Instead of inventing falsehood and imposing economic sanctions to keep minions

According to modern political science, in the world nothing can hinder the process — productive relation makes progress in accord with that of productive forces.

Democracy represents human rights and productive relations. In accordance with productive forces that develop based on increased production or the market-oriented economic system, human rights represent improvement in essence of democracy — freedom, equality, and justice.

For example, the peoples in developed countries where market economy flourishes enjoy economic democracy — more attractive salaries, social welfare, life insurance and pensions than those in developing and under-developed countries. Besides, with economic development, community peace and tranquillity and national solidarity, they also enjoy political democracy — freedom of press, speech, meeting, and organizing.

So, there is a saying that goes “Freedom is interrelated with wealth”. Today, in the drive for Myanmar democracy transition are two policies that are against each other.

The first policy is practised by rightist opportunists who stick to the conception that democracy can be introduced only with the downfall of the dictatorship. And they regard the Tatmadaw government as the dictatorial one and are resorting to all possible ways as democracy movements with the intention of overthrowing the Tatmadaw government and helping NLD come into power.

Meanwhile, the Tatmadaw government introduced the market-oriented economic system in the nation, held the election, and is convening the National Convention for the framing of a State constitution so as to translate the election results into reality and implementing the State’s seven-point Road Map. On the other hand, destructive elements are making attempts to help hand over the State power to NLD without a State constitution calling on international community and UN Security Council to put pressure on the nation, and to enable NLD to seize State power through international economic sanctions and pressure on the nation to make the nation and the people get into economic crisis and to incite public anti-government sentiment that will lead to the downfall of the Tatmadaw government. They are supporting and participating in all anti-government campaigns, within or without the frame of law, as democracy movements.

The utopian rightist opportunists are claiming that democracy can be introduced by just toppling the Tatmadaw government and directly copying the democracy system of developed countries without fulfilling any material requirements essential for transition to democracy, and priority is to be given to the nation’s political changes (handing over State power to NLD) in order to achieve economic development.

What is opposed to the policy of rightist opportunists is pragmatic policy of democracy transition. That is in conformity with the conception that development of productive forces go together with that of human society. Democracy of equality and justice indicates productive relations that makes progress in line with the development of productive forces.

It is necessary to develop productive forces if democracy is to develop. And it is therefore essential to strive first for the progress of market economy to realize the goal.

In fact, community peace and stability and national solidarity plays the most crucial role in the drive to ensure the flourishing of the market-oriented economic system. The armed opposition against the ruling government, and economic sanctions can harm peace and stability, national unity, and proper evolution of the market-oriented economic system and hinder the process of productive forces. Such acts are barriers to democracy transition, so a peaceful policy is to be practised to achieve the goal.

It means to cooperate with the government in the national development tasks whatever form or type of the government it is, while building mutual trust, settling disagreements, and avoiding armed struggle line, economic sanctions and pressure that cause hindrance to the productive forces. It is indeed a general principle.

Today, the Tatmadaw government has been taking steps for proper evolution of the market economy in the nation and implementing the State’s seven-point Road Map for transforming the nation into a democratic one. This being the case, all the groups are to join hands with the Tatmadaw government in a bid to ensure proper evolution of the market economy, national economic development and democracy transition.

If they agree to the democracy transition, they will have to announce that they renounce their unlawful methods (armed opposition and violence and organizing movements from abroad to oust the Tatmadaw government). And internal and external anti-government groups will have to release an announcement dropping the demands for handing over of the State power without a State constitution through economic sanctions and political pressure as well as all the movements to seize State power through incitement to create economic crisis and mass demonstrations. To collaborate with the Tatmadaw government is the peaceful policy to transform the nation into a democratic one without adversities and injuries.

However, in the Myanmar democracy movements, internal and external elements have refused to practise the peaceful policy that can have no adverse effects to the nation and the people and themselves, but instead given priority to their party to take hold of absolute State power. At the same time, the West bloc led by the US government has refused to recognize the Tatmadaw government’s endeavours to ensure democracy transition, and economic and political development with the aim to dislodge the Tatmadaw government from playing the national political leadership role. They are doing so because Myanmar government can never become their minion if the Tatmadaw plays the national political leadership role. Moreover, they have considered the Tatmadaw government’s nation-building tasks as the act for long existence of the dictator junta. They are also flagrantly voicing their support for all the anti-government acts, billing them as democracy movements.

