The art of complacency

com·pla·cen·cy (n) a feeling of quiet pleasure or security, often while unaware of some potential danger, defect, or the like; self-satisfaction or smug satisfaction with an existing situation, condition, etc.

It often feels futile to write posts on a small-timing blog about the major events in Burma. I feel as if I’m swimming in deep water, unable to hold my breath long enough to surface. I’ve neglected blogging for this reason.

The junta’s complacency, the United Nation’s complacency, the world’s complacency to Burma’s growing internal problems is enough to make anyone lose sight of what Burma needs, good governance that will reform and reconstruct the country’s civil society. We are transfixed by the images of bleeding monks, dead journalists and the infamous picture of Shwedagon Pagoda in the distance, shrouded in tear gas. But these sentiments do not translate to change.

I no longer know whether I should keep with these sporadic updates on Fifty Viss or abandon this pursuit. I will decide in coming days.

Burmese propaganda, now replete in color

The headline “VOA and BBC, sky-full of liars” says it all.

Sorry I’ve been unable to update this blog for the past few weeks. I’ve been overloaded with school.

Today, I noticed a new addition to the Myanmar.com website, the official Burmese government portal. Titled “Photo @ Myanmar.com,” the page contains a series of images that attack the recent Burmese marches, the American government, Western media (particularly BBC, Voice of America and Radio Free Asia, three major radio broadcasters in Burma) and the War in Iraq.

There are 14 slides, all sending an obvious message, even to those who cannot read Burmese. I will translate a few of them:

Translation: Are we aiming for Progress or Decline?

Translation: What would you choose? This [arrow points upward] or that [arrow points downward]?

Translation: We don’t need the compassion of the world’s police [America and Bush dressed as a cowboy]!

Translation: The world already knows the true brand of democracy America gives.

Translation: The history of [Burma] will be written by [Burma]. The history that Bush is writing, [on the other hand] is not at all beautiful.

Half of the photos are recently constructed public works projects and administrative buildings in Naypyidaw, and staged rallies, while the other half are images of President Bush’s cabinet, the war in Iraq and the Abu-Gharib scandal. These shoddily-made slides, which look like they were made by someone who has little expertise in Adobe Photoshop, send an important message to the Burmese and to the world: “Watch out. Let America intervene and your country may be next.” By all means, this is an illogical message, but nonetheless one of the few tactics the Burmese government has to change public opinion.

Progress?

Aung San Suu Kyi and Aung Kyi met at a government guesthouse today.

Aung San Suu Kyi met with Aung Kyi, the government official assigned to be the government liaison. The New York Times has two articles: “Opposition Leader Meets Burmese Official” and “In Myanmar, Fear Is Ever Present” and two slideshows (here and here) worth taking a look at.

I have been too busy in the past weeks to even begin to catch up on all of the latest news, unfortunately.

The Burmese monkhood’s political power

Monks hit the streets of Rangoon in protest. Photo by ogglog.

I’ve been busy this past week with homework, studying (I have a midterm in a week-and-a-half, unfortunately) and other commitments. In my spare time, I’ve been going to the Young Research Library, which has a number of interesting Burmese books, written in both English and Burmese (although Burmese books have odd English romanizations, like Si Hmat Phvay Ra Praññ Mran Ma that are quite hard to decipher from the bookshelves.)

Anyway, in light of the recent marches led by Burmese monks, the government has called for monks to restrain from being politically active. The book Myanmar: Beyond Politics to Societal Imperatives is a very good book for those who want to gain insight from Burmese analysts as well as Burma studies scholars. The following excerpt is particularly noteworthy:

The king had been not only the head of state and commander of his empire but was also the fount of authority for the Buddhist monkhood or sangha. Without a king to maintain the monastic hierarchy, the monkhood was soon bereft of any national disciplining institution. This led eventually to indiscipline of the sangha, stimulating sectarianism, wayward behavior, and involvement in nationalist political affairs, all in violation of the traditional regulations and principles of the monkhood. Not until 1980 would the Myanmar state once more regain administrative control over the monkhood such as Thailand had established nearly eighty years earlier.

The book also states this:

Monastic indiscipline faced little or no sanction, and the behavior of the monkhood [during the colonial era] changed, allowing members of it to become involved in secular activities, especially politics, in violation of strict Buddhist teachings.

What happened in 1980 was this: The First Congregation for the Purification, Perpetuation and Propagation of Buddhism. In May of that year, over 1,000 monks gathered to write up a constitution that officially recognized 9 Buddhist sects in the country without allowing any more, created a national authority to control and regulate the monkhood, and required all monks and nuns to hold national identity cards. (”Burma in 1980: An Uncertain Balance Sheet”)

There is no doubt that the so-called Saffron Revolution was political in nature. It may have begun as a result of economic hardship but accelerated into something entirely different, call for overthrows and restoration of democracy.

So the question still lingers. Should monks be allowed to participate in politics? I have mixed feelings about this. In 1980, when regulations were made to restrict monks from participate in politics, many Burmese Buddhists supported this. They felt that some monks abused their religious power under the “guise” of a maroon robe. Currently, members of the sangha are not allowed to join the National League for Democracy.

I can’t judge for anyone else, but as the saying goes, desperate times call for desperate measures. If anyone has any opinions, please comment. I’d be happy to hear your opinions.

Free Burma!

“Free Burma” to me stands for freedom to speak, think, and act on one’s accordance and the freedom to live and work as one pleases. As in the words of Aung San Suu Kyi,

“The only real prison is fear, and the only real freedom is freedom from fear.”

Yellow journalism: all hype and no substance

Japanese journalist Kenji Nagai laying dead on a street in Rangoon.

A reader has just e-mailed me the following post from LAist, a blog specializing on Los Angeles, my hometown. The post “U.S. Media Blames Santa Monica College Professor for Burma Web Blackout,” describes the unfair sensationalizing of an innocent professor at a local community college who dutifully uploaded a video of the Japanese journalist Kenji Nagai killed by Burmese troops. The newswires, like Reuters (with its headline “L.A. professor triggers Myanmar Web shutdown”), directly connect the professor’s decision to upload the video to CNN to the shutdown of internet inside Burma. It states:

Name troubles

It seems that I need to explain something to readers of this blog, especially since I have been contacted by the BBC World Service for an interview as Aung Htin Kyaw.

I have been blogging for the past year under my Burmese name “Aung Htin Kyaw,” which is neither official and is primarily used by my family (but is not my legal name). As a precaution, I opted not to use my English name, since the Burmese government has a habit of denying visas to those who criticize it (no matter how small my readership is). I believe in ensuring that nobody in my family, those who live in the States and those who are still Burmese citizens, is negatively affected by what I write. Also, I do not want to be denied a visa to Burma in the near future.

Some of those who have e-mailed me found out, perhaps because of my forgetfulness, what my English name is. For my sake, please do not refer to me by that name. I am willing to take no risks to endanger the lives of family and friends, no matter how trivial it seems.

Sorry for not being honest from the beginning, but I had my reasons for not disclosing my legal name.