Rumour of coup is Burma junta's way of warding off evil
jirjis
Aug 25, 2005 (DVB) - Recent rumours of the ouster of Burma's military junta,
State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) chairman Gen Than Shwe, were
deliberately spread by the junta as part of a ploy to ward off evil,
according to fortune-tellers and astrologers in Rangoon.
The junta is warding off evil because on 26 & 27 August Tuesday Planet
(Mars) is approaching Earth to the nearest point. According to the
astrologers, the Burmese generals believe that when Mars was at the nearest
point to Earth there were examples of rulers fighting among themselves for
power.
"They spread a piece of news of the change of rulers in Burma as a way of
warding off evil. They 'broadcast' a piece of false news of some kings
creating a new one," an astrologer said. "They also used to ward off evil
this way by spreading false news or rumours in ancient times. As a result,
they say that if your warding off evil is good, you make pretenders
disappear."
Many people believe that the warding off evil was initiated and carried out
by Than Shwe's wife Kyaing Kyaing who is said to be very superstitious.
While Than Shwe is apparently not very healthy, his wife seems to be more
worried by the approach of Mars to the nearest point to Earth. When DVB
asked the astrologer why Mars should affect Burma, he said the planet would
not only affect Burma, there could be some extraordinary events throughout
the world.
"By nature, when there was an influence of Mars on Burma or when there were
changes in the position of Mars, there were examples of extraordinary events
occurring in Burma. We regard that there is a psychological connection with
Mars when it comes to the events in Burma."
He added that Mars also affected Burma when she won independence from
Britain in 1948. After independence, many Burmese politicians consulted
astrologers, but the practice became more established among Burmese rulers
since Gen Ne Win seized power in a coup in 1962.
rebuilding atlantis in the bay of bengal
Okkar
If this is the way to change government, I'm sure all the kalars in US
and UK would have done that already! Afterall, they are being
persecuted like the jews in second world war!!
Hey kalar jirjis, why dont you do some voodoo magic to help your muslim
morons?
amanda...@yahoo.com
>and UK would have done that already!
>Afterall, they are being persecuted like the jews in second world war!!
You wish.
obov...@aol.com
> Nobody in UK and US know of any kalar.
Actually, this is true. I'm assuming kalar is a "tribe" or
grouping/class of people? I know none of the details.
Take Care,
obo
amanda...@yahoo.com
the people from South Asia who emigrated (actually migrated) to Burma
during the British rule of Burma. India (including Pakistan and
Bangladesh) were part of India at the time. Among those emigrated
were, educators, merchants, laborers.
British used "Divide and conquer" strategy in Burma favoring these
people over the indigenous but these people were better equipped to
help run the whole British administration as India had been under the
British for a long time. Also, just as the case with people from larger
empires like China, they are more skillful in business than the
indeginous, while the laborers knew how to use their lobor and earned a
good living. Burma with abundant natural resources was the land of
opportunity for them. The fact was that these diligent people worked
hard for they got.
Just like the Jews were hated in Europe, these hard-working,
industrious people were resented mainly by the most dominant group
(population-wise) of indigenous people, the Burmans. With much civil
unrest after independence, came military take over and naturalization.
Naturalization was foolishly done to the point of even taking over the
smallest shop at the street corner, usuallky owned by these people.
With tight control on the economy by the incompetents came the black
market which made Thailand progress.
With much oppression and discrimination, some the desendants of these
once well-to-do people still thrive. So some hate mongers still hate
them though most Burmans nowadays are not foolish like that anymore.
The majority that left after nationalization were mainly Hindus and
hence the majority remained were the Muslims. Regardless of their
religion, these people were predominantly business-minded and not in
politics at all except the group at the Arakan area some of whom have
been living in Burma long before the arrival of the British as that
area was coastal and all kinds of merchants -Turkish, Arabs, went there
and spread Islam while some settled. Of course it was at the border
near what was Bengal (a region in India), and Bengalis from the border
area may have moved there too especailly during the British rule. The
reason these people were militant were due to the influence from the
militants in Saudi Arabia but the fact is that it's a handful of
people that are taking financial aid and putting into their pockets,
living well in Thailand and other countries, sending their children to
top universites around the world while their people endure more
oppression. (Do google serach on Arakan Muslims and you will see
Amnesty Report and Human Right watch group report on the suffering of
these people.)
