Comments on: Interview with Professor Michael Aung-Thwin

By: Recent Burma Links « deathpower

Recent Burma Links « deathpower — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 19:53:09 +0000

[...] of interpretation and the construction of modern Myanmar” and there are contributions from Michael Aung-Thwin, Robert H. Taylor, U Chit Hlaing, Juliane Schober, Bob Hudson and Terry Lustig, and Maitrii [...]

By: JSEAS special issue on Burma is out now

JSEAS special issue on Burma is out now — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 18:20:24 +0000

[...] of interpretation and the construction of modern Myanmar“. It includes contributions from Michael Aung-Thwin, Robert H. Taylor, U Chit Hlaing, Juliane Schober, Bob Hudson and Terry Lustig, and Maitrii [...]

By: Rajshekhar

Rajshekhar — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 07:18:56 +0000

Dear Friends,
Much has been written against the politics of economic sanction and against Bush-Brown Policies. I have all the papers of Prof. David (also his interview published on the Yale Global online) , Prof. Taylor as well as the article of Cato Institute scholar Leon T. Hadar supporting economic engagement with the military. To answer this big question is not possible in the comment section in details, and can’t explain you here that, if it is failing then why and even in its failure it has success ingrained in it? In brief, my dear friends the politics of economic sanctions doesn’t only mean mere in terms of business trade terms/investment mechanism/economic benefits/ empirical datas. It is the question of providing legitimacy to the military regime at international and regional institutions, which Prof Taylor, David, Leon, Michael, I think intentionally fails to understand and Mr. Bush and Brown understands. And they did great disservice to Burma by providing legitimacy to the regime. It is the question of standing with right or wrong? It is the question of looking at modern Burma’s history based on facts not on enjoying dinners as a state guest of SPDC and interpretaing Modern Burma’s history that democratic values never existed there. It is the question of many resolutions of ASEAN ministerial meetings joint communique, although they are mentioning only two 36th and 37th AMM on their web site of ASEAN for the freedom of DAASK. But can ASEAN remove all the Joint Communique of AMM earlier issued, which had been already circulated? It is the question of the legitimacy of UN Secretary General’s office that despite their many calls, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s (DASSK) freedom has been not restored? It is very easy to accuse Mr. Bush and Mr. Brown, But they have the responsibility of running the country & protecting international institutions like UN and not to teach at any university like academicians. As a student of history and international relations, I know that great politicians has far superior vision than any noted scholars, and this way Mr. Bush, EU and Mr. Brown are right in following politics of economic sanction. It is not Marxism and let me clear it to you all that I’m not a Marxist but yes I accept finer points of Marxism like Gandhi accepted those some finer points, So I don’t negate marxism in whole. Even in my country (India) the present official view is of continued economic engagement with the regime. And many strategist in my country might have been thinking that I’m harming my national interest. Do I? No. But let me tell you, if India would have leadership of Mr. J.L. Nehru or Mrs. Indira Gandhi the politics would have been different because they were far superior in their vision compared with present leadership, because they were genuine leaders and grasp of world dynamics. I also know that the main reasons behind Prof Taylor, Prof. David or Leon T. Hadar or even Prof. Michael of supporting economic engagement with the regime is of serving best the concerned national foregin policy/ business interest. And it is not that I don’t have brain and I can’t propose cooperation theory with the regime. Perhaps, I can propose better economic cooperation mechanism than any great western foreign policy scholars or Harvard business think tanks going beyong Mekong Ganga Cooperation, ASEAN-Mekong Basin Development Cooperation Framework (AMBDC), ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA), BIMST-EC, Kunming Railway project, Asia Bond Market, East Asia Economic Caucus (EAEC), Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) etc with the regime.

I can’t write frequently on Burma Review because I have also to pursue the job for running my family expenses, which is very taxing giving little time to write.

