Idle Heads and Future of Burma

By Ye-Baw Nyein
Translated by Burmese Bloggers w/o Borders
(http://bbwob.blogspot.com)

Firstly, I would like to state that I decided to write this article solely for the sake of Burma. I take full responsibility as an individual for whatever possible consequences this article might have in future.

SPDC (Burma’s military junta) has announced to the world that they will hold elections in May this year. While Daw Aung San Su Kyi is telling her NLD Executive Committee members to “hope for the best, and prepare for the worst”, SPDC, who apparently seems to be confident about having the backing of China, Russia, and Asean, is asking their lackeys (swan-arr-shin) to go from door-to-door trying to influence and persuade the people to participate in their upcoming election. In fact, it is rather ironic to see them persuading the people even after the atrocities that they have done in recent September movement. After all, since Ne Win took over power in Burma, only the names that they used to call themselves have changed and their techniques have remained the same over the decades; they will take every precaution, every action to sustain their power over Burma.

If we look back at what happened during the most recent September movement, the crafty SPDC used brutal Rules of Engagement (ROE) to suppress and methods of psychological warfare effectively. On the other hand, the various pro-democracy groups standing in front of Burmese people seemed unprepared. The leadership of NLD, a forefront party in Burma’s democracy movement over the years, was frozen. As soon as 88-Generation students' leaders such as Min Ko Naing, Ko Ko Gyi, Ko Htay Kywel, and Jimmy, etc were arrested, the leadership and management of the September movement were weakened a great deal and the movement eventually seemed to succumb under the iron batons of SPDC’s lackeys and bullets.

In my opinion, we would have been able to avoid such outcome if NLD Excecutive committee members had taken a strong stand and leadership during the September movement. In fact, they also failed to take the strong frontal role during 1988 movement almost two decades ago. If not for such, we might not have to sacrifice so much over the years, our army might not have ended up being manipulated by a group of people, and Burma might not have lost so many natural resources and talented people over the years.

This time, SPDC is blatantly planning to do things their own way again. SPDC has tortured, detained, imprisoned, and killed our people from all walks of life even including monks. After all this, are we to take their “don’t-care” attitude towards the people and let them have their own way any further? That is the question that I would like to ask the current Excecutive committee members of NLD.

In order to free Burma from the hands of SPDC, we all have our own roles to play.

For the sake of Burmese people and its future generations, NLD should start to plan and implement the necessary actions to stand strongly against SPDC.

The soldiers in the army should also search their own conscience whether they should blindly follow the orders from ruthless SPDC, who only think of personal gains and nothing for the people of Burma, just because SPDC might have enticed them with comfortable lifestyles. Or would they rather become the army for the people to save Burma from falling deeper into abyss?

And the people themselves should also no longer take all this lying down. They must cast aside all their fears to free themselves from having to lead lives full of poverty and suppression under the hands of cold-blooded and merciless SPDC.

I would like to conclude that it is inevitable for the path to Burma’s freedom to be without much sacrifice and hardship. Regardless of what might be ahead of us, we must not give up for the sake of ourselves, our loved ones and our future generations. That is the responsibility that we all have as the people of Burma.