The big problem inside the Federal Union of Burma

A few days ago, I had the chance to speak to the chairman of the Restoration Council of the Shan State (RCSS), Col. Yawd Serk, and he states that there are three reasons for the big problem inside the Union of Burma:


1 – The clique of the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) is the world's worst dictatorship. This SPDC calls itself the legal government of the Federal Union of Burma. But the world community can not consider the SPDC as the legitimate government of Burma, because on 02 March 1962, the military leader Gen. Ne Win couped the power of the government. After that, the Federal Government has been disbanded. Up to this day, the Burmese army is using brutal methods to control the people of the country. They never handed the power back to the people that they are ruling. During the elections of 1990, the political party, National League for Democracy (NLD) received the strongest voice of support from the people and won the elections with a landslide victory. But the SPDC never gave the power to the democratically elected parties to allow them to establish a new government. Then the SPDC announced to organize further elections for 2010, and learning from the past experiences, these elections will have no positive result for the people of Burma. They are just showing another nice facade to the international community to please their doubts, and in reality they only have the aim to get elected to be the legitimate rulers of the country to continue their power, that is soaked with blood.


2 – The SPDC has killed thousands of people, who protested peacefully on three separate occasions in the past by shooting into the crowds of demonstrators, who were unable to defend themselves. This already shows clearly that the SPDC is abusing basic human-rights. Besides that, thousands of ethnic people have also been killed by the SPDC's military forces. We, the ethnic people did not have any other chance to defend and protect ourselves, but by picking up arms. At present, the SPDC regime is only one group of military rulers, who control the whole country. The international community and all the governmental representatives in the UN, as well as democracy-loving people should blame the SPDC rather than doing economical trades with them. The international companies should better withdraw their investments from Burma.


3 – In concern to the drug problem in the Golden Triangle: if the world community really wants to eradicate drugs, the policy towards Burma should be reformed. The DEA has tried to eradicate drugs inside Burma for some 50/60 years now, but instead of improvements, the narcotic problem is getting more and more serious. This indicates clearly, that the SPDC is involved in the drugs-business. The information and the black list of drug-dealers, which is run by the DEA, are fake. They only listen to the one side, which is presented by the SPDC. If the DEA would evaluate Col. Yawd Serk, they should look at his background. He himself joined the revolution at the age of 17 with Sao Gawnzerng as a radio communicator. After being a radio communicator, he worked for the intelligence service of the revolutionary Shan forces and was stationed at the front-line for most of the time until the Shan United Revolutionay Army (SURA) was united with the Shan United Army (SUA) of Khun Sa, forming the Muang Tai Army (MTA). "I have never been a business-man and I  don't even know how to run a trading business," Yawd Serk states. If the DEA would be able to reconstruct their policy to include Yawd Serk on the eradication of drugs, he would propose them his narcotic eradication plan. Yawd Serk is very aware of the reason why the DEA is not supporting him and the RCSS, because the DEA cares more about what the SPDC is telling them.


Col. Yawd Serk wants to suggest at the ASEAN meeting, which is going to be held in Thailand in December 2008, to discuss the big problem in Burma and to push the SPDC to hand over the power to their people. By this, the ASEAN can improve their image, which has been badly damaged by the SPDC. "If the SPDC will stubbornly rule the country without listening to anyone, this will keep damaging the image of the ASEAN. This should not be forgotten by the ASEAN governments," he says. "The ASEAN should not only deal with the people in power but they should see the suffering of the people inside Burma and the murdering of innocent people." Only because of this continuing suffering and killing, the people flee their homeland. ASEAN should not only care about their businesses with Burma but should also see the suffering of the Burmese people trying to live peacefully in one world. It is the humanitarian need to help and support each other for a peaceful world and this should be considered as the most important issue rather than playing political games and doing business for their own benefit.


Burma has been in a political and economical deadlock for more than 45 years now and the UN should be clearly aware of the games, which the SPDC is playing with the international community. Even the relief donations for the victims of cyclone Nargis never got to the people who needed it and ended up in the pockets of the military regime. For more than 45 years, the international community has never made a serious step to help the decades-long suffering people of Burma, and keeps on going to believe the games of the SPDC. But the past decades show a clear different picture, that there will never be a genuine transition towards democracy from the regime itself. The evidence of how the SPDC is involved in the drugs-trade and how it is heavily abusing its people are clear facts since many years. During these days, in the preparation for the upcoming elections in 2010, the SPDC again is silencing all oppositions by giving them life-long prison terms. Another crackdown against the democratic forces inside Burma is taking place right now.
 

The opposition groups and ethnic liberation forces, who have the genuine aim for a democratic transition, are receiving little or no support from the international community, even though the SPDC are claimed to be involved in the drugs-business and abusing human-rights. Since these opposition forces have the support of the people, they can be considered as the only legitimate representatives of the people of Burma. The NLD won the elections in 1990, the Shan National League for Democracy (SNLD) won the second largest vote and the RCSS has the support of their civilians for fighting for freedom and democracy.


For a real democratic change in Burma, the international community should rethink their political approach towards Burma and support the real democratic forces of Burma. Only this can lead to an end of these decades' long civil-war and human-rights abuse.


_{19 November 2008
Sai Lern Kham
SHAN Embassy Germany / Liaison Office of the RCSS in Germany}