Burma and its Sociopathic Rulers | M.S Anwar

What immediately comes on your mind when you hear the name, Burma (Myanmar)? For most of the people especially foreigners, Burma is a country that has been ruled by one of the world’s most oppressive regime that never cares about its citizens. So is for its citizens, Burmese. Burma has been being ruled by the dictators (which itself synonymous with sociopaths) since 1962. In 1962, an ultra-nationalist, General Ne Win, who later came to be known as one of the world’s worst dictators, seized the power from U Nu’s government, the first and only ever democratically elected government in Burmese history and the dictatorships began. 

Quite expectedly, Burma has become one of the poorest countries in the world from the richest country in South East Asia due to his isolationist policy and mismanagement of macro-economy. The people of the country which was once known as the bowl of rice faced famine under his reign. When politically oppressed and economically crippled people started to demonstrate, they were violently crashed down. There were student protests against his reigns in 1965, 1969, 1970 and there was a labour protest in 1974. Again in 1974 December 5, there was a huge students’ demonstration against Ne Win’s regime for not honouring the then UN Secretary General from Burma, U Thant. The protests continued in 1975, 1976 and 1987. Yet he defied all. But he had to step down in 1988 due to country wide uprising of public, students and monks altogether. Thousands of students and people merciless killed during his reign. 

Besides, he carried out several attempts and operations against Rohingyas either to cleanse them or to depopulate their numbers. He killed thousands of Rohingyas and drove many more thousands out of the country. It helped him earn much appreciation from the racist segment of Burmese society at the critical times and to successfully divert the people's attention from the problems the country was facing. And not to forget anti-Chinese riot that took place in 1967 and continued throughout 1970s. The racial animosity and the riot against Chinese community in Burma was instigated and supported by the Ne Win's regime in order to divert public attention from economic crises such as the uncontrollable inflation, scarcity of consumer goods and ever rising prices of rice. Many Chinese were killed during the riot, some Chinese school girls were burned alive, looting and setting up fire to their properties. 

In stead of trying to find out ways to fulfil people's demands and solve their problems, Ne Win, in his ego and delusional ideologies, brutally broke down all the protests that killed thousands of people, while imprisoning and torturing many thousands. He made people fight against people and a race against another until he stepped down in 1988. He lied to the world with the straight face about all the crimes against humanity he had committed. He left no stone unturned and no trick untried to put the world and international community in the dark. 

After Ne Win had stepped down, the military coup led by Gen. Saw Maung took over the power. In 1990, in the most popular election of Burmese history, NLD had the landslide victory in the election. But the military kept holding on the power and ruling the country ignoring the results of the election. That caused great dissatisfactions among general Burmese people. Consequently, that led the Burmese regime face many political, economical and social crises which were threats to their retaining power. Like teacher like pupils, the then new military government followed the same footsteps, political games and "Divide and Rule Policy" to divert attention of the majority Burmese Buddhists, they created a new Rohingya saga in 1991-1992. Burmese Junta and Rakhine Buddhists carried out extrajudicial-killings of Rohingyas, increased the forced labours, tortures, rapes dramatically. Consequently, it caused a mass exodus of 0.25 million Rohingyas to Bangladesh and to other countries. Again, the regime's effort to cleanse Rohingyas was appreciated by ultra-nationalist Burmese people and could successfully continue holding power. Amidst the Rohingyas' outcry, Burmese regime shamelessly lied to the international community and put them in the dark by denying International Media getting access to the region and with the biased investigation of the Junta. 

Besides, there were more brutal cracks down of student demonstrations in 1997, conspiracy to kill Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in Depayin in 2002, inhumanely breaking down of Saffron revolution in 2007 and the disaster caused during cyclone Nargis in 2008 due to Junta's denial of foreign humanitarian assistances. Despite all these, through all these years, they survived because of the strong back-ups of politically communist and economically capitalist China that wants to only exploit Burma's natural resources and turn it into a graveyard without any resources. More importantly, they survived through the means of lying as to their ideology that "Lies are the Basic Concepts of the Truths." The Burmese regime commits crimes again and again and lies again and again. They lie so much so that lying has become their second nature and it naturally comes to them. 

