New Mandala

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• 1 ChrisIPS // Oct 11, 2007 at 4:51 am

  EXCERPTS FROM LEE KUAN YEW INTERVIEW BY TOM PLATE THAT IS BEING DISTRIBUTED AROUND THE WORLD TODAY:

  (For the Burma Generals to be accused of being brutal, ruthless, despotic and blood-thirsty is probably a point of pride for the Generals. BUT to be called dumb in front of the whole world by the Wise Man of Asia, Lee Kuan Yew, that’s got to be a serious loss of face…………..)
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  Myanmar’s generals can’t survive – Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew Inteview by Tom Plate

  Tue Oct 9, 2007 11:20pm EDT

  SINGAPORE, Oct 10 (Reuters) – Economic mismanagement by Myanmar’s ruling generals means they cannot survive indefinitely and the population was always likely to revolt in the face of excesses by the junta, Singapore senior statesman Lee Kuan Yew was quoted on Wednesday as saying.

  But in an interview reprinted in Singapore’s Straits Times newspaper, Lee said any solution to the political impasse in Myanmar would have to include the military, as they alone had the administrative ability to hold the country together.

  “These are rather dumb generals when it comes to the economy,” Lee, 84, told syndicated U.S. columnist Tom Plate in an interview on Sep 27.

  “How can they so manage the economy and reach this stage when the country has so many natural resources?”

  Lee, who was Singapore’s first Prime Minister at independence in 1965, stepped down as premier in 1990 but remains influential as its “minister mentor”.

  He gave the interview at the height of a crackdown by Myanmar’s military rulers after streets protests led by monks saw tens of thousands of people take to the streets to protest against military rule and economic hardships.

  At independence in 1948, Myanmar was blessed with vast natural resources and wealthier on almost every economic measure compared to tiny Singapore.

  But independent economists say decades of mismanagement by 45 years of military rule have left Myanmar with negligible growth, rampant inflation and a currency, the kyat, considered worthless outside the country.

  Lee said Myanmar’s leaders had pushed a “hungry and impoverished people to revolt” on wasteful projects and also by flaunting their wealth.

  “…they decided to close down the government in Yangon and go into this Pyinmana, or whatever the place is called, where there’s nothing,” he said, referring to the military’s decision to relocate the capital from Yangon to Naypyidaw, newly carved out of the jungle last year.

  “…they are putting up expensive buildings for themselves and a golf course…”.

  Lee also made reference to a bootleg video of the wedding of a daughter of Myanmar’s leader, Tan Shwe, in which the bride is showered with cash and jewellery.

  “…and the top general had a lavish wedding for his daughter which was then out on YouTube — the daughter was like a Christmas tree,” he said.

  Singapore is one of Myanmar’s biggest foreign investors and bilateral trade reached S$1 billion ($679.3 million) last year, but in the interview, Lee rued the risk.

  “I had advised several of our hoteliers to set up hotels there. They have sunk in millions of dollars there, and now their hotels are empty,” Lee said.

  “Why they believe they can keep their country cut off from the rest of the world like this, indefinitely, I cannot understand.”

• 2 ChrisIPS // Oct 11, 2007 at 5:04 am

  For Laura Bush to get involved in any U.S. foreign policy issue is unusual and to get involved as overtly and forecefully as she has in the Burma issue is very unusual. Apparently, she has a circle of contacts who are very involved with the Burma exile groups and she has become very interested in Aung San Suu Kyi as a charismatic, historical personality.

  Here is Laura Bush’s column on Burma from today’s Wall Street Journal:
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  Stop the Terror in Burma
  President Bush is preparing further U.S. sanctions against the dictatorship.

  BY LAURA BUSH
  Wednesday, October 10, 2007 12:01 a.m. EDT

  It is 2 a.m. in Rangoon, Burma. In the middle of the tropical night, army troops pour into the neighborhood surrounding a peaceful Buddhist monastery. The soldiers occupy nearby homes, so that residents will not peek through their windows or go outside to witness the raid. Troops then storm the monastery, brutalizing, terrorizing and arresting the monks inside.

  Eventually the monks are imprisoned inside Rangoon’s former Government Technical Institute. According to one eyewitness, hundreds are crammed into each room. They have no access to toilets or sanitary facilities. Many of the monks refuse food from their military jailers. There is no space to lie down and sleep.

  These are the stories of Burma’s “Saffron Revolution.” The protests that started a few weeks ago with a 500% spike in regime-controlled gas prices have now unleashed 19 years of pent-up national anger. As the demonstrations play out on front pages, computer monitors, and TV screens across the globe, millions of people have been inspired by the sea of orange-robed Buddhist monks standing up to the military dictatorship.