All Burmse military governments uses these muslims groups to veer off
the attention away from them creating community conflicts all the time.
The military intelligence would wear monks robes and would start riots,
etc. The populace nowadays are now buying for that tactics anymore as
they hate military rule.
Burma has been isloated from the outside world since military coup in
1962, and the people so oppressed, the Muslims there had no connection
with the Muslims of other regions, In fact, the muslims there are
distinctively different from the Muslims in middle east and also from
where their ancestors came from. They have largely adopted the local
culture while maintaining their religious identity.
That's the summary that I came up with.
amanda...@yahoo.com
jirjis
rebuilding atlantis in the bay of bengal
<amanda...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1125898210.0...@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com...
obov...@aol.com
> That's the summary that I came up with.
Many Thanks amanda. It seems that the same old story story happens
time and again all over the world, just the names (labels) change.
One of my best friend's wife is from Burma. Her parents were able to
get out when she and here three sisters were young (about 35-40 years
ago). So I'm aware of some of the backward conditions imposed by the
people in power.
With all due respect to the Britts, (actually all the colonial powers)
seems the world and many of it's peoples are in conflict today as a
result of their own natures and the way the colonial powere pulled out
after the take over of their lands, resources and adminstrative powers.
All my best,
obo
amanda...@yahoo.com
of time.
I agree with you that the way Britts pulled out irresponsibly but this
is what one Burma (an observant youth at the time of the civil unrest
in the early days of independence). The then democratic government
placed the army, navy, and air force under one person that they
consider nobody, thinking that they can control that guy and hence
everything: General Ne Win. (Ne Win was from unknown parentage with
Chinese Blood. His orginal name was Chinese.)
Ne Win showed them his ability by taking over the country.
The British didn't put Ne Win in chrage of the country like they did in
Uganda, utting Idi Amin, an illiterate in charge of the country.
Democratic Burmese government had accomplished that on its own.
Because the handful of competent leaders that Burma had were
assasinated before independece and what's left in the Democratic
government were self-serving politicians. But rumor had it that the
British were behind the assasination; their reason was that the
Independent leader, Aung San, was leaning toward communism. Even he
had, in my opinion, he would have changed the direction when he
realized that it wasn't working out for the country. I say that
because he was the leader rexpected by neighboring leaders, such as
Nehru of India. I read that online when reading about Aung San Su Kyi,
the daughter of Aung San. Nehru was hopeful to bring up the whole Asia
region to unity and prosperity but the arrogant Chinese showed up at
the border, pounded mortar for 7 days and left to show their superior
military capability. ( I learned all that in a TV documentary about
Nehru.) After that Nehru was depressed for the rest of his life,
probably realizing that his hopes would not come true in his life time.
Before the British came, none but one King of Burma tried to make the
country progress but after his death, the competion of the throne
between his sons led the country to the situation where the main wife
of the king (last one) was in charge, in chrge of killing all the
competitors that is, while the British were scheming to take over Burma
as they had learned about petroleum in Burma. According to an Indian
classmate I had in grad school, had the British known about petroleum
earlier, Burma would have become a British colony earlier.
No resource of Burma was fully put to use until the British time. After
the British left, the mismagement led the country to such deteriorating
condition while neigboring SE Asian countries with similar or less
resources thrive with economic devlopment that even if the military
rule is gone in Burma, it's a long was to catch up with the neighbors.
But human beings are resilient and the people of Burma, are no less
capable than their neigbors. Military rule has got to go. It is not
suitable to the human spirit.
amanda...@yahoo.com
The following essay, "Intellectual Life in Burma and India Under
Colonialism", is an attempt to describe the differences between the two
countries' approaches to their foreign rulers and their respective
independence movements. India had an advantage over Burma in that it
had developed an English-speaking intellectual elite that would later
form the rulership. India also succeeded in creating a synthesis
between Western and indigenous culture. Burma saw little need for such
a synthesis, and had become accustomed to autocracy at the national
level. Its colonization came so late that intellectuals had little time
to develop a coherent independence program; India had been a colony for
200 years.
