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Mizzima: Hush Hush Negotiations, To
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PERSPECTIVE
Hush Hush Negotiations, Top Secret Bottom Open
By Kanbawza Win
Mizzima News Group (www.mizzima.com)
Nov. 8: The highest stage of the Burmese army?s treachery and craftiness
is the Secret Negotiations. The mentality of the Burmese army is that
they will always have something to hide from the public and hence cannot
be transparent now or in the future. Or otherwise their lies,
imposition, dishonesty and tricks will be exposed. Thus it declared that
only a few dozens were killed during the 8-8-88 pro-democracy
demonstrations when in fact more than 20,000 were killed or maimed in
Burma?s six cities. In 1990 they promised to hand over power to the
winning party but have failed to do so up to this date. It declared to
the world that there were no political prisoners and then released them
piece meal. Then they loudly declared that there was no forced labour
but when the ILO meant business, the Junta grudgingly allowed the ILO
team to make an inspection. Of course the international community has
come to accept the Junta?s deception as a fait accompli and know that
the Burmese Generals would swear to lie the very concept of truth.
The very fact that the details of these Secret Negotiations were
leaked to a foreigner and foreign magazine proves that the Junta does
not believe its own media (notorious for unreliability) but also points
to the theory that the Burmese Generals have to rely on the foreign
media and news agencies which prove that they are the real lackeys (axe
handle) of foreigners. It is also tantamount to treachery because they
have made a promise not to leak anything about the Secret Negotiations
and yet they purposely let the cat out of the bag, while Daw Aung San
Suu Kyi, as a noble Nobel laureate, has faithfully kept her promise. As
a first instance the military have given tips to Roger Mitton who wrote
a series of articles under cover of ?Intelligent Speculation? and now
the details of the discussions have been released on the inter-net.
If the hypothesis of ?Intelligent Speculation? is genuine, then
Roger Mitton seems to have more contacts than all the Burmese inside and
outside of the country as well as all the diplomats and foreign
correspondences stationed in Rangoon. Common sense. How can a person who
does not speak a word of Burmese and is not stationed in Rangoon get all
the confidential news of the Secret Negotiations without somebody
leaking it to him? Simple logic. Besides, if the Burmese army betrays
even this little promised trust, will they be trusted to keep their
promises and agreement once a deal is made from the ?Secret
Negotiations?? This will pose a very big question to which both the
Burmese and the international community cannot easily find the answer.
In other words what little trust the people have in the Burmese army has
been washed down the drain.
The Burmese army has a long, abysmal record of breaking their
promises. They have been treacherous and stealthy in their negotiations
with the various ethnic freedom fighters. The very fact that
negotiations were not made in a neutral place and an international
mediator where both sides trusted. Besides there is no balance of power
between the two sides and this proves that negotiations were lopsided.
It is against the very grain of the classical negotiation process.
Hence, the result was more like a dictated settlement.
Everybody knows that the Junta would not negotiate until and
unless his interest or his security is at stake and is trying its level
best to hoodwink the international community just to secure economic aid
and ease the international pressure. After more than a decade, these
clumsy generals realized that they had reached a dead end and with the
snowballing international pressure cannot even dream to revive the
economy. This compels them to the negotiating table.
The report is just a reflection of the Junta?s mind-set of
ethnic cleansing coupled with Myanmar chauvinism. It seems more like a
negotiated surrender on the part of the ethnic freedom fighters and
pro-democracy movement. Among the key points is that Major General Kyaw
Win has called for the formation of a political consultative committee
as a forum for political discussion, e.g. the future of the constitution
and the formation of an interim government, and so on. No doubt this was
deliberately contrived and leaked by Kyaw Win. It is nothing but a
well-planned psychological warfare media campaign against the
pro-democracy and ethnic groups with the vain hope that it will trick
the people of Burma and perpetuate their rule. At the same time they
also seem to be testing the reactions of the international community.
But who is Major General Kyaw Win? Roger Mitton describes him as
bright and intelligent young man. A well-informed, shrewd negotiator and
contemporary to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and eulogized his virtues. But I
know him as Ko Kyaw Win (his bosom friend was Ko Min Din) and both were
my pupils majoring in psychology and they stayed in the same hall (Pegu
Hall) when I am served as a hall tutor. No doubt he was at that time S &
R (Social and Reading) club chairman helping to run the hall. A very
witty, scrupulous person always trying to be in the limelight before he
joined the OTS (Officer Training Corps) and put on the uniform. I
remember him as ?Pho Pa Chin? in Burmese literally translated as ?always
wanting to have a finger in the pie?. Since the Junta construes such a
person as Ko Kyaw Win as the flower of the Burmese army, one can measure
the Junta?s depth, vision and cetena (good will) to the country and
people.
