly, she was not killed even when she would not submit to the dictators. They had many chances to kill her, but they did not.

Now she is allowed to serve in Parliament. But she is banned from being prime minister. Sadly, recently, she has become a mouthpiece for the real rulers. There is talk of rescinding her Nobel Peace Prize, which they should certainly do for war criminal B. Obama.

• Aung San Suu Kyi defends her handling of Burma violence... (Guardian, 9/7/17) Suu Kyi: a post on her Facebook page earlier blamed "terrorists" for "misinformation" about the [state-sponsored rapes, ethnic cleansing, genocide and] violence.
• Take away Aung San Suu Kyi's Nobel peace prize. She no longer... (Guardian) ...But to Aung San Suu Kyi we entrusted our hopes. To mention her name was to invoke patience and resilience in the face of suffering, courage...  
• The Rohingya tragedy and Aung San Suu Kyi (slate.com)

Don't judge me too soon. I'm a paragon.

The Lady, Aung San Suu Kyi, whom WQ is devoted to, says it is all a misunderstanding, propaganda, or misinformation. But the long mistreated Rohingya minority is a tantamount to US blacks in the inner city surrounded by intolerant foes. The country is more than 90% Buddhist, but not its impoverished and obedient soldiers, police, and vigilantes.

The corrupt behind-the-scenes government still calls the shots, and they don't seem to tell Suu Kyi much about their real plans, so she is left to try to explain what the international media reports to her as happening on the ground.

 

Is [Buddhist] Burmese military carrying out genocide against Rohingya [Muslim] minority?

We meant well. It was all part of the plan.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has warned the brutal Burmese military operation against Rohingya Muslims is at risk of spiraling into an ethnic cleansing campaign, as the violence against the long-persecuted minority group continues.

This war criminal's my mentor and advisor.

The U.N. says almost 150,000 Rohingya have fled the predominantly [Theravada] Buddhist country into neighboring [Islamic] Bangladesh in the last 12 days since the military operation began -- with up to 15,000 more expected to flee every single day this week.

Sec'y of State Clinton is a war criminal.

Advocates say as many as 800 Rohingya civilians, including women and children, have been killed in recent days. For more, we speak with Tun Khin, president of the Burmese Rohingya Organisation in the U.K. He was born and brought up in Burma’s Arakan state. In 1982, he was rendered effectively stateless along with a million other ethnic Rohingya under a new nationality law. And we speak with Richard Weir, a fellow in the Asia Division covering Burma at Human Rights Watch.

Transcript

World-famous Shwedagon Pagoda, Rangoon, Burma, contains the Buddha's hair relics.

CO-HOST NERMEEN SHAIKH: We [now look] at Burma. The United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has warned the brutal Burmese military operation against Rohingya Muslims is at risk of spiraling into an ethnic cleansing campaign as the violence against the long-persecuted minority group continues.

The U.N. says almost 150,000 Rohingyas have fled the predominantly [homogenous] Buddhist country into neighboring Bangladesh in the last 12 days since the military operation began, with up to 15,000 more expected to flee every single day this week.

 

CO-HOST AMY GOODMAN: Advocates say that as many as 800 Rohingya civilians, including women and children, have been killed [by Burmese soldiers and Buddhist civilians] in recent days.

This is Rohingya Muslim Salma Begum [speaking], one of the tens of thousands who have fled to Bangladesh following the army crackdown, which began last month.

SALMA BEGUM: [translated from Burmese] They burned our houses. We could not take our belongings. We were hiding near a hill for two days. We were there in the rain without food and with my children. When we heard the sound of shooting, we took a boat and crossed the sea to come here to Bangladesh. More

• Tun Khin is the president of the Burmese Rohingya Organisation in the U.K. He was born and brought up in Burma’s Arakan state. In 1982, he was rendered effectively stateless along with a million other ethnic Rohingya under a new nationality law.
• Richard Weir is a fellow in the Asia Division covering Burma at Human Rights Watch. He was based in Burma last year.