Chamlong said the army had urged that the checkpoints be closed for security reasons after nine Thai villagers from Chiang Mai's Fang district were found beaten to death with their hands tied behind their backs in April near the area where yesterday's shooting took place. Merchants and provincial authorities have put up great resistance, Chamlong said. On the subject of Burma, I find that the international community, the intellectuals, academies and aristocrats who voice their opinion often in the pages of The Nation, have wasted endless paper and time expressing their views. With no progress on reforming the Burmese military government during this lengthy period of time, it is obvious that the present tactics for reform are of no use. The South Africans found their country finally in the power of the majority, only to find out that they inherited a country empty of all of its former wealth.
Natural resources are alarmingly finite.
When they have all been sold, there is nothing left but hard work to develop t he country. And, there is no wealth left to distribute among the people. Real reform is achieved through the time-honoured tradition used in every country in the modern world. It needs no foreign press coverage expressing the views of the expatriate nationals. No sanctions by the rich nations of the world are necessary or of any use.