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Myanmar/Burma: "The Avowed Against the Atheists"
Via NY Transfer News Collective All the News that Doesn't Fit
Truthout perspective - Oct 12, 2007
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/101207A.shtml
Burma's Struggle: The Avowed Against the "Atheists"
By Cynthia Boaz
Afflicted by military dictator and lackeys
Shootings and beatings
My head is bloody
But unbowed
- A document circulating inside the country
They aren't going to give up the fight for Burma.
Not the generals, but the people who make up what appears to be a mass
nonviolent movement which has formed in one of the most closed,
repressive societies in the world. That such a movement exists at all
should cause the military regime to shudder. But the fact that people
seem determined to continue the resistance despite the ongoing
crackdown suggests that the effectiveness of regime violence is limited
and has begun to be counterproductive.
Successful repression of a mass nonviolent movement does not consist,
as the generals would have us believe, of simply creating the
appearance of maintaining control. Effective repression can only be
measured by the degree to which it has succeeded in undermining the
people's will to resist. And by that criterion, the junta seems to be
faltering.
To illustrate:
Pro-democracy groups report that on Tuesday in Thingangyun Township,
sixty helium balloons carrying thirty posters were released, each of
which had the face of General Than Shwe with an accompanying swastika
and the word "Butcher" above his photo.
On the same day, the All Burma Federation of Student Unions issued a
formal statement that proclaimed, "We firmly reaffirm our commitment to
continue the unfinished task of our fallen brothers and sisters and
will preserve their brave fighting peacock spirit [and that] we hereby
profoundly declare that ABFSU will strengthen and solidify all student
unions [and] student [organizations] to be a unified front to wage our
unfinished uprising." The previous day, October 8, the Lawyers Union
had issued a statement via Voice of America describing the junta's
unwarranted arrests of monks and students, while a simultaneous strike
was being staged by more than 800 workers of the Charming garment
factor in Rangoon. This demonstration of solidarity across groups and
classes is a promising sign of the movement's unity and will be
critical to its ability to both adapt and endure.
A few days earlier, on October 5, a message was left at the entrance
of the North Okkalapa Mae Lamu Pagoda in Rangoon which said "[Even] I
myself, Lord Buddha, am under house arrest." And later that day, a
wreath was found hanging on the banyan tree in front of State High
School No. 3 in Tamwe Township with a portrait of Than Shwe and the
words "Military Dictator Than Shwe, the Atheist."
To refer to General Shwe's "atheism" is to highlight the separation of
the regime from the Buddhist identity of Burma. It is a signal to the
people that those in charge are not real Burmese, and therefore aren't
entitled to rule. The tactic has the potential to help remove any
remaining shred of regime authority among the people. It also lets the
generals know that their brutality against the much-beloved monks will
not be forgotten once the blood has been washed from the streets.
Equally important, the use of mockery is part of a strategy that has
been utilized by other successful movements in previous struggles, and
it can be a powerful means of winning sympathy for a cause. Laughter
and fear do not comfortably coexist. Among other things - by bringing
people together through humor - it is a bold statement to the regime
that the people refuse to be terrorized into submission.
With no moral authority or political legitimacy, the only thing holding
the regime in place is the threat of force. But with every bullet or
baton used against the people of Burma, the regime reveals that its
"strength" will in fact be its undoing.
(The events within Burma described above come from a member of the
exiled pro-democracy leadership of Burma 8888. This individual is now
deeply involved in the current movement's strategizing and
communications, and is in regular contact both with groups on the
Thai-Burma border and within the country. Because of the sensitive
nature of his work, he has asked to remain anonymous.)
[Cynthia Boaz is assistant professor of political science and
international studies at the State University of New York and is on the
academic advisory board to the International Center on Nonviolent
Conflict.]
