A forgotten country

Myanmar (formerly Burma) is a country of which little is heard. I read something yesterday that made me want to remind people of what has been going on in that country.

Democracy ended in Burma in 1962 when General Ne Win led a military coup d'état. The pro-democracy 8888 uprising of 1988 and further protests in 1989 lead to the militry government granting elections that took place in 1990. The NLD, the party of Aung San Suu Kyi, won 392 out of a total 489 seats, but the election results were annulled by the military government, which refused to step down. Instead Aung San Suu Kyi was put under house arrest where she has remained for most of the time since then. She was prevented from travelling to England to be with her dieing husband and he was prevented from travelloing to Myanmar to be with her. The Myanmar regime has not improved its activities and you can read the latest Amnesty International report for more information.

The Myanmar regime has been subject to economic sanctions imposed by the USA and Europe for some time now. These sanctions are of little use as China and Russia are providing Myanmar with weapons, and investment. The Chinese are investing in oil pipelines and ports so as to make Myanmar a route for oil from the Middle East to get to China. Meanwhile the Russians have agreed to provide a nucleur research reactor. Just what the world needs, another rogue state with nucleur technology.

I don't expect Amnesty International or the MSM to complain too much about Myanmar, where's the mileage when there are much more importnat countries to target. After all in Myanmar opposition protestors may be arrested, tortured and even die in prison - maybe best to investigate more open countries.