Media Continues to Orientalize “Buddhist Myanmar”
Add “Buddhist Terror” to the standard duo of Sex/Scandal and War/Violence as the media angle that sells. Yet unlike these, “Buddhist Terror” is rooted in the distorted invention of Buddhism and Buddhists as peaceful (vis-à-vis Islam and Muslims as violent). This is so deeply troubling with mainstream media picking up the old trend – Orientalizing hatred and racism in non-Europe, non-Christian spaces, in Wirathu’s case, “Buddhist” Myanmar.
US and UK Usurp Rohingya Voices while (mis-)framing Myanmar Genocide as “Ethnic Cleansing” Slobodan Milošević Euphemism
it’s one thing for the United States and its British poodle to abandon dissidents worldwide during their hours of needs, yet it is a moral low for the British and American officials and leaders to coordinate acts of genocidal denial as they have done with their official statements on the 4th anniversary of “Ethnic Cleansing” in Rakhine State.
Transnational Activism vs White Saviourism in Myanmar Affairs
As a Burmese who has been angry – very angry – for decades over numerous forms and countless instances of oppression and injustices in Myanmar, and emphatically, around the world, I am less concerned about the morally corrupt desire of revenge and vengeance of the oppressed towards their oppressor or the System than the enveloping White Saviourism with its corrupting coloniality.
Myanmar Coup Regime’s Handling of COVID-19: Is it Genocidal?
it is conceivable that the Myanmar terrorist regime of the SAC may be genocidally minded in its approach in tackling COVID-19 within the military and its sub-social system, while deliberately putting at risk the lives of millions of anti-military Burmese of all ethnic and religious backgrounds.
Josef Silverstein, The Death of A Fine American Scholar who “Gave Back” to His Subjects
Joe was one of the very few western scholars who made compassionate efforts to give back to the people or “the subjects” whom they study. This last quality alone of Joe, the scholar, will etch his name in my memory, and the memories of those, who had the great fortune of knowing him as a friend, a colleague, a fellow scholar, a teacher, and a comrade in the people’s struggle...
Myanmar anti-coup opposition’s Happy Birthday Parties for Aung San Suu Kyi do not augur well for the country’s future
The mass hysteria around Aung San Suu Kyi’s birthday is the clearest indication of deeply entrenched cultist neo-totalitarian thoughts, mental habits and political behaviour among Ms Suu Kyi’s populist base. It confirms how indifferent this base is to the democratic ethos, international law, and normative principles of human rights.
Engaging with State Power, without Losing Principles or Head · Part 2
"In those years, the Burma policy world was caught in the emerging Orwellian duality of 'Sanctions Bad, Engagement Good' of international debates which took place with respective proponents talking past one another, pursuing their own concealed interests." Read Essay 2 from Maung Zarni in the new FORSEA Democratic Struggle Series.
Engaging with State Power, without Losing Principles or Head · Part 1
"The Burmese military regime remained, as intransigent towards any compromise with the democratic opposition, as it was repressive, towards Burmese dissidents." Read Essay 1 from Maung Zarni in the new FORSEA Democratic Struggle Series.
တရက်ဆိုတာမြန်မာပြည်သူတွေရဲ့အသက်ပါ
A Typical Day in the Life of People in Myanmar under Terrorist Siege
A thoughtful but painful comment on the situation in Myanmar written by an anonymous Burmese Facebook user.
“Federal Army for Federal Democracy”: The Dawn of Myanmar’s New Politics
Myanmar's peoples of all ethnic backgrounds are undergoing a revolutionary process. Ms Suu Kyi may have to be asked to make the ultimate sacrifice: give up her centre stage in order that a revolution can grow and succeed in its revolutionary mission: a federal army and federal democracy. Otherwise, the pursuit of federalism in Myanmar will continue to be the Achilles’ heel for all democrats and federalists, the majority and...