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Friday, August 26, 2011

What really is the NLD now?

What really is the NLD now?
by Maung Zarni on Friday, August 26, 2011 at 6:27pm
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is quoted as saying "President Thein Sein really wants change" - according to Bangkok Post.

But what really is President Thein Sein in Burma's military-controlled political system?

Remember President San Yu? Sure the Revolutionary Council (1962-74) and Burma Socialist Programme Party (1974-1988) all of which were Ne Win's creatures - were not the "elected" Government of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar (correct name?). But the Army is the backbone of this new Than Shwe creature.

This new creature with Thein Sein as its face and nominal leader may end up devouring its Creator, just as the BSPP self-destruted and brought Ne Win down from the throne, by default.

But so what? The biological clock is ticking for Than Shwe anyway.
What about the Army's Class rule? What about the military-sponsored Bama colonalism towards non-Bama ethnic communities?

Some say retired Burmese diplomat and economist U Myint, U Thant's grandson Thant Myint-U, the regime's hired mouth Nay Win Maung, etc. are "backing the President". But how?

What are these new presidential gurus and mouthpieces going to do when, not if, the real generals move against the President (and all his men)?

And what is the future of the NLD as the flagship opposition?

We now have the flagship opposition which no longer considers itself "opposing the dictatorship" (albeit in new clothing), nor pursues power sharing arrangement",
according to NLD leader U Win Tin.
Is the NLD, legal or illegal, is morphing into a National Pagoda Trust (Gaw Pa Ka) or prisoners of conscience (POC)-Rescue mission?

I wouldn't worry about the military ruling the country resistance-free or reforming the State successfully. The economy is its Achilles Heel and the militarized State has neither intellectual capacity nor political will to turn itself into anything workable.

Represssion and resistance will go hand in glove. The ethnic resistance cannot be wiped out, even after some centuries. Just look at the Balkans, Southern Thailand, or Northern Ireland. For the Bama resistance against the State, it has not stopped since 1958.

Whether or not it has succeeded is irrelevant. The point is the Burmese conflicts will continue on, destroying any prospects for peace or prosperity for the little men and women on the street.

This is all familiar to the Burmese familiar with the country's past.

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