{ 2007 10 01 }

What the Chinese are reading about Burma

I’m off to Xiamen on Monday morning for a few days to eat fish balls and dried meat floss. Apparently. The holiday should go some way to protecting my long-term sanity ahead of Xinhua’s coverage of the Party congress in mid-October. I think I’ll just leave you with this article by a Chinese journalist, who works for the Global Times, on his recent “special assignment” to Burma. It has been translated by a good friend of mine Mark Binnersley, a journalist in Beijing. Obviously Xinhua News Agency has a branch in Yangon but isn’t allowed to make much use of this privilege. I thought this article serves as an example of what the average Chinese is reading about the current situation in Burma. I don’t really have time to comment on it (why do I always find myself on the computer, with bag unpacked, a few hours before my plane leaves) so make of it what you will …

Myanmar government controls the main streets and districts

Global Times journalist yesterday went on special assignment to Myanmar

By Ren Jianmin, Cheng Gang, Wang Liangliang

By September 28 the situation in Myanmar had entered a delicate period. On this day America’s CNN satellite service claimed that the Myanmar army was continuing to shoot dead more of the demonstrators, but some said the news had not been verified by a third party.

AP and AFP news agencies reported that police fired warning shots into the air, and that the military junta’s tactics had started to become effective, particularly the measure of blocking the protesting monks in their temple yards.

On the 28th, Western media did not show any pictures of large groups of monks on the streets. But British and Australian embassy officials gave the media direct descriptions of the sounds of gunfire, guessing the numbers of people killed, obviously influencing public opinion. As a result of internet connections being cut off news from Myanmar became incomplete.

Global Times Bangkok-based journalist, on the afternoon of the 28th entered the city that is being watched by the world, Yangon, Myanmar.

At lunchtime on September 28, Global Times journalist Ren Jianmin, without buying a ticket, anxiously rushed to Bangkok airport. Because media reports were saying Myanmar was in total chaos and a Japanese journalist had been shot dead, lots of tour groups had cancelled trips. This left this journalist feeling a bit stressed, fearing that flights to Myanmar would all be cancelled. Unexpectedly, Myanmar tickets were easy to buy at Thai Airways desk.

The plane was very empty. This journalist counted only 46 passengers on the 200-seat aeroplane, including 11 foreigners, and apart from businessmen the rest worked in Myanmar. After about two hours the plane started its descent to Yangon airport. Journalists looked out of the window and saw on the airport apron six other aircraft. According to a Thai Airways airhostess the number of people traveling to Myanmar on the company’s daily flight had not declined, but the airline had changed its evening flight to an afternoon service to get around any possible ban on nighttime landings.  

Going through Myanmar customs, foreigners and Myanmese queued separately and this journalist started to worry again because his passport stated that he was a journalist. In Bangkok journalism circles word had been going round that the Myanmar authorities were furious with journalists. It was uncertain whether the authorities would block journalists’ entry or send them back to Bangkok. Unexpectedly, the two young women customs officials processing our entry treated everyone the same and quickly stamped our passports. Passing customs, customs officials picked out some travelers for checks. When they finished looking at this journalist’s papers, the officials in not very standard Chinese said: “Xiexie”.

The drive from the airport to the hotel was uneventful, apart from a couple of junctions being blocked. According news reports, the day before had witnessed a serious conflict near the Shwedagon pagoda, which had blocked half the road, meaning that cars could only travel in one direction. At the end of the road there was a bus full of people and the small shops of the roadside were all still open, it all seemed normal. But on the roadside you could frequently see troops, and in the middle of the road there were roadblocks. In some places there were five or six army vehicles full of troops holding loaded guns, wearing steel helmets and red neckerchiefs. My local driver told Jimin me that normally the soldiers don’t wear these neckerchiefs, which signify that the soldiers are in a war situation. He also pointed out some depots on the roadside and said although these look quiet, if something happens lots of soldiers will come out from them.

Arriving at the hotel, I saw in the lift a notice reminding people that a night curfew was in place and not to go out. The hotel’s satellite TV was still broadcasting some foreign reports, including one by the DVG channel, which was repeating the previous day’s protest scenes. But there were no images of troops shooting anyone. According to local people, Myanmar TV channels had increased reporting, with the latest news being shown between other programmes.

In Yangon, journalists discovered that in every internet bar people were unable to get online, and many internet bars had just shut up shop. But according to local people, it was much easier to make long distance phone calls today than it had during the previous two days. Three days before all long distance phones had been cut off and even many national lines were not working. Near to Yangon University, on Detong Road, there is a telephone booth where lots of foreign students had queued up in the hope of calling home, but even this had been cut off. But on the 28th this journalist discovered that the phone was working again. At the hotel I was able to call family in Bangkok and the office in Beijing, and the connection was extremely quick. It was uncertain whether this was a signal that the Myanmar government had “already got the situation under control”.

Maybe what this journalist saw in Myanmar is only one aspect. On the 28th, CNN reported witnesses’ claims that the army had again opened fire on demonstrators to disperse the crowds. Another Western media organization broadcast a video of protesters at the end of one street dispersing amid gunfire, but the time that the incident happened was unclear and you couldn’t see whether anyone had been killed. American, British and Australian embassy officials made statements to the media that caught everyone’s attention. British ambassador Mark Canning told CNN that on the 28th soldiers had really shot at protesters. “I heard the sound of gunfire for 15 to 20 minutes,” he said. AFP on the 28th reported an Australian embassy official’s description of the conflict the day before, claiming: “Witnesses are saying that people killed by the army are higher than the Myanmar authorities are admitting, maybe 10 times more.”

