The following from The Straits Times Friday REVIEW:
Sept 28, 2007
"SOONER or later Myanmar will become a democracy. Sooner or later its military rulers will have to give way to an elected government. The current regime, led by Senior General Than Shwe, cannot point to anything positive that can justify its continued iron grip on power. Myanmar lags behind just about every Asean country on almost every indicator of socio-economic development. The junta has starved the people politically as well as materially. There is absolutely nothing it can do now to redeem its long and dismal record other than manage - with as much decency and dispatch as it can muster - its own demise.
Tragically, the junta does not seem capable of even that. Instead of launching a dialogue with the opposition, it has decided on a brutal crackdown. Instead of heeding the call of the international community to abjure violence, it has used truncheons, tear gas and bullets against peaceful demonstrators. This is a regime that is prepared to destroy the country in order to save itself - and it is time for the entire international community, including Asean, to recognise that fact. No one is sure how well organised and determined the opposition to the regime is; how long the current round of demonstrations will continue; how ruthless the junta will be in suppressing the people of Myanmar; or how long it will take before Gen Than Shwe and his associates are forced to step down. But one senses Myanmar's day of deliverance cannot be far off, for repression cannot keep down forever a thoroughly disillusioned population.
Asean as well as China and India - the two countries with the greatest influence in Myanmar - must do all they can to dissuade the junta from resorting to even greater violence. The governments of Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines have issued strong statements, and one hopes Asean as a whole will do the same. What happens in Myanmar is of concern to all in Asean, for the grouping's credibility is at stake. Immediately, Asean should support strongly the mission of United Nations envoy Ibrahim Gambari and help pressure Myanmar to receive him. China and India also can do more - both publicly and privately - to persuade the junta to stop beating and killing peaceful demonstrators and take concrete steps towards political reform. The argument that the international community has no grounds to condemn the junta or circumscribe its ability to harm its people, for that would constitute interfering in the internal affairs of a sovereign state, can no longer be accepted by anyone - least of all Asians."
I cannot agree more!
How Do We Pray For Myanmar?
- Pray for the safety of the people - the Myanmar people; the foreigners; the missionaries; the Singaporeans
- Pray for China and India to persuade the junta to stop beating and killing peaceful demonstrators
- Pray that the deliverance of Myanmar will no longer be delayed; now is the time!
- Pray for the church in Myanmar to rise up in this hour to be well positioned for as God's change agent in the nation
- Pray for Ibrahim Gambari's visit to Myanmar this weekend to be fruitful.
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From The Straits Times, Saturday Special Report:
Sep 29, 2007
5 Reasons why people have hit the streets
1. SOARING COSTS OF FUEL AND FOOD:
ON AUG 15, the military government doubled fuel prices overnight.
That caused the cost of almost everything, from food to bus fares, to rise, deepening the woes of the common man in the deeply impoverished country.
Anger over the resulting hardship triggered a rare 500-strong protest march through
2. 45 YEARS OF REPRESSIVE MILITARY RULE:
According to Mr David Mathieson, a
'Probably a large part of the officer corps that travels around the country understands what is happening, but is afraid to tell the old man,' he says.
Repression and mismanagement by the junta have been widely blamed for turning what was once a jewel of
The United Nations ranks
3. RAMPANT CORRUPTION:
The military regime came in at the bottom of Berlin-based Transparency International's 180-country Corruption Perceptions Index released on Wednesday, sharing the 179th position with
It has also been at or very near the bottom of the index for the last four years.
A rare glimpse into the lavish lifestyles enjoyed by the generals was provided last year by a leaked video of the wedding of General Than Shwe's daughter.
The video, versions of which are circulating on YouTube, shows the bride dressed in designer clothes and draped in diamonds and other expensive jewels as she receives wedding gifts said to be worth US$50 million (S$74 million).
4. MONKS TAKE THE LEAD:
On Aug 28, they protested for the first time since the government raised fuel prices, joining a rally in the port town of
A second peaceful protest on Sept 6 in the town of
Last Tuesday, in another show of defiance, more than 300 monks took to the streets of
The rally was significant because the monks took an oath to refuse alms from senior military officers - a powerful sign of dissent in the devoutly Buddhist country.
5. SUPPORT FROM OVERSEAS DISSIDENT GROUPS:
AS A deeply angry and emboldened public continues to rally against the junta, exiled dissidents are keeping up the fight overseas.
They have been organising protests around the world, lending support to their countrymen back home and pressuring the regime for change.
Exiled news hounds in
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