Furthermore, western broadcasting stations have launched media attacks with slanderous news stories to mislead the international community and the Myanmar people into opposing the Tatmadaw government. The nation was reduced to ashes and the entire national people were in dire poverty due to falling under the subjugation of British colonialists for 123 years and suffering from the evil consequences of World War II and Fascism for three years. Even though the nation regained independence in 1948, she had been unable to carry out reconstruction tasks effectively because of multi-coloured armed insurgents. Since 1988 when the Tatmadaw took over State duties, it has practised the market-oriented economic system and multi-party system. There have still been requirements for the development of the nation and the people as the government has to reconstruct the nation braving a broad range of economic sanctions imposed and disturbances created by the elements at home and abroad. They are exaggerating as though these undesirable situations of the nation happened due to the military dictatorship.

Among the exaggerations and falsehood is that the president Bush’s 13-9-2005 report to the US congress said that Myanmar failed to adhere to the agreements on anti-narcotics drive.

It is because the narcotic drug problem is just an evil legacy the British colonialists had intentionally left in the nation but not at the instigation of the Tatmadaw government. To make the matter worse, Chinese Kuomintang troops that intruded into Myanmar territory to oppose Communist China contributed towards poppy cultivation to take a foothold.

Successive previous governments could not take effective measures for elimination of poppy till 1962. Since 1962 when the Revolutionary Council Government took up state responsibilities, the strength of multi-coloured insurgents had been on the wane, thus putting greater efforts into the fight against narcotic drugs. After its assumption of State duties in 1988, the Tatmadaw government has been able to make peace with 17 national race armed groups and to step up tasks for eradication of narcotic drugs. Now, Myanmar is implementing the plan for elimination of narcotic drug production by 2015.

Throughout the period of more than 180 years from colonial days to 1988, the national races in border areas had to rely on poppy cultivation as their major source of income. So, pressure alone is impossible to get rid of poppy cultivation and there still needs to spur them to grow poppy-substitute crops. The Tatmadaw government has to make heavy investment in the nation-building tasks with the small amount of income of such a developing nation. And at the same time, it also has to place emphasis on elimination of poppy cultivation and development of border areas.

However, in 17 years the Tatmadaw government has been able to drastically reduce poppy sown acreage to 2,057 from 61,562, destroy 163,753.89 acres, and receive 100,257.57 small baskets of poppy seeds from local farmers for destruction. So far, it has held 19 ceremonies to destroy seized narcotic drugs in Yangon, and 32 ceremonies in states and divisions, and put 1,290,065 acres under annual crops and 140,088 acres under perennial crops as poppy-substitute crops.

Thanks to the cooperation of the Tatmadaw government and local national races, poppy cultivation was on the decrease annually. Although the UNODC and the US anti-narcotics group recognized the drastic decrease in poppy cultivation, the US government and State Department not only have failed to recognize the significant reduction of poppy cultivation but also have constantly accused the government of being the world’s second largest poppy cultivator and of failing to take part in the anti-narcotics drive enthusiastically.

All of their attempts are focused on brushing the Tatmadaw aside the national political leadership role, downfall of the Tatmadaw government and helping NLD come to power as they will not be able to get the future Myanmar government under their domination if the Tatmadaw takes part in the national political leadership role.

In reality, in the political problem of democracy transition, the nation has lacked national capitalist leaders due to the fact that the nation fell under alien subjugation, suffered evil consequences of WW II and fascism, and leftist opportunist socialists regarding national capitalist class as enemies, combatting capitalism and trying to introduce socialism. These historical evidences have borne witness to the fact that democracy movements could not make any progress without Tatmadaw’s participation in the national political leadership sector. In addition, it has been also proved by the AFPFL government that came to power in 1948 and could maintain their rule just for 14 years.

So, the Western nations should review their outlook on Myanmar democracy transition and the Tatmadaw government by taking lessons from historic evidences that as world nations joined hands in the Marshall Plan with the enemy countries that practised Nazism and Fascism, these evil policies are now no more and those nations have become democracy friendly nations, and due to harmonious combination of military administration and the market-oriented economic systems in Thailand and the Republic of Korea, they have become democracy nations that have been dealing with world nations as friendly nations in the economic and military matters.

Author :  Kyaw Myint Naing