Remember Burma?
We've got a lot on our minds lately. Elections, recession (oops, we're not supposed to use that word, I forget), the death of moral values (or on the flip side - the repressive oversight of the morality police), wars that are going nowhere, and political leadership that is notable only for its amazing lack of spine, thought and leadership.
And in the midst of all that, if we take a moment to remember the situation in Darfur, we consider ourselves lucky. So I don't blame you from skipping to other posts or just reading this and forgetting it. But if you're up for the challenge, take a moment to remember the Burmese monks and their remarkable brave protests.
To their credit (not a phrase I've used much), the Bush administration has pushed for China and India to put pressure on Burma to make substantive reversals in its repressive policies. But even if we take the Bush administration at its word (not something I've ever been willing to do) and assume that they've REALLY, SERIOUSLY, pushed for China and India's help, we'd have to assume that they're as incompetent at that as at everything else.
What has happened since the world last took notice of the Burmese monks' protests? More monks arrested and no information on many of the missing and dead.
Neither the United Nations nor Bush's administration have anything to be proud of here. Both need to find the strength to stand with the monks of Burma. Because if they don't, there won't be any monks left able to stand for themselves.
And in the midst of all that, if we take a moment to remember the situation in Darfur, we consider ourselves lucky. So I don't blame you from skipping to other posts or just reading this and forgetting it. But if you're up for the challenge, take a moment to remember the Burmese monks and their remarkable brave protests.
To their credit (not a phrase I've used much), the Bush administration has pushed for China and India to put pressure on Burma to make substantive reversals in its repressive policies. But even if we take the Bush administration at its word (not something I've ever been willing to do) and assume that they've REALLY, SERIOUSLY, pushed for China and India's help, we'd have to assume that they're as incompetent at that as at everything else.
What has happened since the world last took notice of the Burmese monks' protests? More monks arrested and no information on many of the missing and dead.
Neither the United Nations nor Bush's administration have anything to be proud of here. Both need to find the strength to stand with the monks of Burma. Because if they don't, there won't be any monks left able to stand for themselves.
posted by Anonymous at 12:02 PM
2 Comments:
No argument here. The globe still suffers from an epidemic of bad, repressive government, which is the source of most of our current difficulties, e.g. fundamentalist terrorism, genocide, the huge numbers of people on the move, fleeing their country of origin for a better life, poverty, and on and on ad nauseum. Burma is just a small part of that bigger picture, but it is well to remember it.
It's a heartbreaking situation. I place no hope in this administration.
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