"?Dancing With The Generals"?

"Dancing With The Generals"

Aung San Suu Kyi's response to the Rohingya genocide--perhaps I should say our reaction to her response--is a dilemma affecting every friend of Burma.

I've been covering the country--and its diaspora--since the student uprising of 1988. I've made several documentary films on its struggle for freedom and a number of special film reports on human rights issues.

I've risked my safety on many clandestine treks across the Thai-Burma border region, accidentally walked into minefields, been shot at and been in the trenches--literally and metaphorically--with the Karen liberation movement.

All because I love Burma and the Burmese people.

Unlike so many supporters in the political West, I never totally bought-into the narrative of Suu Kyi as unblemished flower and sole saviour of the country. I've always respected "The Lady", as she's called by her supporters, but I'm also inherently suspicious of the "Big Man" (or "Big Woman") concept of history.

Suu Kyi's story is a tragedy of Ancient Greek definition. She was a woman in whom we placed so much hope and trust. But is it surprising that, like so many of our heroes and heroines, we find that she has feet of clay? 

"The Angel of Burma" was always a trope to help explain an incredibly complicated mess of power, politics, hatred and outright racism; a bit like the lazy journalism of the Balkans that said Bosnian Muslims "all good", Serbs "all bad". 

The daughter of General Aung San--the founder of Burma's modern army and a master of playing both sides (Japan and colonial Britain) during the struggle for independence--knows exactly what she is doing. 

Dancing with the generals, she has sacrificed the Rohingya in her own pursuit of power. Not a word, not a whimper has she uttered in their defence. For her the end justifies the means.

Just don't save the last dance for me.

要查看或添加评论,请登录

David Browne的更多文章

  • TWO COUNTRIES ONE SYSTEM

    TWO COUNTRIES ONE SYSTEM

    If there’s one corner of our poor benighted planet that’s praying for a Trump victory this November then it’s got to be…

    4 条评论
  • Between Ambi's Rock and a Hard Place

    Between Ambi's Rock and a Hard Place

    An interloper is laying claim to the large rock that marks the halfway stage of my daily walk up the hillside to the…

    1 条评论
  • Being Muhammad Ali

    Being Muhammad Ali

    In my life as a journalist I have had the great pleasure and honour to know two Muhammad Alis. The first Muhammad Ali…

  • It's (Not About) Oil, Stupid!

    It's (Not About) Oil, Stupid!

    In the last flailing days of Maduro's Venezuelan regime, it's become common for the rump of Chavistas both within the…

    1 条评论
  • Yu and I

    Yu and I

    Mr Yu is thirty-something, that dangerous age when the first flush of youthful energy and meteoric promise has usually…

  • Losing my Virginity in Shanghai

    Losing my Virginity in Shanghai

    Time was when "disruption" was considered a bad or negative thing. The disruptive pupil in class sent to sit on the…

  • 4 for all and all for 4.

    4 for all and all for 4.

    Britain's sainted Channel 4 News prides itself on "speaking truth to power". But such fearless reporting comes at a…

  • The Her and The Trump

    The Her and The Trump

    While HRC was glad-handing and smooching with celebrities, hard-charging Trump (love him or loathe him) was reaching…

    1 条评论
  • When Slum Lords meet "Slumdogs"

    When Slum Lords meet "Slumdogs"

    Kate and William, otherwise known as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, visited Mumbai’s vast slum of Dharavi – made…

  • "Cowless in Burma" or Saving Little Min

    "Cowless in Burma" or Saving Little Min

    Dear Friends and Colleagues, Please check out this little fund-raising appeal I've just posted on YouTube and reddit:…

社区洞察

其他会员也浏览了