Newsgroups: bit.listserv.seasia-l
Date:         Mon, 13 Apr 1992 17:49:04 -0700
From:         tun@PHY.UCSF.EDU
Subject:      comment from soc.culture.thai
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Article: 1792 of soc.culture.thai
Newsgroups: soc.culture.thai
From: fstawit@icomp01.lerc.nasa.gov (Tawit Chitsomboon)
Subject: Re: Sice of the Lambs
Organization: Institute for Computational Mechanics in Propulsion
Date: Mon, 13 Apr 1992 15:11:50 GMT

In article <9204110945.AA02104@phye.ucsf.EDU> tun@PHY.UCSF.EDU writes:
>
>   From AsiaWeek March  27, 1992 - Editorial titled
>
>              ---  Silence of The Lambs ---
>
>Only recently, very late in fact, has the world taken note that a disaster of
>major proportions is in the making. Malaysia's Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad,
>to his credit, recently spoke up in support of the Rohingyas, breaking ASEAN's
>long silence. Singapore and Indonesia have also begun to complain publicly
>that Rangoon's actions are dangerously destabilising. Other countries such
>as Iran have made common cause with fellow Muslims.
>
It makes me sick every time reading news like this. Outsiders are
interested in the plight of unfortunate people only insofar as
it's affect their economic well being or that those people share
certain common attributes with them.

The UN is no exception. It moves so quickly to impose sanctions
on certain nations based on skeptical evidences of wrong doings.
But it works at slower than a snail pace for other cases like
Burma, eventhough the evidence of wrong doing is so obvious.
The bottom-line motivation (or the lack thereof) needs not
be mentioned.

>.................... Even Thailand, which perhaps has greater reason to treat
>its neighbour with caution, has begin to criticise the regime. Cynics may point
>to certain logging deals that have gone sour. But Bangkok is also losing
>patience as the Burmese army feels free to use Thai border territory to fight
>the Karen insurgents.

Or they finally find a case to divert the people's attention from
the military's involvment in politics. Or they  find it a chance
to redeem themselves on the loss to Laos. Or ......

Whatever the reason, no one seems to help the ethnic people
in Burma and/or pressure the SLORC based on humanistic goals alone.

Thailand, in addition to being Burma's immediate neighbor, is a
buddhist country which is based on compassion to all sentient beings.
We should help Burma to exist humanely and meaningfully. So far,
the only help we provide to them has been to send the dissident
students back to the SLORC's hand. Oh well!, we don't even care
about our unjust internal affairs, How could you expect us to care
about those Pamas?
>
>
>[comment: I wonder if this atrocities would have taken place if ASEAN
>          nations had spoken out against SLORC earlier.
>
The ethnics people in Burma are, in a way, stupid. Have been fighting
and appealing to the world for decades, they should have known better that
their humanity appeals were falling on deaf ears. They should have told
ASEAN and Japan long time ago that fighting in Burma will escalate regional
instability which will affect all the economic transactions in the
region.

To  attract a dog, you should not cover the excrement.
(don't you civilized people know that in rural areas of third world
countries, people just walk to nearby bushes to relieve themselve
from the call of nature. Third world dogs are known to prey upon
those helpless species.)

My advice: Try to make  your excrement as stinky as possible; some
	   dogs do have poor sense of smelling. But finally, they
	   will catch up with others. (When ASEAN hurts, the US hurt,
	   the EC hurt, the UN also hurts because it gets money
	   from those rich countries -- You see!, shit can travel
	   that far.)
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