Some say that newly-independent colonies revert to autocracy because
the colonized peoples have no experience with democracy, and should
hardly be expected to accept this "foreign" political system. Suu Kyi
strongly disagrees, and the 1990 election results are her vindication.
Still, the oligarchs have tried to discredit her as a "neo-colonialist
bogey" by accusing her, bizarrely, of being everything from a CIA agent
to a Communist to a sexual pervert.
Suppose the Burmese are ready for democracy. Why then have they
tolerated tyranny for so long? In an interview with US Congressman Bill
Richardson, Suu Kyi argues that the Burmese have the ability to rule
themselves but lack the confidence to do so. The cycle is vicious, for
confidence will come only with successful self-rule. Suu Kyi has been
called "Burma's Gandhi", and she certainly has his charisma,
self-discipline, and intelligence; what Burma needs is a Nehru, a
shrewd and practical politician able to harness Suu Kyi's popular
appeal. Yet Burma-watchers see no such figure forthcoming.
amanda...@yahoo.com
about the general Muslims population, not just the ones in Arakan
state. The worls knows about the fate of the Muslims from the Rakhine
State (Arakan state) . Among the links were:
http://www.ibiblio.org/freeburma/humanrights/khrg/archive/khrg2002/
Easy Targets
The Persecution of Muslims in Burma
Released on May 31, 2002 (KHRG #2002-02)
While extensive reporting has been done on the persecution of Rohingya
Muslims in Rakhine State, very little attention has been paid to the
persecution suffered by the thousands of Muslim communities which exist
in villages and towns throughout Burma. With no political voice or
armed group to stand up for them, Muslim communities are forced to
endure the denial of all citizenship rights, restrictions on travel,
work, and education, prohibitions on practicing Islam, and the
systematic destruction of their mosques. This report looks at the
systematic way these communities have been persecuted, impoverished and
scapegoated by the military regime and by local populations, which
culminated in the anti-Muslim riots and massacres of 2001.
.....................................................................
........................................................................
More from Human Rights watch, etc.
1) http://hrw.org/backgrounder/asia/burma-bck1.htm (HRW's summary on
Crackdown on Burmese Muslims):
2)http://hrw.org/backgrounder/asia/burma-bck3.htm (Human Rights watch's
Crackdown on Burmese Muslims
Human Rights Watch Briefing Paper
July 2002)
3)http://www.iarf.net/GlobalIssues/Updates/Summer2002.htm
- - - - - - - - - - - -
3)http://www.iarf.net/GlobalIssues/Updates/Summer2002.htm
Burma
A recently-released 45-page report from the Karen Human Rights Group
chronicles the persecution of Muslims in Burma. The report is based on
interviews with Burmese Muslims conducted between October 2001 and
February 2002. While a variety of human rights abuses are practised by
the military regime to a similar extent against Muslims and non-Muslims
alike, the Muslim community suffers from a more direct religious
persecution and denial of the rights of citizenship.
The report states that the citizenship law "makes it impossible for
many Muslims to become citizens and receive national identity cards.
Without the identity cards, Muslims have a difficult time travelling,
getting an education or finding a job. Religious restrictions have also
been placed on Muslims
..
..
The report adds that successive Burmese regimes have used general
racist anti-Muslim feelings harboured by many in the population to
deflect attention from other social and economic problems. One of the
larger pogroms allegdly launched by the military dictatorship took
place against the Rohingya Muslims of Rakhine State in 1991-92 when
over 250,000 Muslims were displaced to Bangladesh. Rakhine State, in
the west of the country, has the largest Muslim population in Burma.
Many of Burma's Muslims have had ancestors in the country for hundreds
of years, while others arrived in the country during the British
colonial period. Burma's current citizenship laws, however, "limit the
rights of citizenship to those who can prove that their ancestors were
resident in Burma prior to 1823." For several ethnic groups considered
'indigenous', this law is not enforced. It is, however, often used to
deny citizenship to Muslims, ethnic Chinese, or other groups. For
copies of the full report, see:
www.ibiblio.org/freeburma/humanrights/khrg/archive/khrg2002/khrg0202.html
- - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
(1)
http://hrw.org/backgrounder/asia/burma-bck1.htm (HRW's summary on
Crackdown on Burmese Muslims):
Excerpts:
As United Nations special envoy Razali Ismail prepares to visit Burma
in early August, pressure is growing from the international community
and Burmese ethnic minority leaders to broaden the ongoing dialogue
between the democratic opposition and the ruling State Peace and
Development Council (SPDC) to include the concerns of Burma's minority
populations. The concerns of Burma's Muslims should be part of that
agenda.
