I noticed that people who commented on my Youtube video of the death of Kenji Nagai were erroneously stating that Myanmar, formally Burma, didn't have any oil..that's why BushCo or the US in general hasn't done anything to stem the dictatorship there.
Wrong my dear readers...wrong..wrong..very wrong. From AP we get this nice, tidy explanation of things you should know about Myanmar:
A look at the insular military leadership behind the recent crackdown in Myanmar:
WHO THEY ARE
First among equals in the current regime is Senior Gen. Than Shwe. He is said to be superstitious and to consult with astrologers, but otherwise has a public image that is taciturn in the extreme. No. 2 is Deputy Senior Gen. Maung Aye, whose reputation is, if anything, more ruthless than Than Shwe's, probably because he has more field combat experience from fighting ethnic rebels. Soldiers in the 400,000-strong military live secluded from civilian life in isolated barracks; their families are provided with housing as well.
HOW THEY CAME TO POWER
The State Peace and Development Council, as the ruling junta is formally known, replaced another dictatorship in 1988 after suppressing a pro-democracy uprising. The previous regime, led by Ne Win, destroyed what had been one of Southeast Asia's most dynamic economies, restricting tourist visas to one week and refusing all foreign investment.
HOW THEY KEEP POWER
Than Shwe's government has opened up the country to foreign investment. Myanmar is rich in natural resources and has survived by cultivating investment in its potentially vast oil and gas reserves. Neighboring China and India curry favor with the junta because of Myanmar's strategic location on the Indian Ocean and its oil and natural gas resources. China is the regime's main ally, supplying the most diplomatic muscle at international forums.
PREVIOUS RESISTENCE TO THEIR RULE
In 1988, the army violently suppressed mass demonstrations against the military dictatorship, though some members of the air force changed sides and supported the protesters. Monk-led street protests threatened the junta's power again after the government refused to accept the outcome of a 1990 vote, in which Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi's pro-democracy party won a landslide victory. The regime responded with several months of raids on hundreds of pagodas and the arrests of hundreds of monks.
All emphasis is mine btw..So China likes the way the junta controls the population..thats why the UN will NEVER do anything to help the people of Myanmar..because China will veto ANYTHING that changes the status quo. Bastids..
Tags: China, Myanmar, Burma