Judging from the uncharacteristic leakage of news; the whole
concept is of power sharing. The military is not satisfied with dragging
the once- prosperous nation to the lowest level of the UN rating and one
that was being expelled as a pariah nation from the ILO the Junta still
wants on to have a say in Burmese affairs by claiming the lion?s share
of the Consultative Committee. It never occurs to them the genuine and
authentic ways of ?National Solidarity? which treats all the ethnic
groups as equals and brothers. It makes one feel that the Junta is
capable of holding onto power indefinitely and continuing to use its
brute force and terror. It has never attempted to tackle the greater
reality concerns of the viability of Burma as a nation state.
Taking into consideration the nearly half a century of
resistance to the Myanmar group by the non-Myanmar, there is very little
reason to pronounce the country as viable nation state. Burma?s
viability as a nation state has demonstrated itself with the successive
military rulers? failures to come to terms with the non-Myanmar groups.
This is exacerbated by widespread and deliberate atrocities perpetrated
by the Burmese soldiers. Not only did they not mention the word
?Federal,? which in fact is power sharing between the ethnic groups and
the Myanmar under the name of autonomy to live in peace and harmony.
This is the root cause of all the problems, General Ne Win came to power
under that banner. The Generals did not take into consideration the
ethnic leaders or the Burmese in Diaspora including the intelligentsia
as an entity. The philosophy of ?I am the monarch of all I survey? is
still prevalent in the Burmese military mentality and ?we alone can do
it.? is still in their subconscious minds.
Obviously Singapore and Malaysia are very worried about the new
arrangement; they are the ones that have invested in the country,
shoring up the coffers of the Junta to carry on its harsh rule. There is
every possibility that together with UNOCAL of America and TotalFinaElf
of France, they may have find themselves on the wrong side. But if U Ne
Win, who has just recuperated ever died Harry Lee (Lee Kwan Yew) may
join the gentlemen of Rangoon such Khun Hsa, Lo Hse Han, Hwe Hsui Kang
in shedding crocodile tears.
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<html>
<u><font color="#FF0000"><font size=+1>PERSPECTIVE</font></font></u>
<p><font color="#3333FF"><font size=+2>Hush Hush Negotiations, Top Secret
Bottom Open</font></font>
<p><i><font color="#FF0000"><font size=+1>By Kanbawza Win</font></font></i>
<br><i><font color="#FF0000"><font size=+1>Mizzima News Group (www.mizzima.com)</font></font></i>
<p><font size=+1><b><i>Nov. 8:</i></b> The highest stage of the Burmese
army?s treachery and craftiness is the Secret Negotiations. The mentality
of the Burmese army is that they will always have something to hide from
the public and hence cannot be transparent now or in the future. Or otherwise
their lies, imposition, dishonesty and tricks will be exposed. Thus it
declared that only a few dozens were killed during the 8-8-88 pro-democracy
demonstrations when in fact more than 20,000 were killed or maimed in Burma?s
six cities. In 1990 they promised to hand over power to the winning party
but have failed to do so up to this date. It declared to the world that
there were no political prisoners and then released them piece meal. Then
they loudly declared that there was no forced labour but when the ILO meant
business, the Junta grudgingly allowed the ILO team to make an inspection.
Of course the international community has come to accept the Junta?s deception
as a fait accompli and know that the Burmese Generals would swear to lie
the very concept of truth.</font>
<p><font size=+1> The very fact
that the details of these Secret Negotiations were leaked to a foreigner
and foreign magazine proves that the Junta does not believe its own media
(notorious for unreliability) but also points to the theory that the Burmese
Generals have to rely on the foreign media and news agencies which prove
that they are the real lackeys (axe handle) of foreigners. It is also tantamount
to treachery because they have made a promise not to leak anything about
the Secret Negotiations and yet they purposely let the cat out of the bag,
while Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, as a noble Nobel laureate, has faithfully kept
her promise. As a first instance the military have given tips to Roger
Mitton who wrote a series of articles under cover of ?Intelligent Speculation?
and now the details of the discussions have been released on the inter-net.</font>
<p><font size=+1> If the hypothesis
of ?Intelligent Speculation? is genuine, then Roger Mitton seems
to have more contacts than all the Burmese inside and outside of the country
as well as all the diplomats and foreign correspondences stationed in Rangoon.
