Burma... Reconciliation????

It really is just sick what is being allowed to happen in Burma. The rest of the world could stop this from happening but it will not. Just like the genocide that took place in Rwanda in 1994. The U.S. news media was so enthralled in the O.J. Simpson case that it pushed aside the saughtering of innocent people to step by step document every move of that case. Sadly, people love that crap and watch it as if it matters. If only we could teach people to not sell themselves out to tabloid journalism and demand "real" stories.

Now, I am not in the States at the moment so I do not know the situation on the television with how the protests in Burma are being handled, I can not imagine as seriously as they should be. I do see that there are at least a number of internet stories and images being posted. Though, it will not be long before the Burmese people disapear from the mainstream news. Well, at least the stories are there for now, I just hope that people are reading them.

While the stories and images have been getting out of Burma since the protests started August 19th, today web access seems to have been cut there. The military government does not want the rest of the world to see what they will do to these people. Without these images it is going to be much harder to create interest from the rest of the world. Interest must be given to them by the masses or nothing will ever change. Western governments are doing nothing and will do nothing unless, maybe, masses of people from the rest of the world start making a difference. The people of Burma are just not important enough for the major governments of the world to care. There is nothing for them to gain out of helping these people, financially that is.

For the U.S. to simply announce stronger sanctions against key members of the junta and those who provide them with financial aid is not enough. The UK was even more pathetic with the announcement from David Miliband, British Foreign Secretary, calling on the regime to allow peaceful protests, encourage national dialog, and promote genuine reconciliation. WHAT!?!?! Who let this man speak?! Has he no idea what the situation is in Burma!!! He is just one more reason why people ignore the situation there. When you listen to him he makes it sound as if the people and the Military Dictatorship just need to sit down and talk. I guess he doesn't fully understand what a dictatorship is. IT DICTATES!! I guess he also needs to be informed that in 1990 Burma had multi party elections. These elections ended with a victory by Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. Her party is the National League for Democracy. She has yet to take office, she has been under house detention for 12 of the last 18 years. An amazing woman I encourage everyone to learn more about. Now I ask, how can there be a reconciliation, when the military dictatorship is holding their opposition leader prisoner?!?! In a country where one percent holds power and the other ninety-nine percent have no voice, the possibility of a reconciliation is non-existent. When the one percent is hostile and the ninety-nine percent is peaceful how can anyone think to suggest urging reconciliation?