The paranoid regime of Burma has affectively eliminated all forms of free press within the country including the Internet. The New Light of Myanmar is nothing more then an Orwellian propaganda publication laced with lies and half truths. Prisons teem with journalists, entertainers, scholars and political prisoners as well as Cyclone Nargis volunteers. It is of no surprise Than Shwe escalated his efforts to hide the truth from both the enslaved people of Burma and the world. The latest round of censorship includes facts and figures from the *fishing industry, **rice production and all reports dealing with ***Cyclone Nargis. Other freedoms and civil liberties are quietly being quashed by the influx of more government security forces in the cities.
Corrupt and divisive businessmen have been recruited into the ranks of spies and informants by the government. Thinly veiled orders to identify anyone opposed to the 2010 election linger ominously. Unscrupulous businessmen have already waged vendetta against competition as well as innocent people to gain favor and rewards from the military junta. Silently people are disappearing from the face of the Earth as Than Shwe’s plague of deception reigns terror on an already shell shocked society.
Already, the junta is making preparations for ****armed ethnic cease fire groups to be assigned to the border and become the new “Border Guard Force”. They will be assigned the grizzly task of killing the villagers who are fleeing for their lives. Rape and barbaric torture will continue for those who are captured. Ironically they will be murdered by their fellow countrymen who’ve joined the junta. The prisons will be filled to capacity and the jungle will be full of unmarked graves. It is all too obvious Than Shwe does not plan to relinquish power. It’s obvious the elections results have already been determined since he is making plans for after the election.
Burma’s kangaroo court system denied the release of Aung San Suu Kyi on May 1st in accordance to the law said a junta official. Under the news constitution, the government can do anything they want and add regulations as they deem necessary or convenient. The sham constitution has laid out guidelines that completely circumvent democracy and humanity. Under the terms of this bogus document absolute power is placed on the lap of the military. Driven by the fear of defeat there is no question Than Shwe is going to order more arrests of the opposition on trumped up charges. Than Shwe is determined to make this election appear legal and he will kill anyone who stands in his way of his democracy.
Than Shwe’s inner circle is under increased suspicion and scrutiny as general’s whisper in his ear betraying one another. There is going to be more shuffling of his inner circle as more people are excluded from royalty. This is a recipe for disaster and since Than Shwe has cancer the plot thickens. It’s only a matter of time before he is dead and his empire, built on human suffering, comes crumbling down. Like rats abandoning a sinking ship his generals will concoct alibis pointing accusing fingers at each other about the atrocities that occurred during their tenure. Another casualty from Than Shwe’s death will be the western interests who’ve financed genocide and profiteered from death.
Deep divisions within the Burmese Army itself are festering on all levels. Corruption breeds corruption and throughout Than Shwe’s cadre it’s a code of conduct. Some upper echelon generals make comparisons of themselves and the fictional characters in the “Godfather” movies. Than Shwe is the glue that bonds the jackals together. Once he is gone the jackals will consume each other as old rivalries come back into focus. It may be a general who pulls the trigger proverbial on Than Shwe’s family. Than Shwe’s family with be the scapegoats who will bare the brunt of humanities wrath when this cycle comes to a close.
The political roadmap will come full circle and so will the bloody path the military junta has taken the people of Burma. Than Shwe looks to China to back his criminally repugnant regime but China also waits and watches. Than Shwe and his regime are pariahs in the eyes of legitimate business concerns in Asia and the world. Still, there are a few who take advantage of Shwe’s bustling black market and the countless bags of “cash money”. Doing business with Than Shwe’s Burma is a money laundering operation unto itself and its all tax free. Small wonder the vast majority of Cyclone Nargis victims are still drinking putrid water and living under leaves. After all Naypyidaw is not quite done, the Peace Pagoda can use another coat of gold leaf and Uncle Than wants to build an international airport.
One thing is for sure, censorship combined with bold faced lies is standard operating procedures for the regime. The tentacles of corruption have touched absolutely every facet of Burmese life including international aid. Now the public stands in deafening silence as the junta arrests and criminalizes more opposition before the 2010 election. In Burma’s paranoid regime, “Big Brother” is listening.
* http://www.mizzima.com/news/inside-burma/2051-fishery-department-introduces-media-censorship.html
** http://www.irrawaddy.org/highlight.php?art_id=15596
*** http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=15580
**** http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=15583
Your Devil’s Advocate
Buffalohair
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