Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun

by Will, 11 May 2008

Link:

than_shwe_27317t.jpg

Nowhere but Burma can one find this combination of brutality, corruption, ineptness, religiosity and xenophobia in a regime which, under one leader and name or another, has hung on to power for 46 years.

Invade Burma — kill the rulers — put their heads on spikes. Free the people. 枪杆子里面出政权

Comments

  1. Eamonn

    Sunday 11 May 2008 at 2:13

    according to the google translator the phrase in chinese means

    “The gun inside the regime”

  2. Will

    Sunday 11 May 2008 at 2:16

    And?

  3. Eamonn

    Sunday 11 May 2008 at 2:25

    “And?” yourself.

  4. Will

    Sunday 11 May 2008 at 12:50

    http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/may/11/cyclonenargis.burma2

    http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/may/11/cyclonenargis.burma

  5. Barbara Meinhoff

    Saturday 17 May 2008 at 15:03

    Also an article - just found after endless googling - on why the Burmese Junta has absolute fuck all reason to allow foreign aid workers in to help its civvies.
    http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/JE14Ae01.html

    http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/JE13Ae01.html

    French & US lawmakers this morning have called for some more direct intervention - the US has ships that could deliver aid within half an hour to coastal areas.

    I expect CiF editorial team are already commissioning a slew of sneery articles berating the imperialist invasion for bloodmurderer bush, as they did with the rumblings in Darfur - as far back as 2004 there was an article pre-emptively wailing at the monstrous invasion of Sudan that was imminent.

    I think there might be about to be a wholesale switch of positions - as in 2002 over Saddam - of CiF types. Because of course its all very well to have a facebook group saying you’ve not forgotten the place, and hoping for something-to-be-done, but when it comes to actually deciding whether to *intervene* and do something…..

  6. Will

    Saturday 17 May 2008 at 15:45

    No surprises here -

    http://www.newstatesman.com/200805150012

    Burma has been made worse because Milosevic was sent to the Hague (By the Serbian government after being overthrown by the Serbian people - they missed that bit out).

    better:

    http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/georgepacker/2008/05/is-there-an-exa.html

    http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/215bca00-22a3-11dd-93a9-000077b07658.html?nclick_check=1