30.07.2006
.
Join Democracy for Burma Alliance
.
.
The Burmese Context of
David and Goliath
_ Prof. Kanbawza Win
As an Asian, hailed from neutral country, it was quite touching to view the CNN these days about the Middle East Conflict. The first conclusion is that we are not the only ones that are suffering from the hands of the military might but there are also many people like us. Like in any mainstream media, CNN, of course, have a bias reporting but still it is something. The term Middle East itself comes from the chauvinist European Imperialist word such as "I am going to the Far East, or Southeast Asia or Middle East," because they wrongly construe that Europe is the Centre of the World, much echo by CNN.
In the Bible (Koran or Torah) young David of Israel conquered the giant Goliath from Gath, only with the pebble and a sling because God is on his side. Now it seems the other way round, when an insignificant Hezbollah, an Arab NGO can withstand the might of the Israel army, who was able to vanquish the Arab armies is several Arab-Israel Wars. Not that I am taking the sides, or the Star of David has switched sides, it is simple logic, right thinking and rationale which indicated that the kidnapping of two soldiers did not justify the destruction of a country not to mentioned its wanton invasion. If my hypothesis is wrong better ask Kofi Annan, the Secretary General of the United Nations, who is in touché with all the sides.
So much for the Arab Israel Conflict, now let us turn to the Burmese scene. The first question is, are there any Burmese NGO equivalent, if not somewhat similar to Hezbollah? Not to mention, the fighting spirit, discipline, dedication, ethics and leadership but in terms of humanitarian spirit, does these so called self-declared liberation associations and organizations in the peripheral of Burma, both from the ethnic and democracy groups, ever get involved in social aspect of their own people, or identifies itself with the suffering people as what Hezbollah is doing?
As a person who often frequented the border regions, I often came across a fighter coming back very exhausted, after fighting tooth and nail with his life, only to find that there is nothing to eat at home, while the un-elected and un represented so called leaders kept sipping away the beer. Again in some ethnic areas the leaders' wives and concubines wear expensive ornaments and shopped like queens whenever they came to border towns and yet look down on an average half starved resistant soldier. What about educating their youths? Even some of the resistance groups refused to send their youngsters to higher education institution lest they become more educated and question their warlord tactics or may disrupt their established war-lord machine. Clearly the elites of the resistance forces are not only exploiting their own people but misusing the good name of the resistance to their personal benefit. This may be galling to them similar to when we say Hezbollah and soundly beaten the Israelis.
What about the three plus million Burmese living in the West, except their internet rhetoric of issuing declarations and finger pointing (Clearly outline by Bo K. Nyein) will not lift a finger to their brethren in the border areas. The West is looking at the Burmese expatriates of how they live, cooperate, work together, and how they keep their cherished goal alive and so on because they knew that once democracy is achieved in Burma, this will be the same style living in a free democratic country. With the current state of things as what the expatriates are doing that is (categorically opposite of Hezbollah) do we expect the West to help us?
The people inside Burma cannot move much due to the strict surveillance of the Burmese Military Intelligence and its informers. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is Alone Against Rome. Not that the country is short of brave and dedicated youths and people, but the missing points are effective leadership, cooperation, coordination and the driving motive. Hezbollah excel in all these aspects and we were wondering whether we should invite one of Hezbollah's men to come and teach our so call resistance forces. The crux of the Burmese resistance is that they are not part and parcel of the people and in this aspect should take a leaf out of Hezbollah.
Turning to the international scene I was rather shocked to witness that the Evangelical (not the Catholics and the mainstream Protestant) Churches are supporting the aggressor Israel. Obviously, these ever growing, Hallelujah groups could not comprehend the Holy Bible that God created everything and everybody including the Muslims, Hezbollah and Osama bin Laden. They could not understand that Our Lord is the Lord of History and the Lord of Science. Why do these so called Evangelical Christians adhere to the theory that, those who is not with us is against us. These terrorist or freedom fighters (depending on one's perspective) would not be alive to day, without God's will and He has its own purpose. Perhaps these Evangelical groups should go through the Genesis again and see that Arab and Israel are brothers having the same father Abraham (Sarah borne Isaac [which became Israel] while Hagar produced Ishmael [which later became Arab]). Hence instead of taking sides, should be a broker of peace (one of the beatitude says Blessed be the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God) if they really profess Christianity. If so the world should have been much a better place. Why exploit religion just to marshal support for one side (the wrong side)?
Returning to the Burmese scene, some of the ethnic leaders who profess Christianity tend to believe that God is on their side, when they themselves were doing the very things, which the Lord despise. People use to jeer me that as if I am the representative of the Lord, let them do, because I know that it is simple logic. It is rather sad to see that one of the strongest and biggest resistance groups has been plunged into nepotism led by a half baked off spring of an infirm dictator and a pastor. Because of Christian chauvinism more than half of its fighter has joined the Junta and now with this rate will be a matter of time before being wipe out.
According to the pantheon of Western media, Hezbollah was portrayed as a terrorist group. Internally renowned media commentators of the West do not provide any source of their unanimous and unquestioned assumptions about the terrorists organizations and have never tried to discover the rationale of Hezbollah or what they want and how they intend to achieve it. The picture of Hezbollah stems from the bogeymen of Western media's own imagination rather than from the facts. Unlike the Burmese resistance, Hezbollah have a sound reason and a good cause of their own. Very lately, the self-style exiled Burmese government (whom the Burmese label as Insane, UB group) declared that they are against Sanctions as often than not most of the leaders switch sides. Hezbollah is negotiable, and this is the basic fact which Israel and Western leaders are very much afraid to even mention, because it would compel them to give up their important items. Hence they magnify out of proportion, the myth of terrorist as insanity and unreasonable couple with the culture of death, heroism and martyr.
If one were to make a meticulous research, there is no evidence at all of the culture of death in the Hezbollah movement, it so happens that in the current warfare, where one side is highly equipped with satellite and infrared surveillance technology as well as electronic snifters and drone aircraft, while the other side lacks resources and access to modern technology, the only way for them to deliver a bomb is by strapping it to a volunteer who hits the target. It also happens that in asymmetric conflicts, as Donald Rumsfeld is fond of calling them, it is next to impossible to reach military targets which belong to the other side as it had a huge technological edge. Israel like the Burmese Junta has targeted civilians as a legitimate target, which they copy from the Nazi. It seems that they have taken a leave out of the Burmese army in the use of chemical war over Lebanese population
The people of Burma clearly knew that Israel was one of the countries that are selling massive arms to the Burmese army (to suppress the democratic and ethnic forces) and that Hezbollah or any other Arab country has not a single bullet yet. Obviously, like the whole world (except the satanic forces) the sympathy is with the innocent Lebanese people and country whom Israel deliberately bomb including the UN peace- keeping force UNIFIL for daring to propose the ceasefire at an early stage. At the time of this writing twelve UN personals were already killed or injured by Israel (four Ghanaians injured and a peacekeeper shot through the back, employee working with UNIFIL and his wife had been killed). They also eliminated several Arab Newsmen (see IFJ) for daring to report the truth. Such was Israel's defiance against the world because it was backed by the United States. Not that Condoleezza Rice was tip off by the Israel commanders via the US administration to refuse the immediate ceasefire, all indications pointed to these aspects.
From the perspective of the struggling lot, Hezbollah is a legitimate liberating organization but from the so call Civilized West that is bombing the civilians.. But everybody has to admit that Hezbollah aim is "existential". They are not mysterious and not motivated by overriding concerns for the life beyond this one and do not seek to turn the clock back on modernity. Obviously most of them are Muslims but Islam unlike the Evangelical Christians did not seek to proselytize the West. And yet the Evangelical Christians are erroneously interpreting the "Revelation" as Armageddon and Apocalypse, according to their whims and fancies, as during the hey days of Hitler's Germany.. Sometimes one wonder whether they are Christians or rather modern Pharisees and Sadducees, who will crucify Jesus Christ again if he ever come down from heaven as it is vividly written that the word of Lord is right, and all His work is done in truth (Psalm 33:4). They also seems to forget that Jesus Christ was born in a manger, i.e. he identifies with the poor and the persecuted and in this aspect by looking at the death and wounded one can say who are the persecuted people.
We will have to remember that the teaching of History in the Third World, the theory of M (Missionaries, Merchants and Mercenaries) is still prevalent and Israel, as proxy of the Western Imperialism is still an occupying forces in the Middle East. Of course if she goes back to the Balfour Declaration and live as a peaceful country is another matter. As Burmese we also did not believe that Hezbollah is really the party of God or the claim of Hassan Nasrollah that this fighting is Islam's Jihard or Omar but definitely he is fighting for the marginalized and the struggling lot and for this he has the sympathy and the moral support around the world except the Zionist the Evangelicals and the Imperialist. No doubt, Hezbollah was funded by Syria and Iran, as Israel was by the Americans, and we are witnessing the battle between David (Hezbollah) and Goliath (Israel), whether might is right or cool rationale, is the victor is still yet to be seen. But it has to be admitted that Hezbollah is a grass-root social movement and even if the whole generations of Hezbollah is killed, the coming generations will take n its place. To the people of Burma, Hezbollah is worthy of inspiration and imitation and if we were like Hezbollah, our struggle against the Burmese Junta (funded by the American companies and arms supplied by Israel) should have been a success. Why can't we be like Hezbollah, a challenge to all the pro democratic and ethnic forces. We have to remember that the people are the key to our success. If People that are happy and motivated, they will have vision is and will easily comprehend what part to play.
Prof. Kanbawza Win,
Vancouver
......................................................
Comments
Dave Law said _
Dear Prof. Win, Your writing raises so many points of discussion.
I thought you were going to compare our Resistance Forces to the shepherd boy David armed with only a slingshot versus the huge giant Goliath which is the SLORC-SPDC behemoth, and that you were going to exhort our fighters to aim for the weak point of the enemy to defeat them.
Your Comments here_
Request: If you can kindly volunteer to translate BURMA DIGEST English articles into Burmese, please let us know BDeditors@tayzathuria.org.uk .
Please download from http://www.tayzathuria.org.uk/BD.pdf a simple, portable and printable version of BURMA DIGEST and send it to all your Burmese friends.
.
Click here for This week’s articles
Last week’s English articles
Environmental Damage in the Mekong Region
Protest against India's Collaboration
New Generation School in Denmark
Burmese Martyr Day in Thailand