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The Psychology of the Ruling Class
- Subject: The Psychology of the Ruling Class
- From: moe@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 01 Jul 1999 20:24:00
Subject: The Psychology of the Ruling Class in Burma
The Psychology of the Ruling Class in Burma
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By Julien Moe
1st July
To remove a government from power by negociation or by force, you will have
to understand the psychology of the ruling class,that is, the mental make-up
of the military junta, that is, the thought processes of the generals and
the colonels of SPDC, the Burmese government. After the coup, the then
SLORC, the military regime, announced that free and fair elections would be
held. Before the elections, more than a hundred parties were formed and
without understanding the will of the people, the generals thought votes
would surely be split. It was quite unfortunate for the generals when votes
were not split but the NLD, the party most hated by the generals, was voted
in by the people. Even 70% of the people from the armed forces voted for
Aung San Suu Kyi, the non-violent opposition leader whose party is now
being eliminated by the regime by force and intimidation.
Thus, the generals decided to give a lame reason to the public and the
international community. The reason to hold on to power is to save the
country from being disintegrated. Without the will and the consent of the
people, the generals made up their mind to become saviours of the nation and
started to discredit Aung San Suu Kyi in the course of eliminating the MPs
and her party members.
Today the generals have a tendency to assume Aung San Suu Kyi does not
exist any more. They are trying to pretend that the Lady does not exist any
more. They tend to think that Aung San Suu Kyi will run out of words and
political strategies and as a result , people will forget her soon enough.
If you ask which people are the most superstitious in the world, the answer
is certainly going to be "these generals ruling Burma by force". Astrology
and religious rites are performed on a weekly basis. Nine is the lucky
number for the generals and quite on the contrary ,the year 1999 has been
the worst year for the generals as the year began. In March the United
States decertified Burma on drugs. Within the same year UN condemned Burma
for human rights abuses, the United States and EU renewed their economic
sanctions on Burma and ILO came forward with proofs of labour rights abuses,
forced labour and child labour. The generals were put to shame by FBC
activists by their protests. The generals were blamed and condemned for
refusing dying Michael Aris to visit his wife, Aung Sann Suu Kyi. The
state delegation led by Brigidier General Kyaw Win was in Japan and the
visit became a shameful experience and an abortive coup for the regime when
the state agenda was rejected by the Japanese government. They all have
happened within this year , 1999, which is supposed to be a lucky year for
the generals. Yet the generals do not give in . They keep on believing nine
is their lucky number despite the fact they are quite afraid of what might
happen on the 9th of September 1999, that is, 9/9/99, that is, 4 Nines,that
is, Nine if all nines are added. What the generals have not realised yet is
that there are only the Good and the Bad.
With regard to the United States and the West, the generals have a strong
desire to show they do not care about the criticism on Burma. Actions taken
by the international community are just poking their nose into what does not
concern them. Despite the generals' ignorance and arrogance, the United
States has already prescribed a rewards programme for war criminals. Ethnic
cleansing cannot be sidelined whenever human rights on Burma are discussed.
The psychology for rhetorically protecting the dictator like Milosevich
obviously demonstarates that Milosevich and the generals are two of a kind.
Here comes the saying "Birds of a feather flock together". "Sovereignty" and
"national unity" are the words of sword for the generals to protect thir
status.
To be continued.....