Thu, 08/13/2009
The Jakarta Post
Opinion
World leaders and human rights groups could only spew condemnation and anger in the direction of the chief of Myanmar’s junta, Senior Gen. Than Shwe, for his continuous, merciless and brutal treatment of Aung San Suu Kyi, the county’s incarcerated democracy leader.
Than Shwe’s latest act of injustice came Tuesday, when he extended the Nobel Peace Prize laureate’s house arrest by 18 months for allowing an uninvited American to stay in her home for two nights in May. One Myanmarese general rendered the rest of the world’s will irrelevant for no good reason.
Than Shwe and his cadres fully know that no one will ever be able to punish them, not even the world’s most powerful man, US President Barack Obama, because the leaders of the other nine members of ASEAN – Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia – are staunch opponents of any efforts to punish Myanmar’s heartless rulers.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, the President of the world’s third largest democracy, is a strong believer that persuasion and constructive engagement is the only way to lure Than Shwe into “repenting”. This absurd belief is shared by the leaders of other ASEAN member states.
Shame on ASEAN leaders, especially those of democratic nations, who continue to tolerate the gross human rights abuses being committed in Myanmar. ASEAN leaders often cite fears that Myanmar would fall under the influence of China, or India, as an excuse for their inaction against Myanmar, while at the same time openly admitting the junta and its generals do not deserve any supports because of their unspeakable brutality.
As China and India close their eyes and pretend not to know what is going on in Myanmar, for economic and geopolitical reasons, we say shame on you too.
We urge ASEAN leaders, although we know very well that they have no guts to do it, to suspend Myanmar’s membership to the regional grouping until the nation’s generals surrender power to the country’s supreme rulers: the people.
Morally, who is guiltier: Myanmar’s generals, or those who continue to back them?
Than Shwe’s latest act of injustice came Tuesday, when he extended the Nobel Peace Prize laureate’s house arrest by 18 months for allowing an uninvited American to stay in her home for two nights in May. One Myanmarese general rendered the rest of the world’s will irrelevant for no good reason.
Than Shwe and his cadres fully know that no one will ever be able to punish them, not even the world’s most powerful man, US President Barack Obama, because the leaders of the other nine members of ASEAN – Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia – are staunch opponents of any efforts to punish Myanmar’s heartless rulers.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, the President of the world’s third largest democracy, is a strong believer that persuasion and constructive engagement is the only way to lure Than Shwe into “repenting”. This absurd belief is shared by the leaders of other ASEAN member states.
Shame on ASEAN leaders, especially those of democratic nations, who continue to tolerate the gross human rights abuses being committed in Myanmar. ASEAN leaders often cite fears that Myanmar would fall under the influence of China, or India, as an excuse for their inaction against Myanmar, while at the same time openly admitting the junta and its generals do not deserve any supports because of their unspeakable brutality.
As China and India close their eyes and pretend not to know what is going on in Myanmar, for economic and geopolitical reasons, we say shame on you too.
We urge ASEAN leaders, although we know very well that they have no guts to do it, to suspend Myanmar’s membership to the regional grouping until the nation’s generals surrender power to the country’s supreme rulers: the people.
Morally, who is guiltier: Myanmar’s generals, or those who continue to back them?
2 comments:
ASEAN has not gone far enough since its birth. And it will be so on and on if it does not throw away "non-interference"policy which played a role in "The Killing Fields", which should be written in hostory as its "acheivement" due to its inactive policy. KhmerOpen,
Most Asian countries do business with Than Shwe and sure they always go along with him. Talking about Obama US Prez and think he is the powerful man on earth? This author must be kidding. The White Liberal who are behind Obama are powerful and to think any thug like Than Shwe to ocnsiders the black man Obama as is powerful is Bullshit even if he play race card against the Rep an't won't work.
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