  Millions have also been stunned by the junta’s shameful response: nonviolent demonstrators struck down with batons, tear gas, smoke grenades and bullets; civilians, including children, seized at random; innocent men and women slain.

  The generals’ reign of fear has subdued the protests–for now. But while the streets of Burma may be eerily quiet, the hearts of the Burmese people are not: 2007 is not 1988, when the regime’s last major anti-democracy crackdown killed 3,000 and left the junta intact. Today, people everywhere know about the regime’s atrocities.

  They are disgusted by the junta’s abuses of human rights. This swelling outrage presents the generals with an urgent choice: Be part of Burma’s peaceful transition to democracy, or get out of the way for a government of the Burmese people’s choosing.

  Whatever last shred of legitimacy the junta had among its own citizens has vanished. The regime’s stranglehold on information is slipping; thanks to new technologies, people throughout Burma know about the junta’s assaults. The public mood is said to be “a mixture of fear, depression, hopelessness, and seething anger.” According to reports from Rangoon, “The regime’s heavy-handed tactics against the revered clergy and peaceful demonstrators have turned many of the politically neutral in favor of the recent demonstrators.”

  The international community, too, is distancing itself. On Saturday, during a “Global Day of Action for Burma,” thousands of people marched through dozens of cities–from Kuala Lumpur to London, Sydney to Paris–in solidarity with the monks. Spiritual leaders, including Pope Benedict XVI and the Dalai Lama, have enlisted millions of faithful to pray for peace and justice in Burma.

  Governments from Spain to Estonia to Panama to Australia have voiced their disapproval. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations has denounced the generals’ actions as “repulsive.” Burma’s neighbor, Malaysia, has urged the regime to hold “unconditional” talks with Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of Burma’s popularly elected National League for Democracy party. India, one of Burma’s closest trading partners, has called for an inquiry into the regime’s crackdown, and encouraged the junta to hasten the process of political reform.

  On Friday, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon described the regime’s violent repression as “abhorrent and unacceptable.” Yesterday, Mr. Ban called me to say that he will send the U.N.’s special envoy to Burma, Ibrahim Gambari, back to the region “as soon as possible.” Mr. Gambari will coordinate with Burma’s neighboring governments, encouraging them to use their influence with the junta to bring about a transfer of power.

  And last week, the United States led an effort to put Burma, for the first time in history, on the agenda of the U.N. Security Council. The United States expects that the Security Council–especially permanent members Russia and China, who typically support Burma’s military dictatorship–will keep pressure on the regime.

  The junta has also shut itself off economically. Money talks–and we know it speaks to those who rule the country, Gen. Than Shwe and his deputies. One of last week’s more promising developments was the general’s statement indicating, for the first time, his willingness to meet with Ms. Suu Kyi–but on the condition that she “stop calling for economic sanctions.” The junta is feeling the financial squeeze.

  The economic pressure will only grow more intense. Last week, the European Union tightened its sanctions against the regime; over the weekend, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown called for harsher measures. Amid growing outrage over the murder of a Japanese journalist, Japan–one of the largest providers of aid to Burma–is likely to suspend assistance.

  President Bush has directed the U.S. Treasury Department to freeze the assets of 14 senior members of the Burmese junta. Our State Department has identified top junta officials and their immediate families–more than 200 people–as subject to a ban on entry into the U.S., and President Bush is preparing further U.S. sanctions against the dictatorship.

  Gen. Than Shwe and his deputies are a friendless regime. They should step aside to make way for a unified Burma governed by legitimate leaders. The rest of the armed forces should not fear this transition–there is room for a professional military in a democratic Burma. In fact, one of Burma’s military heroes was also a beloved champion of Burmese freedom: General Aung San, the late father of Aung San Suu Kyi.

  As part of a peaceful transition process, the generals must immediately stop their terror campaigns against their own people.

  They must commit to a meaningful, unrestricted dialogue with Aung San Suu Kyi and other opposition leaders–including the demonstrating monks, the 88 Generation Students and members of Ms. Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party. The junta has taken a small, promising first step by appointing its deputy labor minister as a liaison to Ms. Suu Kyi. Now, the regime must release her–and all members of the political opposition–so they can meet and plan a strategy for Burma’s transition to democracy.

  Meanwhile, the world watches–and waits. We know that Gen. Than Shwe and his deputies have the advantage of violent force. But Ms. Suu Kyi and other opposition leaders have moral legitimacy, the support of the Burmese people and the support of the world. The regime’s position grows weaker by the day. The generals’ choice is clear: The time for a free Burma is now.

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