The world stands in impotent rage as Burmese are murdered by a totalitarian regime thousands of miles away. There's so little that we as individuals can do to stop the horror. One small thing we can do at this time is do our part to try to to put pressure on China to force their Burmese benefactors to release the political prisoners. Please take a moment to sign the petition below.
https://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/images/2007/10/03/monk.jpg
"When the Burmese last marched in 1988, the military massacred thousands. If the world stands up and supports their struggle, this time they could win. We're in a race against time-- targeting the dictatorship's main backer China in a global advertising campaign, delivering the petition to the UN secretary-general and sending the Burmese our support via radio"
PETITION (https://www.avaaz.org/en/stand_with_burma/u.php)
"Mad" Miles
10-04-2007, 07:00 PM
Tars,
Also, Thank you. I've followed and supported the Burmese Democracy movement since 1988, more intensively since I moved to this area in 1997.
I regularly forward info regarding the cause to my political lists. Subscribers to those lists know that. If you're not familiar with those options for regular political action information, reply privately, and I'll send my precis about my lists.
What has happened in Burma (and no, it's not Myanmar, check the history of the last nineteen years to find out why if you don't already know) in the last two weeks is: inspiring, aggravating, predictable, surprising, outrageous (in the old sense, not the seventies and after sense), sickening, nauseating, absolutely horrific and horrible.
Yes, it is hard to see what we can do to help. For all the fucked up positions and actions of U.S. foreign policy, "our" current regime's positions on Burma have been alright.
(It has a lot to do with the SLORC/SPDC's repression of the Christian Karen, but again that requires some reading to figure out.)
Primarily China and India prop up the dictatorship. Some of the most fervent and dedicated Burma Freedom / Democracy activists call for U.S. military intervention, https://www.dictatorwatch.org/ (https://www.dictatorwatch.org/) I'm not there yet (and good luck gettin Meguo/Amurrikkka to jump in to help brown / black people who are being killed by other such.
Can you say Darfur? Congo? Columbia? [Oops "we've" taken sides there, and the wrong one in my opineeonee], etc.
So, what can you do? Come to the demo/rally/prayer vigil in SF tomorrow. https://www.badasf.org/ (https://www.badasf.org/)
Organize your own local event. Put pressure on China and India to stop selling arms to the dictatorship in exchange for teak, jade, emeralds, methamphetamines and opium (Oops, the latter two aren't sold openly, just massively on the black market).
Don't travel to Burma. Don't economically support the Burmese military dictatorship in any way. Hope that the abysmal treatment by their "govenment" of the people of Burma finally so nauseates the world, and the Burmese, that we all rise up and flush the dictatorial filth from their positions of privilege and power.
(Sort of like Bushco except that Than Shwe and his cronies are even more isolated and delusional.)
Check out https://www.freeburmacoalition.org/ (https://www.freeburmacoalition.org/) it has oodles of information, and in spite of Thant Myint-U's opposition to the international sanctions (he does have a point, but it's a minority one in the Burma Freedom movement) there's lot's to be found there.
Burma is an incredibly complex place. The more you find out the more subtle and difficult the forces at work become apparent. But very nasty things happen there on a regular basis, and the latest news is just the tip of the iceberg of horror.
What can you do? Listen, learn, discuss and act.
Doing something is better than sitting by and doing nothing.
Sound familiar?
"Mad" Miles
:burngrnbounce: