04.02.2007
Editorial: Kyant Phuts or Reptile Party
_ By Taisamyone
The emergence of the USDA in 1993 as an organ of the SPDC has rightly been associated with the Monitor Lizard, or as a ‘stupid creature’. The junta and its cohorts resemble the slimy insidious attributes with which we associate the reptile; not least of which is the ability of some for ‘Parthenogenesis’, which is the growth and development of an embryo without fertilization by a male; the USDA was not a natural union of the people and government, but solely a Frankenstein’s monster creation of the SPDC (SLORC at the time). Kyant Phonts have several sensory adaptations that benefit the hunting of live prey. Recent work indicates that the Varanid lizards, do indeed have venom. The bleeding, swelling, and infection from varanid bites are therefore not solely due to strains of bacteria in their mouths, as previously believed. Although the USDA display some vile characteristics, it is unfair on the lizards to associate the two, as lizards are fascinating and likeable creatures; lizards are the subject of study by zoologists and household pets to many enthusiastic fans. We only study the USDA as an enemy - with revulsion, not joy. But like the geckos we see crawling over the ceiling, the USDA ‘monitor’ what we do as they spy on us for the junta, and drop their excrement on us from their high perches, protected by the junta.
The USDA have consistently abused the human rights of the people of Burma, through coercion to join their odious organisation, to the slaughter of innocents.
Human Rights Watch reported in 1997 that the USDA were instrumental in abuses of the rights to Freedom of Association and Peaceful Assembly of school and university children – today, the New Light of Myanmar tries to show them in a caring generous light, reporting that the USDA are donating desks to schools. The HRW report said; “While student unions remain prohibited, children and youths are being forced through a variety of measures to join government associations against their will. High school children and university students are threatened with losing their places at school if they do not join the USDA. In other cases, only USDA membership can guarantee access to scarce teaching resources, such as computers and language laboratories. The USDA particularly targets children and youths, with the intention of instilling in them loyalty to the nation and respect for the armed forces, and creating a ‘patriotic youth force.’” Such patriotism is short lived – as soon as the youth of Burma can think for themselves, they will abandon the USDA – they go along with the coercion to get an education, or to get a job – the USDA does not win hearts and minds, it forces people to obey what the junta wants them to do – this is a very shallow patriotism! This form of injustice and bullying coercion is still going on, regularly reported from Burma - “He added that those who refused to join the useless organisation were threatened and intimidated by their teachers saying that they won’t be allowed to take their examinations if they didn’t join the association” – the NLM of course put it a different way, as the USDA ‘receiving applications’.
In the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) report of December 2003, USDA members were clearly identified as the organisers for the Depayin massacre of NLD members. The ALRC regularly publish regular reports under Article 2 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). To quote an eye-witness account ‘All the USDA members and their hired hands attacking our cars were drunk. We learned later that from the time of departure from Monywa, a half-drum full of liquor was put in their car, and anyone in the car was allowed to drink as much liquor as he wished. For that reason, when they attacked our cars they did it inhumanly and they shouted also, “Are you a death-defying force for the Kala woman? [i.e. foreign woman, alluding to Aung San Suu Kyi’s marriage to a British citizen]. If so, die!” So shouting, they brutally struck down the youths.’ Clearly, the USDA has its core of hard case psychopaths who will do the bidding of Than Shwe and his cronies to do their duty, who was reported as telling the USDA "It is the duty of the entire people including USDA members to resolutely crush destructive elements inside and outside the country as the common enemy who are disrupting all the development endeavours with the sole aim of gaining power."
In May 2006, the Network for Democracy and Development (NDD) issued a ‘White Shirts’ report on the USDA. The USDA announced its intention to become a political party and contest for seats in future elections. The report noted that a transfer of power to a USDA occupied parliament would signal little more than a nominal transition. As this report states, the USDA is an organization whose patrons are all SPDC members. The Central Executive Committee is likewise comprised of government ministers and officers in local Peace and Development Councils (PDCs). The control of the SPDC over the USDA is such that the actions of the USDA can be said to be those of the SPDC. The UDSA would to all intents and purposes be a puppet government – the strings being pulled by the junta, key posts being held by generals currently in favour. The real power would remain with the junta and not with an elected body.
It is a useful reminder to consider the allusion to shirt colour – the USDA have a considerable similarity to Hitler’s fascist storm-troopers, known as the Brown Shirts. The Sturmabteilung (storm-troopers), or SA, had similar maxims to those banded about by the SPDC - "All opposition must be stamped into the ground" – they started out as Hitler’s bodyguard and formed into a paramilitary organisation that fought Social Democrats and Communists who demonstrated against the Nazi party rallies. Once Hitler gained power and imprisoned any opposition, the SA was used for propaganda, beating up undesirables (anyone who opposed the dictatorship, or happened to be the wrong race) and general strutting around. The SA sought greater political power, but other political and military leaders sought to suppress them. Eventually, Hitler launched the ‘night of the long knives’ in which all the SA leadership were assassinated, the movement was marginalised, with groups like the Gestapo becoming more powerful.
Incredible though it seems to us in the world outside prison Burma, the junta would likely place the USDA in government – murderers, bullies and thugs who do their bidding – and if you don’t vote for them, you will get a visit in the middle of the night – nightmare visions of the terror that extinguished freedom in Nazi Germany.
On a lighter note, during the research for this article, I found out how to destroy the evil lizard – the 1958 Japanese film ‘Varan the Unbelievable‘ dealt with a gigantic lizard that lived in a river. At first, he kills an expedition team and then destroys an entire village. Once disturbed, Varan starts wreaking havoc throughout the country, eating people he encountered. The defence forces tricked him into eating two bombs they drop from the sky. The bombs explode destroying Varan. The USDA are dumb enough to swallow anything, especially anything that the junta throw at them – let us hope that they bite off more than they can chew and choke on it! The USDA may appear powerful, but it is all a veneer; junta appointed leaders, state sponsored recognition, thugs to do the dirty work (or just parade outside the US/UK embassies) and millions of ordinary citizens afraid not to join. When the junta are deposed, the USDA will dissolve.
Quote
“The USDA has also eliminated or co-opted any form of civil society in Burma, and in doing so created its own civil society. The USDA is frequently presented as helping the people in various development projects, trainings and donations. In particular, the USDA has managed to insert itself into the distribution of aid and assistance by NGOs, causing many problems for those people in Burma who are part of the opposition or perceived to be a threat to military rule. The USDA further functions to provide high attendance levels at the mass rallies held in support of the SPDC’s policies or in denunciation of the opposition or international community.
The USDA has created people’s militias and involved itself in the security forces responsible for surveillance and arrest of opposition members. Further, a general culture of thuggish behaviour has been encouraged in the youth by the USDA leaders, which has led to the incitement of religious conflict and several violent attacks. The worst political violence perpetrated by the USDA occurred during the Depayin Massacre in which Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and her convoy was attacked and many NLD members and supporters killed, an event for which evidence exists to declare it a crime against humanity…………..The White Shirts: How The USDA Will Become The New Face Of Burma’s Dictatorship
For more information
¨ Monitor Lizards http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monitor_lizard
¨ Human Rights Watch report http://www.hrw.org/reports/1997/burma2/Burma-05.htm
¨ Burma’s Myinggyan college students forced to join USDA, Aug 15, 2006 (DVB), http://english.dvb.no/news.php?id=7705
¨ Article 2 - Depayin, 30th May 2003 http://www.article2.org/pdf/v02n06.pdf
¨ The White Shirts: How The USDA Will Become The New Face Of Burma’s Dictatorship http://www.ibiblio.org/obl/docs3/USDAFinal1.pdf
¨ Brown Shirts/Sturmabteilung http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_shirts
¨ Varan the Unbelievable http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Varan
¨ USDA http://www.usda.org.mm/
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