But there has still been no believable evidence that the reports of the new “bloody conflict” by the Western media are true. AP and AFP both claimed on the 28th that soldiers were firing towards the sky, and using batons to disperse people. As for demonstrator numbers, every media organization’s figures were different. AP said there are 2,000 people, AFP said there are 1,000. And even CNN said according to some reports the monks have “already been brought under control”.

On September 28, Myanmar’s official media The New Light of Myanmar carried a front page story, under the headline “Truths and Falsehoods in Myanmar’s Political Field of Vision” criticizing the protesters for breaking up Myanmar’s unity and stability. On the last page, the newspaper carried two notices in large font. The first notice on just two lines said: “The Voice of America and the BBC have told huge lies”, warning these two media organizations: “Be careful you saboteurs”. According to this newspaper’s journalist based in America, Voice of America’s Burmese language channel has increased its reporting time two-fold lately. The second notice said: “The people wish for stability, peace and don’t want chaos and violence.” Besides that, The New Light of Myanmar on its back page carried a report on the conflict in the country on the 27th. The report said: “The crowds of demonstrators armed with stones, bows and arrows, sticks and knives attacked security forces and attempted to seize their weapons, but the security forces stopped them many times but couldn’t control the situation. They had no choice but to fire their guns in the air to warn the people. A total of 31 members of the security forces were hurt and nine demonstrators were killed, while 10 males and one woman were hurt.”

On the 27th, America, France and some other countries continued to announce punitive sanctions against Myanmar. America announced that it would freeze funds of 14 Myanmar government officials. According BBC reports, even America’s first lady Laura Bush has become more interested in events in Myanmar lately. She often meets with people from Myanmar who hold different political opinions about the country. In August this year, Laura even called the United Nations General Secretary Ban Ki-moon to talk about Myanmar’s problems. For any first lady, these are unusual activities. A CNN analysis said as Bush approaches the end of his term as president, he is determined to see change in Myanmar. This is part of an attempt to alter the effect the Iraq war has had on his image, changing him from a “war crazed president” to a “founder of democratic peace”.

But as a result of many years of sanctions against Myanmar by America and Europe, these new measures won’t have much effect. Therefore America and Europe hope that Myanmar’s surrounding countries including India, China and ASEAN will increase pressure on Myanmar’s government. But India’s foreign ministry announced on Thursday that Myanmar’s government and society should “use all peaceful means to solve this problem”. ASEAN countries Thailand and Singapore cautiously expressed: “We are watching developments”, Malaysia said: “The only way to solve this crisis is peacefully”. Australia’s foreign minister said: “Australia won’t copy America because these measures are not effective at all”. Even a day after a Japanese journalist was killed in Myanmar, Japan said it would not stop aid to Myanmar. Additionally, Singapore’s foreign minister revealed that Myanmar has already given United Nations Undersecretary General for Political Affairs Ibrahim Gambari his visa and he is on his way to the country.

Events in Myanmar have sparked international concern, and some Western media and politicians are increasingly saying that China has a big responsibility in the situation, announcing: “Only China can influence the final outcome of the situation”. Reuters news agency even reported that European Parliament vice president Edward McMillan-Scott, an experienced Conservative party European parliamentarian, appealed to Europe to boycott the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing as a way of pressuring the Chinese. According to Singapore’s United Morning Post on the 28th, the editor of British internet magazine Spiked and columnist in The Times newspaper Mick Hume said in a column that the West has suddenly become interested in Myanmar democracy, putting all the pressure on China. But in fact this reflects the West’s increasing concern over China’s rise. They want to steer China towards taking the “international community” route, making China play the role of “third-rate regional policeman”.

Yunnan University, South East Asia Research Office chief Li Chenyang said to Global Times that out of all the countries that the West doesn’t like, Myanmar is the one of the most moderate ones. Myanmar always pursues closed and neutral foreign policy, and never makes it known what it thinks of other countries’ affairs and international hot issues. Because 90 percent of Myanmese believe in Buddhism, they are not crazy extremists. They don’t take part in terrorist activities, try to spread their religion to other countries, nor do they have the capability to produce biological or nuclear weapons of mass destruction, so they’re not really a threat to America and Western security. But because Myanmar sits in the middle of China, India and ASEAN its strategic position is quite important. American media almost every year issue propaganda that China is building a military port in Myanmar. Additionally, Myanmar has plentiful supplies of gas and minerals, and recently has discovered rich oil reserves. In fact, Myanmar’ military junta has been in government for a number of decades and lately America and Europe have only been paying attention to Myanmar because they are interested in its resources.

Yunnan Province School of Social Science vice chief He Shengda thinks Myanmar’s military junta’s ability to control the country is quite total and the monks’ momentum in the current situation has already shrunk. Myanmese don’t want to sink into chaos. In this situation, as long as the government could take adequate action, especially suitable measures as far as people’s livelihoods are concerned, and reassure ordinary people, peace could still possibly return to Myanmar in a short time. He Shengda said Myanmar’s military junta has decided its political roadmap. Myanmar’s national parliament has already in principal passed a constitutional framework, but the West is not happy about this and is not prepared to easily let go. He thinks Myanmar’s domestic livelihood issues are more urgent. If Myanmar could quickly return to a peaceful national mood, tension will be alleviated, and the worsening effects of external influences will be limited.

Posted by Chris O'Brien on Monday, October 1st, 2007, at 12:44 am, and filed under Uncategorized.

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