Cyclone Nargis: A blessing in disguise?

_{By Sai Wansai
Wednesday, 28 May 2008}
 
In other words, this particular move is to demonstrate to the world that the junta is in total control and that Aung San Suu Kyi will remain under house arrest, so long as it considers necessary, which also runs parallel or pinpoints the fact of keeping the more than 50 million people of Burma hostage under its oppressive rule.
 
The junta’s recent sham constitutional referendum, designed to prolong its military supremacy rule, has been approved with a landslide vote of 92%, according to its own source. The junta proceeded with the referendum without hesitation in cyclone hit areas, even though the population is dire needs of shelter and food provision. This clearly shows where its priority lies and that it is not the least interested in the well-being of the people in this disaster struck areas, but is obsessed with total control of the population and approval to its self-drawn draft constitution.
 
It is as if the junta is signalling to the world to make a choice between the cyclone hit victims and Aung San Suu Kyi.
 
Recently, Ban Ki-moon, the United Nations Secretary General, expressed regret at the news, insisting that he would "find another opportunity" in the future to focus on her plight and realisation of all-inclusiveness and democratisation process. For the time being, Ban reiterated that we should not be talking about political issues, but more about humanitarian issues and saving lives.

Meanwhile, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, which had coaxed Burma's junta into co-ordinating the relief efforts with the United Nations, remains cautious. "We are not naïve enough to believe that a policy guideline given at the top will be translated into practice at all levels going into the delta," said Surin Pitsuwan, Asean's Secretary General, at a news conference. "We are prying open. Step by step."
For now, the issue of Aung San Suu Kyi’s release would likely take a backstage or be a back burner, but the widening of political space, likely to be made possible by increased contacts between the relief workers and the devastated cyclone victims, might still prove to be more effective than anything that have so far being tried in Burma arena.
 
While we should be cautiously optimistic of the given positive development, at least where relief operations are concerned, only time will tell us whether the cyclone Nargis catastrophe would proved to be a “blessing in disguise”, paving way for real reconciliation and democratisation process in this unfortunate and deeply divided society.
 
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^{The author is the General Secretary of the exiled Shan Democratic Union - Editor}