Coming to the present situation in Burma, it no longer needs to tell the world what is going on in Arakan state, the western-most-part of Burma and Kachin state, the northern-most-part of Burma. In both parts, there are hot genocides going on. Kachins have long been struggling for the equal rights because they are treated inferiorly on account of their religion (Christianity), their race and language in an overwhelmingly Buddhists and Bama majority country. In an effort of Burmese regime to break ethnic armed resistances, they broke the decades-long treaty with Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and started the offensive war against KIA and innocent Kachin civilians last year and it is still going on. As a result, thousands of innocent Kachin civilians are displaced, many were killed and their women are being raped. As usual, the regime started lying about the situation and trying to cover up all their war crimes. 

Then, the world and humanist segment of Burmese society started to pressure Burmese to end the genocidal war against Kachins. Besides, there were demands from Burmese people to end the Myitsone Damn project. There were farmers and labors demonstrating for their rights. The country was facing electricity and water crises, health problems and extreme poverty. More importantly, the regime was extremely worried of Daw Suu Kyi’s popularity among Burmese people. Amidst regime’s inability of solving these political and economic crises, they again saw Rohingya as their perfect political scapegoat as they had seen before. 

The director of the president office, Bomuu Zaw Htay, through his facebook name “Muu Zaw,” started to racially instigate general Burmese accusing Rohingyas as illegal foreign Bengali invaders. Not surprisingly, it was followed by a so-called rape against Rakhine woman on 28th May 2012, a rape case which had no eyewitnesses. With no evidences, the three Rohingyas were accused for the rape case. Later, according to Burmese authority, the main culprit of the rape case committed suicide in the JAIL (which is hard to believe) and another two were sentenced to death. When, where and in front of whom was not revealed. I still wonder these three people actually existed on this earth!!! For the worse, the state media blamed Muslims or the followers of Islam for the rape instead of culprits or criminals. 

Shockingly, on 3rd June 2012, 10 Muslim pilgrims, who were neither Rohingyas nor had any connections with the rape, were crushed to death on their way back from their religious efforts in Than Dway by 300 Rakhine hooligans at a place nearby an immigration office. The state media, for example, MRTV used a term “Kalar or Kular, a derogatory term for the people of south-Asian descends in Burma” in broadcasting the incident, which was a clear sign of racial instigation among Burmese. The actual violence against Rohingyas was started from Maung Daw on Friday, 8th June 2012, following Rohingyas’ refusal to disperse their congregational prayer for the 10 pilgrims killed. 

Since then, Burmese military, Security Forces (Hluntin), Police and others in cooperation with Rakhine extremists have carrying out all kinds of violence against Rohingyas. Rohingyas, old, young, children, educated, uneducated, religious leaders all alike, are being arrested and subsequently killed. Their women including under-aged girls are being raped. Their properties are being looted and torched. Mosques were locked and destroyed using bulldozers and there have been no five times prayer and Juma’at prayer in the mosques for more than two months. Moreover, no Tarawih prayers in the month of holy Ramadan and no Eid prayer were allowed. If it is not the religious violence, then what is it? 

Besides, there has been martial law declared in Arakan since June 10 that locked Rohingyas in their houses Rohingyas are lost almost their ways and access to foods and medicine due to the martial and boycott against them led by Rakhine Buddhist Monks. It has been already more than two months. Many of them every day are dying due to starvation. Shockingly, the martial law is only applied for Rohingyas and Rakhines are set free and can do any barbaric acts and all kinds of tortures against Rohingyas: stabbing, beating and looting etc. On one hand, the government and Rakhine extremists are committing genocides and carrying out ethnic cleansing and quite naturally on another hand, they have been lying and deceiving the world about the situation and trying to cover up their crimes against humanity through using the state media and social media like facebook and twitter. They are taking every step to put the international community in the dark by not giving permission to International Media, Independent Observers and humanitarian workers to get access to the place. 

