Pointed lessons for Guyanese
Kaieteur News – This is the bloody story unfolding in front of a horrific modern world of people putting their bodies before official cruelty and bullets of the military state. In Myanmar, 51 citizens were gunned down by security forces over the weekend, and many more in the days leading up to the deadly massacre (New York Times, “Dozens of killings and defiance in Myanmar, without the either side deviate ”- March 14). This is a heavy-handed government, a well-established government of generals, whose only logic is a fatal force; this is the kind of compelling reasoning they lay before an incense and determined civilian population whose numbers and passions show no signs of withdrawing from carnage.
Myanmar is in a real battle for real democracy. It has been going on for decades in the face of harsh military cracks, which leave a trail of dead and destruction litanies in the aftermath. Ethnic minorities are fed up with the marginalization of their presence, the suppression of their aspirations, one military strongest after another. The Nobel Prize winner caught the world in a storm, but she was also forced to surrender before the country’s military insane juggernauts. So, thousands of members of the civilian population are, once again, taking a fearless stance through a nationwide civil disobedience campaign in a bid to force issues to pass that have no return. That is, except for those who return dead. The numbers are rising, the world is protesting, America is crumbling. But the ribboned men in uniform, who love power and the interruptions it brings, have no gift for them and their families and cronies. The record is there, and it’s barbaric and ugly; it is a 21st century version of cruel oppression, with second-class citizenship being the norm for minorities. So far, the signs are that they don’t have the stomach for much more of the same.
It has been over a month and a half since nationwide action began on February 1. The protests were triggered by the army when the civilian government rose. This is what used to happen with some regularity, over half a century ago, and with more frequency in Latin America than most other places. Africa has had its share, too, but a military coup to raise its head violent in the present day, and with so much contempt for the world’s response, is almost unknown, is simply not offered so relentlessly. But the military junta doesn’t back down.
In the Yangon area, dozens have died, and many are devastated. But instead of acknowledging the rabies unleashed, the army has decided to fight fire with fire and declare martial law. This was an attempt to regain some control after the Chinese Embassy formally called on the government to take decisive action to “stop all terrorist activity.” Many more are likely to die, more of a torch of property. The people are angry, and they will not be intimidated or deterred. Governments must be more partners and not oppressors and slave masters, who mislead them either by fraud or the intimidations caused. In this, there are poignant lessons for Guyanese, who are willing to stand on the sidelines and let government after government here walk along, and trample on whatever little dreams they may have had.
According to the New York Times article referenced above, a leader of a “self-declared government formed in disguise” called for ethnic rebel groups that are fighting the army for the longest while joining the fight for “democracy federal. to replace military rule. And to this he added this bold reality and comforting mind, “the darkest moment of the nation and the moment that dawn is near.” Former Myanmar House Speaker, Mr Mahn Win Khaing Than, told his countrymen that “This revolution is the opportunity for us to put our efforts together.” No matter how far it reaches that score, the work is going to be tough and uphill, because military governments are not ready to raise the white flag.
As history has taught us, from Spartacus to South Asia to South Africa, whenever the people put their heads together, overwhelming forces either surrender or begin to go. There’s a lesson for Guyanese there.