...
Like previous attacks on Muslims by members of the majority Buddhist
population, economic factors also played a role. The worst violence in
eastern Burma, for example, took place in May and September 2001, at
times when the country's economic crisis was particularly severe.
During this period the black-market rate for kyat was well over 800 to
the U.S. dollar, roughly 100 times the official rate. The fact that
many Muslims are businessmen, shopkeepers and small-scale money
changers means that they are often targeted during times of economic
hardship.
Outbreaks of violence between Buddhist and Muslim communities took
place in Taungoo, just over 150 kilometers north of Rangoon, in May
2001, when more than a thousand people led by robed Buddhist monks
attacked Muslims shops, homes, and mosques. Many Muslims were
reportedly beaten and there were credible reports of at least nine
deaths. Violence spread to nearby townships and villages. The ruling
State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) did little or nothing to
intervene to stop and prevent the attacks.
- - - -
(2)http://hrw.org/backgrounder/asia/burma-bck3.htm (Human Rights
watch's Crackdown on Burmese Muslims
Human Rights Watch Briefing Paper
July 2002)
Excerpt:
Islamic leaders in Rangoon believe that attitudes among the
predominantly Buddhist Burmese population began to change from
tolerance to persecution after General Ne Win seized power in a
military coup in 1962. Since then, Muslims have been deliberately and
systematically excluded from official positions in the government and
the army.
The Burmese government estimates that some four percent of the
population are Muslims. However, Islamic leaders believe that Muslims
make up nearly ten percent of the population. There has been no
official census since Burma gained its independence from Great Britain
in 1948. Apart from Arakan, the western Burmese state that borders
Bangladesh and is home to the Muslim Rohingyas, Burma's Muslims live
predominantly in urban areas throughout the country. According to a
senior Muslim leader in Rangoon, most Muslims are indistinguishable in
appearance and behavior from the country's Buddhists: they dress the
same, wear longyis, speak Burmese, and understand Burmese culture and
history.
During the British colonial period and the early years of independence,
Muslims played an important role. They held high positions in
government and civil society. They were also in the forefront of the
fight for independence from the British. After independence, Muslims
continued to play a prominent role in the country's business,
industrial, and cultural activities. Many Muslims were public servants,
soldiers, and even officers. At the time of the last democratically
elected parliament in the 1960s, there was at least one Muslim minister
and several Muslim members of parliament.
Muslims in Burma have long suffered from ethnic and religious
discrimination. Historical sources suggest that the majority Buddhist
population has viewed Muslims with suspicion almost from the time they
began to become a significant minority in Burma twelve hundred years
ago. While there are no written regulations or laws that mandate any of
the customary discriminatory practices which have emerged in Burma
today, mistrust and antipathy toward Muslims is deeply rooted.
..
..
..
.
Restrictions seem to have been far more rigidly enforced last year
because of heightened concerns about the Muslim community. There are
many credible reports of Muslims being taken off buses and trains when
they were not able to produce their travel papers, and in some cases
even when they did. For instance, in February 2001, eight Muslim men
traveling to Rangoon were arrested despite having identity papers
because they were traveling outside Arakan State without permission
from the local police. They were sentenced to seven years imprisonment.
In October, a Muslim man was taken off a plane in Kawthaung airport in
southern Burma, bound for Rangoon without apparent reason; his ticket
was cancelled.
..
..
..
However, in 2001, the SPDC was far more pragmatic in its approach,
partly because their new policy of actively engaging the international
community meant that they needed a more measured approach to religious
tolerance. The SPDC was anxious to maintain strong relations with
Malaysia's Prime Minister, Dr. Mahathir Mohammad, leader of the largest
Muslim country in mainland Southeast Asia.
..
..