Recently, President Thein Sein claimed “the riot in the region is not religious but communal. International community and media are politicizing the matter,” while the fact that they have been instigating violence against Rohingya and propagating racial hatred among general Burmese people and to turn them against Rohingyas by using Buddhism as a tool is no longer needs to be explained. Government and Rakhine extremists accuse Rohingyas to be threats and dangers to Buddhism. So, Rohingyas need to be cleansed. What are all these if not lies? 

Furthermore, President Thein Sein recently in an interview to VOA said “Bengalis (his own term for Rohingyas) have been living there for generations. We have been considering modifying 1982 citizenship law.” Is it not contradictory to his earlier statement to UNHCR Chief Antonio Gutterres “they are recent Bengali Immigrants and the only solution to the problem is to settle them in third countries?” Is not he an oxymoron? They are using members of Hindu society (who look like Rohingyas) and taking pictures and making video showing their daily activities to portray that the situation in Arakan has become peaceful and come to normality. Hence, no investigations are needed, no observers and media to sent and not even humanitarian assistances, at a time when they continuously committing crimes against humanity. Lying and deceiving again and again!!! 

When UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights, Mr. Tomas Ojea Quintana visited Arakan, Burmese authorities prepare some hindus and few of their puppets from Rohingya community to meet and lie to him. Besides, he was not free access to meet people. The similar case happened with Turkish Foreign Misnister Ahmet Davutglo when he visited Arakan. The government vetted translator mistranslated and omitted words in the translation of a Rohingya’s words to him. The government pained the only reaming Masjid in the Sittwe (the capital of Arakan) town area and made him pray there. 

Now President has set up an inquiry commission to investigate the ongoing crises in Arakan. How can one expect impartial investigations when the culprits who started this ugly racism and committed all these crimes themselves have taken charge of the investigations? A conflict which was started by the government themselves? I wonder who will be the ultimate sufferers as a result of this investigation when the people in the government itself are criminals. In fact, cheating is not new to the Burmese government. They are popular even among Burmese community for that. 

On 17th August 2012, Thein Sein released an 18-paged statement in which he said “some political parties, monks and individuals incited extreme racial hatred and encouraged people to commit irrational racial attacks against Bengali Muslims (his own term for Rohingya Muslims).” But under the heading of religious affairs at point number 34, he said “Mosques, Islamic Schools and Religious scholars (Molvis) should be reduced within the boundary of law and legitimacy.” What is he trying to say? Is he indirectly saying that they will make every effort to eliminate Islam from Arakan gradually? When the criminal Rakhine extremists have become angry with the president’s statement, the director of the president office Bomuu Zaw Htay declared that it was not the opinion of the president but his analysis of different reports of different organizations, NGOs, INGOs etc. They are lying, aren’t they? 

All in all, throughout Burmese history, different regimes have tried various political tactics to sustain their rules. Many of the times, they have become deeply unpoplar among the general people due to their brutal handlings of the situation. But this time, knowing the Burmese intolerance and endemic hatred towards other religions and races, the regime has successfully made Rohingyas as their political preys. In fact, the regime has earned many political gains by creating such a violence against Rohingyas. According to many analysts, they have successfully diverted public attentions from the poltical and economic crises they were having, depopularized Daw Aung San Suu Kyi among some segments of Burmese society and international communtiy, gained much required public supports, discredited international media and eventually implemented their fascist policy of wiping out of Rohingya Muslims . 

There have been terrible man-made human catastrophes going on in Burma. As usual, the regime is lying and deceiving international community being sociopathic liars. But international communities should not fall into the trap of regime's lies. It is the high time for all of us to realize the crimes of these generation criminals and to bring them into international criminal court of justice (ICCJ) in an effort to stop the crimes on the earth forever.