Posted on 04/19/2021 3:24:19 PM PDT by EnderWiggin1970
Note that I detect some historical revisionism on the part of the Burmese military in the first paragraph. After the British Empire subjugated Burma during the colonial era the dominant Burmese tribe (which had long oppressed weaker hill tribes around their central valley) resented British control.
The American missionary Adoniram Judson and others had begun making converts in the years before the British conquest, particularly among the Karen tribe. These early Karen converts, receiving a western education from the missionaries, naturally became the core of the British colonial administration.
So when the Japanese invaded Burma, the Burmese people didn't fight back. They largely joined the Japanese cause, hoping to throw off British rule (cf. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_occupation_of_Burma). The Brits found allies among the frontier tribes, who carried on guerrilla war against the Japanese. But after the war the tribes were sold out as the British quickly gave independence to Burma without guarantees for autonomy for the tribes being established. Within a few years the Karen and other tribes were under attack and the cycle of oppression had restarted, continuing to this day as China looks to the Burmese military to exploit the tribal regions for cheap access to raw materials.
In light of the recent corrupt national election in the USA forgive me if I am not so quick to judge the military in Burma for doing what they did.
I say that because if they were overthrowing an increasingly Marxist regime our media would never tell us about it.
So forgive me if I don’t immediately believe the military is wrong and the protesters are right.
The military was right to take control since not only did they have a fake election they also have tons of drugs funneled there with their corrupt government.
They were right to take over. However it sounds that they are no more competent then the Marxists they overthrew.
Also, I question the accuracy of the reporting. They sound somewhat like CBS and CNN both of whom are skilled at fabricating news.
You can't make this stuff up! LOL.
And the name is Burma, not "Myanmar". These journalists always try to act posh and/or politically correct.
Ditto that.
Why do people imagine the election there was in any way fake? What is your evidence?
Does not the overwhelming opposition of the people in the CDM, the strikes, and the joining together of the tribes tell you the opposition is real?
This is World Magazine. There was once a time when a Christian conservative magazine was looked up to here and World articles were more than welcomed here. Now what do I see? Knee-jerk reactions in favor of the Chinese communists and their military allies, cheering the murder and oppression of countless people? What has happened to FR?
Why were they right to take over? Were they wrong when they gave up a modicum of power in the first place? What is the logic here?
They used the same Dominion program for one that has been known since 2006 cheating occurs with it yet nobody does a thing about it. Also drugs and child sex trafficking happening all through that country.
I see a lot of knee-jerk opposition to the democratic movement in Myanmar, in favor of the military dictatorship and effectively the Chinese government that underwrites them. But what I have not seen from the pro-authoritarians on FR is a shred of evidence to justify their views.
What is so great about the Chinese communist party and its exploitation of Myanmar? What is so great about a military junta that has murdered, raped, and oppressed millions of innocent people for decades? What is the evidence for “election fraud” in Myanmar?
Say least Burma is dealing with their Karen problem.
“...the Chinese communist party and its exploitation of Myanmar?...”
I haven’t heard about the CCP being involved. Tell me more.
I give up. I’ve been around FR far longer than people imagine. I attended the first rallies for Clinton’s impeachment in 97-98, when FR looked to have a great future spearheading the fight for freedom and a conservative, constitutional republic.
Now look at it. A bunch of crusty 80 year olds who do nothing but gripe online and grasp at the lamest shreds of evidence to bolster their fossilized views as they cluelessly throw their support behind authoritarians and leftists.
Yes, you’re right about the drugs and sex trafficking. I am ops manager for an NGO that supports around a dozen children’s homes in/around Burma as well as safe houses from trafficking in the region, so I could tell you a thing or two. I had thought there might be some feeling of support to do something to help among the audience at FR. But I can see FR is for griping and grasping at straws, not lifting a finger to do anything helpful. :-(
I posted a testimony from a tribal villager a few days ago that speaks to this. Burma is China’s 2nd largest arms customer. The military builds roads into tribal areas, not for helpful development but for oppression and exploitation of the tribes and for the natural resources which flow to China. Natives are utilized as slave labor and porters by the military (and sometimes left for dead by the trailside when the job is done).
I recall my director telling me about a native who mentioned being forced out of his home and off his land where the Tatmadaw built an airfield. “How much did they pay you” he asked. The local just laughed bitterly.
Long-term US interests in places like Burma are often best served by doing NOTHING.
Simply maintain commercial and diplomatic relations, and in especially tense conflict zones LIMIT immigrants to the USA. Our deep state likes to do the opposite on both counts.
They fill out ballots by hand and count them by hand in Burma.
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