But the Burmese government's approach during much of 2001, at least in
areas outside Arakan State, also reflected the belief that to prevent
major outbreaks of social unrest they would need to contain Muslim
sentiment. Military leaders apparently feared that young hotheads
amongst the Muslim community might be provoked into violent action.
Such unrest is something the military regime wants to avoid at all
costs. In a rapidly deteriorating economy, with the price of stable
goods like edible oil and rice increasing sharply, the possibility of
social disturbances developing into a food riot has haunted government
leaders. Something similar happened in 1988 and helped spark the
massive pro-democracy movement. It paralyzed the government for several
months before the military coup on September 18 brutally crushed the
demonstrations and established military rule throughout the country.
..
..
..
While there are credible reports that military intelligence officers
were involved in stirring up anti-Muslim violence in some cities
outside Rangoon, other officials seemed to have been concerned that
religious riots not get out of control.
3)http://www.iarf.net/GlobalIssues/Updates/Summer2002.htm
Burma
A recently-released 45-page report from the Karen Human Rights Group
chronicles the persecution of Muslims in Burma. The report is based on
interviews with Burmese Muslims conducted between October 2001 and
February 2002. While a variety of human rights abuses are practised by
the military regime to a similar extent against Muslims and non-Muslims
alike, the Muslim community suffers from a more direct religious
persecution and denial of the rights of citizenship.
- - - -
jaye...@my-deja.com
Hi Amanda,
Thanks, I almost feel like I might one day begin to understand why
these posts about "kalar" have been turning up in alt.sufi. :-)
Cheers, J.
obov...@aol.com
Yea, I know what you mean. The USA has the same problem. Small world.
I'm mostly a recluse, fighting the wars inside my own head.
Take Care,
obo
amanda...@yahoo.com
http://www.questia.com/search/(burma%20or%20burman)%20and%20history
Ran-Goons: Why Isn't Burma on Bush's "Axis of Evil" List?
Magazine article by Joshua Kurlantzick; Washington Monthly, Vol. 34,
April 2002
Subjects: Bush, George W.--Foreign relations, Despotism--Myanmar,
Myanmar--Military policy, Presidents--Foreign relations, United
States--Relations with Myanmar
...lead to fighting among Burmas numerous ethnic groups. Yet similar
ethnic divisions run through Iraq and Afghanistan, and in Burma, at
least many of the ethnic minority groups have developed alliances with
the pro-democracy opposition. (Suu Kyi, the leader of the opposition,
is a member of the majority Burman ethnic group.) In many respects,
helping Burmas neighbors handle its rogue regime could be easier than
toppling Saddam...
MY JOURNEY INTO THE LAND OF LIES; Nobody Knows How Many Died When the
Tsunami Hit Burma, Because the Corrupt Regime Hid It from the World ...
until Now. in This Dramatic Undercover Dispatch, the Mail Reveals the
Horrifying Truth
Newspaper article; The Daily Mail (London, England), January 17, 2005
...LAND OF LIES; Nobody Knows How Many Died When the Tsunami Hit Burma,
Because the Corrupt Regime Hid It from the World ... until...of the
detested colonial era, its revisionist leaders ordered history books to
be rewritten and buildings bearing the names of their...
Ne Win's Legacy: Burma in Shambles; Dictator Took a Prosperous Country,
Wrecked It through Corruption, Mismanagement
Newspaper article; The Washington Times, December 21, 2002
Subjects: British Broadcasting Corporation Ltd., Broadcasting industry
Ne Wins Legacy: Burma in Shambles; Dictator Took a Prosperous...pariah.
"The former military dictator of Burma, Gen. Ne Win, has died while
under house...when he was born in Paungdale, central Burma, then part
of British India, on May 24...
jirjis
<obov...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:1125939500.1...@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com...
jaye...@my-deja.com
obov...@aol.com wrote:
> I'm mostly a recluse, fighting the wars inside my own head.
Perhaps that makes you a modern-day hermit. It's quite a traditional
lifestyle.
J.
obov...@aol.com
Didn't somebody once say, "Be in 'the hermitage', not of 'the
hermitage'" ;-)
I read in Milarepa's biography (11th century Tibetian yogi&poet) that
when asked what he did for nine years while he was holed up in his cave
.
He replied:
"I listened to the ants screaming."
Have a productive week friend!