Not that we’re big fans of the psychotic global thuggery of USuk, but isn’t it pretty obvious why politicians give lip service to human rights when scenes likes this hit the mainstream media? It’s not like Burma are USuk allies. Hell, USuk even criticises Israel’s human rights record occasionally (ie when Israel’s crimes actually get mainstream media coverage); doesn’t mean shit, now does it?

The Burmese resistance have been asking people outside to pressure our governments to speak out and pressure China to act. So people put the pressure on. And now that they have finally responded to these calls (in a mealy-mouthed hedging their bets and saying fuck all kind of way), it’s time to be clever and cynical. Again, don’t get us wrong – we despise them too, but where is this argument actually trying to go?

The obscene amount of trade originating in Europe is of course worthy of our disgust, but let’s face it, capitalism is global these days; only people still have borders and laws to obey. Why the under-reporting of the support for the regime from China? It is, obviously, a great deal more than $600 million in trade. It’s kinda like quoting US trade with Israel without mentioning the huge amount of financial aid, weaponry and military training, not to mention diplomatic cover and vetoes in the UNSC. China is the only global power with any real political influence; the US cannot afford to go shitting on the doorstep of it’s main creditor. The resistance have issued bitter communiques condemning the abuse of the UNSC veto on behalf of the Junta by China and Russia in January 2007, but Schnews only care to discuss USuk’s (barely existent) influence.

Of course, it could just be piss poor research and a lack of background knowledge. Aung San Suu Kyi has not been under house arrest for eleven years, as they state; it’s seventeen years now. They have picked up on the fact that she was imprisoned in 1996 but seem to remain unaware that this was after only a brief period of restricted “freedom”. She was originally placed under house arrest in 1990 after her party, the NLD, won 82% of the vote in elections called after the 1988 uprising.

We’re not at all clear what Schnews has against the Burmese Peoples’ desire for democracy, a struggle which began long before the British Empire pulled the thugs out in 1948. Is it only because Western politicians are calling for it, so it has to be wrong? Or are they seriously demanding that the uprising be put on hold until the People have become ideologically pure enough for Schnews to countenance their freedom? No? Then what are they actually saying here?

It’s the insinuations about the NLD that really display the shallows of their research as well as their “analysis”. They appear to think that the Burmese opposition is a single party, the NLD, waiting to impose a single party state on Free Burma. The National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma is a pluralist democratic government in exile, formed in the aftermath of Aung San Suu Kyi’s house arrest and the imposition of harsh military rule by the Junta. The NCGUB is led by Sein Win of the Party for National Democracy (PND) and includes members from the National League for Democracy (NLD), the Chin National League for Democracy (CNLD), the Democratic Organisation for Kayan National Unity (DOKNU), the Arakan League for Democracy (ALD), an independent and additional state representatives of the Karenni, Shan, Chin and Arakan Peoples.

So many parties and a federation of states, all working for democracy, and naturally there are disagreements over policy and approach, and plans for the future. These are openly discussed and debated on  http://www.ncgub.net/ and on the Democratic Voice of Burma radio broadcasts and its website ( http://english.dvb.no/).

So Schnews are being wilfully ignorant and somewhat facile? Yes, but what about those last few lines? Do they assume that the People of Burma, let alone the NCGUB, are unaware that it was IMF advice that led to the fuel crisis that triggered the uprising? It is extraordinarily arrogant to view the Burmese people as innocents; a grouping of primitive tribes who remain ignorant of global political and economic forces. In common with most oppressed peoples, the average pre-schooler could run rings around the average Western politician (or lazily cynical Western ideologue, come to that).

The Karenni, the Shan, Chin, Arakan and the other ethnic groups have pledged solidarity with the ethnic Burmese against military rule. They stand united alongside the radical 8888 resistance and the democratic opposition parties who have never given in to bribes and have pledged to call fresh elections as early as possible.

How’s about we forget about trying to take a standard off-the-shelf USuk analysis and trying to make it fit Burma? Right now the priority must be finding ways to counter the Junta-imposed news blackout and actively support the enslaved Peoples of Burma in breaking down the walls of their centuries-old prison and uniting in peace rather than in war.

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News from the resistance is being kept up to date as far as possible in the media blackout here:  http://docs.indymedia.org/view/Local/UKBurmaActions

On China and the US:  http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?ItemID=10080