tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8304928500646903522.post4349886702651652698..comments2024-03-28T18:32:05.933-04:00Comments on bensozia: Burma: What Democracy Can't DoJohnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01037215533094998996noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8304928500646903522.post-80006712412303613602017-06-26T20:45:54.195-04:002017-06-26T20:45:54.195-04:00According to Wikipedia, the dominant ethnic group ...According to Wikipedia, the dominant ethnic group in the country is the Bamar. So, presumably it is Bamar who don't want to give independence to Shan, Kachin, and others. I wonder why not. Is there an ideal of non-ethnic nationhood? Is there an idea that the Bamar are awesome and shouldn't give an inch (because their ancestors wouldn't, etc.)? Do the Kachin, say, live in the sacred original Bamar homeland (a la Kosovo)? Or perhaps Bamar nationalists say once everyone who lived in the country was more or less Bamar, and then the British either let these foreigners in, or else heightened differences that before weren't important, etc., etc.<br /><br />Why not let them go? Then all the Bamar could be Bamar together. But no. I wonder what that's about.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08993570411881726772noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8304928500646903522.post-11605950602520355882017-06-26T18:11:01.301-04:002017-06-26T18:11:01.301-04:00I don't doubt that the military is mucking thi...I don't doubt that the military is mucking things up, as they have been since independence. But as I said, many of the democratic government's supporters opposed the plan for talks with no preconditions; a government that offered independence or autonomy to the ethnic minorities might lose the support of many Burmese. I think this would be a very hard problem regardless of military perfidy.Johnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01037215533094998996noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8304928500646903522.post-48506746519499474462017-06-26T09:41:13.063-04:002017-06-26T09:41:13.063-04:00Knowing little about Burma, it certainly seems pla...Knowing little about Burma, it certainly seems plausible to me that both G. and John are right, and intractable ethnic conflicts, the machinations of the generals, and probably several other things are creating a perfect storm of failure for Burmese democracy.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08993570411881726772noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8304928500646903522.post-44818513040328431792017-06-26T09:18:20.594-04:002017-06-26T09:18:20.594-04:00I wouldn't describe Burma as being a democracy...I wouldn't describe Burma as being a democracy yet. The military junta still controls the majority of the power in the country, and there's not much stopping them from taking back the rest forcibly.<br /><br />I'm actually highly suspicious that they're trying to discredit her by letting her "have a chance" at running the country, but quietly obstructing her and purposefully setting things up to fail. Then they can turn around and say, "See? See how useless democracy is? This is why we need the unquestioned authority of the military!"<br /><br />They've done everything they can to foil Aung San in the past, why wouldn't they keep doing so now? Do we honestly think they've had a change of heart? Heck no. They've just realized that public sentiment was turning against them, so they had to come up with a way to turn it back. And what better way than to give the appearance of conceding, then sabotaging your opposition rival's efforts and destroying the faith of their supporters, then come back in as the "sensible alternative", the tried and true method that they know works, rather than this new and scary one that seems to be failing.G. Verlorennoreply@blogger.com