Hypocrisy thy name is the West.It's a bit rich of Western nations, led by the United States, to be critical of any country, including India, for having ties with Burma. Don't you love it when Western diplomats get on their shaky pedestals to lecture Asians about the joys of democracy and human rights? Well, the Burmese are sick and tired of this moral posturing because we know what freedom is all about. After all, Burma was once more democratic than certain Western nations, notably the US. When the Burmese voted in the 1960 free elections, the *Niggers* or African-Americans, were denied that right. Burma was so democratic that we had Communists who renounced violence -- in parliament. But it was too much for the Cold War warriors. Here are some inconvenient truths:General Ne Win, who toppled the democratically-elected government of U Nu in March 1962, was coddled by Western leaders until his overthrow in 1988. Instead of condemnation, the Western democracies swiftly recognised the regime and the Burmese dictator would be feted by heads of state in Western capitals.
When the Burmese strongman was toasting President Lyndon B. Johnson at the White House in 1966, U Nu and his entire Cabinet were languishing in prison. So, save the sermonising, Uncle Sam.Ne Win's communist regime nationalised the entire economy in 1964 and tens of thousands of *capitalists* were jailed, including the youngest and oldest members of my family. Why was the West silent when tens of thousands of Indians, who had lived in Burma for generations, stripped of their assets had to flee the country penniless? In 1988 we, the people toppled the most repressive regime in Burma's modern history, which was ironically propped up by Western nations. After a bloody struggle Burma again has embraced free enterprise, thanks to the millions of Burmese who rose up with bare hands to end the almost-totalitarian 26-year Marxist socialist revolution (1962-1988) that had pauperised them.
The Burmese today are better off than the piles and piles of dead Iraqis and Afghans. America is known to support tyrannical regimes and appease non-democratic leaders all over, yet the US still fancies itself as an upholder of 'freedom' and 'democracy'. What rhetoric, and how insincere.It's a shame the US was siding with the rogue army officers and former communists in Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy. These thugs made our lives hell during the revolution which is now clearly missing from the million-plus Western narratives about my country. The foreign policy of the West is quite telling: grovel to China and stand up to nano-states like Burma. Such hypocrisy is not lost on the Burmese. Grovels, even the most elegant grovels, are not an edifying spectacle.And sadly, Western media coverage of Burma has mostly been disgraceful, biased, ignorant, and abusive. For the Burmese, the forgotten past is a long memory. Salving the conscience by speaking out today was Western hypocrisy at its finest. We live in interesting times. People all over have come to realise that Western governments lie. Their politics, intelligence, and media can no longer be trusted. Thank god, we now live in an era where gun-boat diplomacy no longer works.Those who wish to make Burma strong, democratic and prosperous ought to have a better understanding of it.
And, thank you India for strongly supporting the Burmese people. We never forget our friends.
from: Rich Mookerdum
Posted on: Mar 16, 2011 at 08:12 IST
