Why Myanmar's generals shun aid
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/3AFA2F83-5370-4A4A-B8F1-682253189809.htm
Bunkered away in the centre of the country, the secret and reclusive generals who rule
A week after a deadly cyclone and facing huge pressure to open their country to international aid, they see everyone as a potential enemy intent on overthrowing their rule.
Rather than alleviating the suffering wrought by Cyclone Nargis, the top generals' primary concern at present is to preserve their power and protect their families' future position and wealth.
Their outlook is solely shaped by military considerations, looking at the world through soldiers' eyes. But
their nationalist xenophobia also has its roots in the style and
superstitions of General Ne Win, the country's first military dictator. He seized power in a coup in 1962 and the military have ruled ever since. Reclusive and eccentric, Ne Win shunned contact with the outside world, turning the country then known as The
first few years of his rule saw pogroms against the Chinese and Indian
communities, forcing tens of thousands to flee the country. He also
banned the teaching of English in the schools. Fear " For years the generals' greatest fear has been that the To
prepare for that, they have built a rabbit-warren of bunkers around
their new capital, Naypyidaw, in the hills some 400 kilometres north of
They
moved the seat of government and the military headquarters to the
remote, purpose-built city abruptly in November 2005. Thousands of
civil servants were only give a few hours' notice to pack up and move. During
the mass pro-democracy demonstrations in August 1988, which brought the
country to a stand still for months, they feared a Then they turned to The
regime is also highly suspicious of the UN and other international aid
agencies, fearing they are in cahoots with the West and only want to
whip up opposition to military rule inside the country. Even
before the current cyclone disaster hit Myanmar, international aid
workers found it hard to travel around the country and visit
development projects. Rejected Last
year the government expelled the United Nation's top representative in
the country, Charles Petrie, on the grounds that he was interfering
with government policy. "We
must get rid of all the white faces," Senior General Than Shwe told his
cabinet several times, according to reliable military sources. Since then the government has refused to accept several Western nominees as head of UN agencies. An
American candidate was rejected last year as head of the United Nations
High Commission for Refugees while two western nominees to replace the
ousted UN representative were also recently turned down. Both posts
have since been filled by an Asian from a developing country. The
restrictions on aid workers' movements are in part because the military
regime fears that they will be gathering intelligence that might be
used to undermine the government, but also because of the generals'
paranoid obsession with being in total control of everything. Given
this mindset, there is no prospect the military regime will allow
foreign aid workers to flood into the country, let alone allow foreign
troops to enter. "They're
afraid that if foreign soldiers come in, they are the spearhead to
overthrow the government," says Josef Silverstein, a retired From
the generals' perspective, he says, "aid workers could be carrying
weapons to give to the people, they could give them ideas of how to
overthrow the government." Subversive For decades, the ruling military regimes have kept Even tourists were not allowed access to the country until the 1970s, when visitors were given a strict, seven-day visa. This
changed a decade ago, when the lure of foreign currency spurred a
relaxation of the rules. Nonetheless, all visitors are closely
controlled and constantly monitored by military intelligence officers. Meanwhile,
there has been an almost total ban on journalists, with authorities
granting media visas only for largely meaningless army-arranged
ceremonies. The
generals' paranoia and distrust extends to all civilians – they believe
that only the army has the ability to unite the country and protect it
from foreign invaders. From
their perspective, only the military represents the nation as a whole,
not the factional interests of political parties or business people. The
irony is, of course, that they have divided the country as never before
– political parties are effectively banned, more than 2,000 political
prisoners are languishing in jail, there is strict censorship of the
press and the people are beaten into submission through a concerted
campaign of harassment and intimidation. Last
year they alienated the country's revered Buddhist monks after they
brutally cracked down on the saffron-led protests against rising food
prices. In the end, the real issue is one of control – the military government understands that it must remain united or perish. Their
greatest fear now is losing control, losing their wealth, and facing
Nuremberg-style trials from a future civilian government bringing them
to account. The
current military rulers, especially General Than Shwe and his family,
have amassed vast fortunes through corruption and nepotism. Little
wonder then that, despite the overwhelming suffering caused by Cyclone
Nargis, the generals seem so anxious to press ahead with their
referendum and institutionalise their power.
Comments