Burma, USA och vallmo

Daily Kos: Burma: The Back Story: "It appears that the government of Burma (Myanmar) were reacting to a “suggestion” by the International Monetary Fund, that they needed to phase out the state subsidizing of oil prices."

(Hittat via Daily Kos.)

Rowan Wolf, som är sociolog och bland annat är redaktör på Cyrano’s Journal, ger lite bakgrund till situationen i Burma (Myanmar). Hon citerar t.ex. i artikeln från Human Rights Watch där man kan se vilka affärsintressen som är inblandade.

Wolf gör emellertid avslutningsvis en särskilt intressant iaktagelse beträffande USAs officiella hållning/agerande:

But there is perhaps a deeper and darker link to U.S. interests in Burma, and why for 40 years the U.S. has shown little concern for the people of Burma. That goes to the Vietnam war. Burma is part of the “”http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Triangle_(Southeast_Asia)“>Golden Triangle” – the rich opium producing region of Asia. In fact, until recently, Burma was second only Afghanistan in opium production. The French utilized the opium production and support of war lords to finance their covert networks, and when the U.S. stepped into France’s shoes they inherited that lucrative network (Alfred McCoy). The CIA utilized the opium trade, and the network connected to it, in the Golden Triangle to finance covert operations in Laos and Cambodia (the secret wars). They also used it to help fund anti-communitist armies of people such as the Hmong (Djedje and Korff).

Of course that is ancient history (perhaps).

Part of the Burma Junta’s efforts with the IMF and World Bank has recently been anti-drug activities including the elimination of opium production. If a March 7, 2006 Reuters report – War on opium gives Golden Triangle a different hue – is accurate, that war on opium has been largely successful. Of course, that success might be part of the deteriorating economic situation of the people of Burma. Much of the population of Burma lives by agriculture, and there is no more lucrative crop than opium. Look to Afghanistan as a companion example.

It seems odd that the U.S. is taking official attention to the most recent protests and Junta response in Burma. For 40 years the U.S. has largely looked the other way. Similarly, the U.S. continued to work with the Taleban government of Afghanistan despite its repression and abuses – until they also successfully drastically reduced opium production. Perhaps it is just coincidence, and of course both situations are more complex than this.

Regardless, it is well past time to ease the conditions of the people of Burma. It is well past time for us to speak out to end the repression and the resulting displacement of millions of Burmese. It is also time to demand debt relief for Burma. Like all such burdens, it benefits interests outside of Burma while crushing the people of Burma.

Alltså – Burma är mycket rikt på naturgas men importerar all sin olja (bensin, diesel). Världsbanken kräver marknadspriser vilket höjer bränslekostnaden med 500 procent. Naturgasinkomsterna hamnar antingen i de multinationella bolagens fickor eller (till viss del) i generalernas. Burma har varit stor opiumproducent men verkar nu inte vara det längre – innebär att fattiga opieproducerande bönder (stor del av befolkningen) fått minskade intäkter. Landet är utsatt för sanktioner och får inte låna i Världsbanken – sedan 1988. Både Frankrike och USA har historiskt nyttjat opieproduktionen för finanisering av militära operationer i andra länder. USA och Frankrike har stora ekonomiska intressen när det gäller gasproduktionen tillsammans med länder som Indien, Japan och Thailand.

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Daily Kos: Burma: The Back Story: "It appears that the government of Burma (Myanmar) were reacting to a “suggestion” by the International Monetary Fund, that they needed to phase out...