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Have the demonstrations failed ?
Yes and no.
No :
They have shaken the world awake
to the real nature of the Burmese regime.
The world must be kept awake.
And made to act.
Yes :
The regime is still in power
because the soldiers continue to obey orders.
If, over the past years, anything has been done to encourage revolt
it was not enough.
Let not this lesson be wasted !
Non-violence can go far.
But in some circumstances physical force, at the right moment,
is also necessary.
Physical force is the threat of violence,
and, where necessary, the use of violence.
Every nation depends upon it as an ultimate defence.
Our purpose is to overcome unbridled violence.
Our purpose is also to win.
To win human rights and democracy.
To gain human rights and democracy in Burma will be a revolution.
A revolution needs martyrs.
Burma is not short of martyrs.
A revolution also needs leaders who are free
and able to carry forward the revolution.
Non-violent methods are many.
Non-violent demonstrations are only one method.
In a repressive situation, underground methods will be preferred
most of the time.
Faced with a powerful and ruthless opponent,
non-violence must be the main kind of action.
But not necessarily the only kind.
For example :
Where crime goes unpunished, criminals are many.
In Burma today, military officers and other agents of the regime are above the law.
They are lawless.
Regime-sponsored murderers and torturers must be dealt with by revolutionary justice.
Revolutionary justice eliminates the worst criminals, discourages the others, and protects the population.
Non-violent methods are used by the weaker side
to lessen the strength of the stronger side.
Until a tipping-point is reached.
The side which was weaker is now, potentially, the stronger.
The process is mainly psychological.
“A fish starts to rot in its head.”
It may take years.
When the tipping-point is reached,
there are two possibilities.
With many of their former supporters now against them,
the rulers have a choice :
— negotiate a surrender or run away
— or, fight.
If the rulers decide to fight, the oppressed must choose to :
— continue to live in slavery
— or, fight for their freedom.
Change will come to Burma when many of the combat units of the Tatmadaw accept it.
For it to come, there may be fighting.
This document is a sequel to Conditions for a successful revolution.
C. Snodgrass
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Two US experts say that the time has come to build an international consensus aimed at giving incentives for the junta to reform and increasing the price it will pay if it fails to change.
The US, they say, with ASEAN, China, India and Japan, should develop a road map for Burma's junta with “concrete goalposts” . The junta will enjoy development assistance and other benefits if it pursues true political reform and national reconciliation, while it will be made to pay if it continues to be intransigent.
The experts are wasting their time, our time, and people's lives.
It was tried long ago, offering the generals lots of money if they reform.
The generals didn't accept it then.
There's even less reason for them to accept it now.
It is time the free world spent money on overthrowing the regime.
A serious amount of money.
An amount of money proportional to the increasingly serious problem the regime poses for the free world.
Will the free world do this ?
If the case is argued with persistence and insistence by a broad section of the democracy movement,
perhaps ... eventually.
One cannot know, because the demand has not been made.
The free world will not send an expeditionary force.
Revolt must come from within.
To get something worthwhile it is necessary to
—know what is wanted ;
—know why it is wanted, not just in vague terms but in detail ;
—ask for it
—justify the request ; and
—show that it is in the donors' interest.
It is in the interest of all freedom-loving peoples
(which means all peoples, but not all governments)
that the world adopts their cherished values.
Freedom is fragile.
Its enemies are few but powerful.
Their power is proportional to their wealth and weapons.
The fewer and weaker the enemies of freedom,
the safer is freedom, everywhere in the world.
Forget about the generals and think about those of field officer rank.
It takes time.
It takes money.
It will cost lives.
Where there is hope, people will make sacrifices.
They must be given real hope, not false hopes.
To arrive at a destination, it is necessary to set out on the journey.
C. Snodgrass
The above views are not necessarily endorsed by the editors of The Burma Digest