Rajshekhar
Burma Review

By: Justin Wintle

Justin Wintle — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 00:25:31 +0000

Jon writes: ‘I’m not Burmese but I have lived a little bit of the Burmese life that some poor people live under US and EU sanctions. That’s why there is no way I’d ever support more of this kind of thing. If some rich powerful generals get rich in the process that’s too bad but not any different from South Korea. Economic development is the only way out of the hole. South Korea’s history shows this pretty clearly. One day they’ll be put on trial.’ He’s right. It’s pie in the sky to pretend development doesn’t favour this or that clique. America’s robber barons or and all of that. The trick is to ensure that what we can learn from the past feeds into something like a decent, accelerated trade-off. And that means doing everything we can to welcome Burma / Myanmar into the wider global community, instead of the Bush-Brownite process of ostracism. One doesn’t have to be a Marxist to understand that economics affect politics just as much as politics affect economics. But more than that, those outside Burma / Myanmar should do what they can to redress the educational deficit. Google Prospect Burma.

By: jonfernquest

jonfernquest — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 10:50:44 +0000

Rajshekhar: “Please accept my sincere thanks for doing great works for my fellow thousands of poor rural kids of Asia.”

If you teach in rural Thailand, you teach mostly poorer kids, so it is nothing very exceptional to do this. Most Thai teachers do this everyday. The only problem is that poor kids usually get pulled out of school young like 13 and after that it’s hard to motivate anyone to learn. That’s the reality that both my mother-in-law and wife faced.

I had one really motivated but poor young Burmese guy working with me from Mon Ywa attending Yangon University with great difficulty because universities were shut most of the time during the 1990s.

Last time I met him his father was sick and he was supporting his whole seven person family all by himself. Shortly later, I was doing the same when my Burmese mother-in-law got sick with kidney failure and cancer and she started living in a private hospital. (Healthcare expenses ruin many families) I have a US passport so I could fly out of the country and make money to help her. In the end everything fell apart anyway. This is the Burmese economic reality that I am familiar with.

I’m not Burmese but I have lived a little bit of the Burmese life that some poor people live under US and EU sanctions. That’s why there is no way I’d ever support more of this kind of thing. If some rich powerful generals get rich in the process that’s too bad but not any different from South Korea. Economic development is the only way out of the hole. South Korea’s history shows this pretty clearly. One day they’ll be put on trial.

By: Rajshekhar

Rajshekhar — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 05:31:26 +0000

To Jonfernquest,

I agree with all of your points Jon. I was not knowing your great works related with poor kids. It does not matter you did Ph.D. or not? Your works are worth hundred Ph.D.’s . Please accept my sincere thanks for doing great works for my fellow thousands of poor rural kids of Asia. You know Jon, even India’s one of the greatest scholar, poet, painter, philosopher – Gurudev Ravindranath Tagore also didn’t do any Ph.D. or formal education. But he was one of the foremost person together with greatest Japanese scholar – Okakura Tenshin to think about the unity of Asia without any Ph.D. degree and more than thousands Ph.D. had been completed on Gurudev Tagore. So please don’t waste your time given by the almighty God in acquiring Ph.D. but continue with your great social and academic work and one day many Ph.D. degree’s would be awarded on your academic achievements. America will not remember Prof Michael’s interpretation on the contemporary situation of Burma and soon it will be forgotten the moment democracy gets restored in Burma. But America lives in the philosophy of Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, Jefferson and in the great works of persons like John F. Kennedy etc.

Best wishes & regards,
Rajshekhar

By: lotus_in_the_hills

lotus_in_the_hills — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 04:53:53 +0000

Well, kiddos, I guess it’s time to close shop. As certified eggheads (or aspiring eggheads, or wanna-be-eggheads, as the case may be) we must avoid anything that isn’t peer-reviewed like the plague. And that includes footwear and toilet paper. I guess even when you aren’t peer reviewed, you’re still peer-reviewed (i.e. trashed by people who are comfortably tenured).

By: Srithanonchai

Srithanonchai — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 03:15:21 +0000

He sure got more than he had bargained for. This was probably his last interview on a blog.

By: Historicus

Historicus — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 11:26:28 +0000

If he doesn’t read blogs why does anyone think this pompous and conservative interviewee would read these comments. I’m not even sure why he would deign to give an interview to NM if he doesn’t read these websites. Perhaps he was flattered by the request or perhaps he secretly reads these responses. I find his comments on critical reviews of his work and politics to be revealing of a remarkably inflated ego.

By: Srithanonchai

Srithanonchai — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 14:41:38 +0000

“without blogs who could debate with an Ivy League professor who publishes with the top academic publisher except his/her academic colleagues.” >> Some more non-Ivy League professors working in the field of Thai studies could participate in New Mandala.