=================================================================
NY Transfer News Collective A Service of Blythe Systems
Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us
Our main website: http://www.blythe.org
List Archives: http://blythe-systems.com/pipermail/nytr/
Subscribe: http://blythe-systems.com/mailman/listinfo/nytr
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Hash: SHA1
Myanmar/Burma: "The Avowed Against the Atheists"
Via NY Transfer News Collective All the News that Doesn't Fit
Truthout perspective - Oct 12, 2007
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/101207A.shtml
Burma's Struggle: The Avowed Against the "Atheists"
By Cynthia Boaz
Afflicted by military dictator and lackeys
Shootings and beatings
My head is bloody
But unbowed
- A document circulating inside the country
They aren't going to give up the fight for Burma.
Not the generals, but the people who make up what appears to be a mass
nonviolent movement which has formed in one of the most closed,
repressive societies in the world. That such a movement exists at all
should cause the military regime to shudder. But the fact that people
seem determined to continue the resistance despite the ongoing
crackdown suggests that the effectiveness of regime violence is limited
and has begun to be counterproductive.
Successful repression of a mass nonviolent movement does not consist,
as the generals would have us believe, of simply creating the
appearance of maintaining control. Effective repression can only be
measured by the degree to which it has succeeded in undermining the
people's will to resist. And by that criterion, the junta seems to be
faltering.
To illustrate:
Pro-democracy groups report that on Tuesday in Thingangyun Township,
sixty helium balloons carrying thirty posters were released, each of
which had the face of General Than Shwe with an accompanying swastika
and the word "Butcher" above his photo.
On the same day, the All Burma Federation of Student Unions issued a
formal statement that proclaimed, "We firmly reaffirm our commitment to
continue the unfinished task of our fallen brothers and sisters and
will preserve their brave fighting peacock spirit [and that] we hereby
profoundly declare that ABFSU will strengthen and solidify all student
unions [and] student [organizations] to be a unified front to wage our
unfinished uprising." The previous day, October 8, the Lawyers Union
had issued a statement via Voice of America describing the junta's
unwarranted arrests of monks and students, while a simultaneous strike
was being staged by more than 800 workers of the Charming garment
factor in Rangoon. This demonstration of solidarity across groups and
classes is a promising sign of the movement's unity and will be
critical to its ability to both adapt and endure.
A few days earlier, on October 5, a message was left at the entrance
of the North Okkalapa Mae Lamu Pagoda in Rangoon which said "[Even] I
myself, Lord Buddha, am under house arrest." And later that day, a
wreath was found hanging on the banyan tree in front of State High
School No. 3 in Tamwe Township with a portrait of Than Shwe and the
words "Military Dictator Than Shwe, the Atheist."
To refer to General Shwe's "atheism" is to highlight the separation of
the regime from the Buddhist identity of Burma. It is a signal to the
people that those in charge are not real Burmese, and therefore aren't
entitled to rule. The tactic has the potential to help remove any
remaining shred of regime authority among the people. It also lets the
generals know that their brutality against the much-beloved monks will
not be forgotten once the blood has been washed from the streets.
Equally important, the use of mockery is part of a strategy that has
been utilized by other successful movements in previous struggles, and
it can be a powerful means of winning sympathy for a cause. Laughter
and fear do not comfortably coexist. Among other things - by bringing
people together through humor - it is a bold statement to the regime
that the people refuse to be terrorized into submission.
With no moral authority or political legitimacy, the only thing holding
the regime in place is the threat of force. But with every bullet or
baton used against the people of Burma, the regime reveals that its
"strength" will in fact be its undoing.
(The events within Burma described above come from a member of the
exiled pro-democracy leadership of Burma 8888. This individual is now
deeply involved in the current movement's strategizing and
communications, and is in regular contact both with groups on the
Thai-Burma border and within the country. Because of the sensitive
nature of his work, he has asked to remain anonymous.)
[Cynthia Boaz is assistant professor of political science and
international studies at the State University of New York and is on the
academic advisory board to the International Center on Nonviolent
Conflict.]
=================================================================
NY Transfer News Collective A Service of Blythe Systems
Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us
Our main website: http://www.blythe.org
List Archives: http://blythe-systems.com/pipermail/nytr/
Subscribe: http://blythe-systems.com/mailman/listinfo/nytr
=================================================================
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