Common sense. How can a person who does not speak a word of Burmese and
is not stationed in Rangoon get all the confidential news of the Secret
Negotiations without somebody leaking it to him? Simple logic. Besides,
if the Burmese army betrays even this little promised trust, will they
be trusted to keep their promises and agreement once a deal is made from
the ?Secret Negotiations?? This will pose a very big question to which
both the Burmese and the international community cannot easily find the
answer. In other words what little trust the people have in the Burmese
army has been washed down the drain.</font>
<p><font size=+1> The Burmese
army has a long, abysmal record of breaking their promises. They have been
treacherous and stealthy in their negotiations with the various ethnic
freedom fighters. The very fact that negotiations were not made in a neutral
place and an international mediator where both sides trusted. Besides there
is no balance of power between the two sides and this proves that negotiations
were lopsided. It is against the very grain of the classical negotiation
process. Hence, the result was more like a dictated settlement.</font>
<p><font size=+1> Everybody knows
that the Junta would not negotiate until and unless his interest or his
security is at stake and is trying its level best to hoodwink the international
community just to secure economic aid and ease the international pressure.
After more than a decade, these clumsy generals realized that they had
reached a dead end and with the snowballing international pressure cannot
even dream to revive the economy. This compels them to the negotiating
table.</font>
<p><font size=+1> The report
is just a reflection of the Junta?s mind-set of ethnic cleansing coupled
with Myanmar chauvinism. It seems more like a negotiated surrender on the
part of the ethnic freedom fighters and pro-democracy movement. Among the
key points is that Major General Kyaw Win has called for the formation
of a political consultative committee as a forum for political discussion,
e.g. the future of the constitution and the formation of an interim government,
and so on. No doubt this was deliberately contrived and leaked by Kyaw
Win. It is nothing but a well-planned psychological warfare media campaign
against the pro-democracy and ethnic groups with the vain hope that it
will trick the people of Burma and perpetuate their rule. At the same time
they also seem to be testing the reactions of the international community.</font>
<p><font size=+1> But who is
Major General Kyaw Win? Roger Mitton describes him as bright and intelligent
young man. A well-informed, shrewd negotiator and contemporary to Daw Aung
San Suu Kyi and eulogized his virtues. But I know him as Ko Kyaw Win (his
bosom friend was Ko Min Din) and both were my pupils majoring in psychology
and they stayed in the same hall (Pegu Hall) when I am served as a hall
tutor. No doubt he was at that time S & R (Social and Reading) club
chairman helping to run the hall. A very witty, scrupulous person always
trying to be in the limelight before he joined the OTS (Officer Training
Corps) and put on the uniform. I remember him as ?Pho Pa Chin? in Burmese
literally translated as ?always wanting to have a finger in the pie?. Since
the Junta construes such a person as Ko Kyaw Win as the flower of the Burmese
army, one can measure the Junta?s depth, vision and cetena (good will)
to the country and people.</font>
<p><font size=+1> Judging from
the uncharacteristic leakage of news; the whole concept is of power sharing.
The military is not satisfied with dragging the once- prosperous nation
to the lowest level of the UN rating and one that was being expelled as
a pariah nation from the ILO the Junta still wants on to have a say in
Burmese affairs by claiming the lion?s share of the Consultative Committee.
It never occurs to them the genuine and authentic ways of ?National Solidarity?
which treats all the ethnic groups as equals and brothers. It makes one
feel that the Junta is capable of holding onto power indefinitely and continuing
to use its brute force and terror. It has never attempted to tackle the
greater reality concerns of the viability of Burma as a nation state.</font>
<p><font size=+1> Taking into
consideration the nearly half a century of resistance to the Myanmar group
by the non-Myanmar, there is very little reason to pronounce the country
as viable nation state. Burma?s viability as a nation state has demonstrated
itself with the successive military rulers? failures to come to terms with
the non-Myanmar groups. This is exacerbated by widespread and deliberate
atrocities perpetrated by the Burmese soldiers. Not only did they not mention
the word ?Federal,? which in fact is power sharing between the ethnic groups
and the Myanmar under the name of autonomy to live in peace and harmony.
This is the root cause of all the problems, General Ne Win came to power
under that banner. The Generals did not take into consideration the ethnic
leaders or the Burmese in Diaspora including the intelligentsia as an entity.
The philosophy of ?I am the monarch of all I survey? is still prevalent
in the Burmese military mentality and ?we alone can do it.? is still
in their subconscious minds.</font>
<p><font size=+1> Obviously Singapore
and Malaysia are very worried about the new arrangement; they are the ones
that have invested in the country, shoring up the coffers of the Junta
to carry on its harsh rule. There is every possibility that together with
UNOCAL of America and TotalFinaElf of France, they may have find themselves
on the wrong side. But if U Ne Win, who has just recuperated ever died
Harry Lee (Lee Kwan Yew) may join the gentlemen of Rangoon such Khun Hsa,
Lo Hse Han, Hwe Hsui Kang in shedding crocodile tears.</font>
<p> </html>
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