Burma's Only Real Hope....

1. At the Port of Yangon 2. At a noodles shop in Chinatown, Yangon

UN special envoy Ibrahim Gambari meeting with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi ( source: UNIC Yangon ) 2 days ago.

Aung San Suu Kyi is the daughter of Aung San who is still regarded by most Burmese as the real hero of their nation. After successfully negotiating Burma's independence from the British in 1947, he was tragically assasinated that same year when Suu Kyi was only 2.

Suu Kyi was educated both in Burma and abroad.

In 1990, the military junta agreed to have the 1st free election in the country. Under her leadership, her party which she founded the NLD ( National League for Democracy ) won a major landslide victory at the polls. According to protocol, she would have been the Prime Minister. But the military, who also participated in the elections, were soundly beaten and following that humiliation , declared the election results "null and void". She was again placed under house arrest and has been in detention ever since.

The junta led by Sr General Than Shwe refused to hand over power and was widely condemned by all quarters of the international community.The military crooks pulled the carpet from right under her. And since then, the country has gone downhill. In her most famous Speech, "Freedom From Fear " her 1st sentence begins.......

"It is not power that corrupts but fear. Fear of losing power corrupts those who wield it and fear of the scourge of power corrupts those subject to it. "

In 1991, she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her peaceful, non-violent struggle against the military dictatorship.

She remains Burma's only real hope for reversing the country's fortune and putting her on a path of democracy.

Some recent reports have pointed out the similarity between the Philippines People Power struggle that eventually toppled then President Ferdinand Marcos in 1986. That too was led by a lady, Corazon Aquino., who assumed the presidency after Marcos fled.

The People Power movement was strongly backed by the nuns,priests,bishops and cardinals of the respected and powerful Catholic Church.

At the height of the demonstrations against martial law imposed by Marcos, he vowed to crush the protesters with his tanks.

But where the protests in Burma failed, time and time again, the one in Manila succeeded owing

to one major,critical factor. And what was that? Gen Fidel Ramos was the head of the Philippines Constabulary( Police ). He threw his weight and that of the entire police legions behind the Church and effectively behind the protesters.

He became a new hero of the Filipino struggle against oppression and tyranny.

But here in Burma, the picture is quite different.

The military regime controls the Senior monks who are appointed by them to control and oversee all monks in the country. They have no independence of control.

Those who do not cooperate are removed.

This is common knowledge among Burmese people.

After all, the evil generals run a totalitarian system.

Latest reports today stated that the P M Gen Soe Wein has died of luekemia [ Mizzima.com ].

[ However on 5/10/07 Mizzima.com apologised on their site for the earlier inaccuracy. Apparently the ailing PM is still alive but in a critical condition and is not expected to pull through. ]

There will be some re-shuffling of the 12 merry men of Than Shwe.

Yes....there are 12 in the ruling junta.

All should PRAY hard that one day, in the not too distant future, one or two of these"dirty dozen" will be

another Fidel Ramos....and he will be the new hero of democratic Burma!