Tyrannical Stupidity

On May 3 Cyclone Nargis ripped through southern Myanmar, devastating the Irrawaddy Delta and Yangon, the country’s main city. The definitive body count is still sketchy, but most estimates put it in the 30,000 range (the “official” government count is 32,000), with that number potentially escalating into the hundreds of thousands should food and water not expediently reach the hard-hit masses (the UN is now estimating as many as 215,000 deaths should current trends continue, more than the powerful Asian tsunamis of 2004, and are saying the government is drastically and intentionally underestimating the toll).

As villagers struggle to clear debris and the trail of bodies flowing downstream, rebuild their homes and some semblance of normalcy, the oppressive government has done everything in its power to prolong and exacerbate the suffering.

Myanmar has been under military rule since 1962, when General Ne Win staged a coup and toppled the civilian government. Ne Win ruled until 1988, first as military ruler, then as self-appointed president, then as political overlord. The current junta, led by Senior General Than Shwe, took the reigns in ’88, turning over democratic parliamentary elections as a first order of business.

General Than and his cronies are insular, paranoid, and power-hungry. They maintain vigilant watch over media influences and potential dissent. They crush uprisings with brutality and efficiency. Witness, for example, the 2007 protests staged by Buddhist Monks over rising fuel prices. The government’s response was swift and merciless. The military arrested, beat and murdered hundreds of the peaceful spiritual leaders.

Their isolationism has led to what can only be labeled a humanitarian crisis in the country. Thousands have unnecessarily died due to the government’s slow response, leaving many wondering why the military, so quickly mobilized when sent to murder and oppress, is now dragging its feet when asked to help the people it, theoretically, exists to protect. They have cut off the flow of foreign aid to the people by refusing to accept aid workers (there is a standing order to detain foreigners), making it difficult for aircraft carrying necessities to enter the country, and confiscating the few supplies that successfully penetrate the borders.

Their motivations are clear: they want to prevent the democratically-tinged whisperings of westerners from reaching the susceptible ears of their disillusioned citizenry, and they want to make their junta the embodiment of benevolence by acting as the sole faction serving the people. Accepting foreign aid would make the government look weak, unable to provide, and foreign workers would highlight the gross failures of General Than’s “leadership.”

But at these goals they are failing miserably. Most of the country is still without power. Homes that were decimated remain decimated. It has become clear that the confiscated food is feeding the military ranks, with only rotten leftovers reaching the people.

Apparently, General Than needs a primer course in tyranny: to rule with an iron fist the people must, at the very least, be placated. If you can convince the people that your oppressive rule is in their best interest, even better, but the masses must be apathetic: “yes, our freedoms are limited and our dignity is degraded, but we have food, water and a roof over our head.” You must keep them in psychological and physical limbo: weak enough that they live in constant fear of your crushing power, but well-off enough that they’re thankful it isn’t worse.

But the people in Myanmar are now without food, water and shelter. A beleaguered population denied basic necessities is a recipe for revolution. When a man is deluded into thinking he has something to live for: a pathetically low paying job, a meal a day, the illusion that he’s providing for his family, then that man can be made to crawl on all fours like a dog. But when that man is forced to sleep outside in the rain, to watch his children starve to death, then that man realizes there are things far more important than physical preservation. And when many men who no longer fear death converge on a time and place, there will be revolt.

All that remains to be seen is whether the people’s rage will overcome their despondency; whether they can rise above mental and physical trepidation long enough to deal a crushing blow to a weak and arrogant government.

If they don’t, they’re even dumber than the tyrant who fails to grasp even the simplest tenets of tyranny (I wonder if General Than wants to borrow my copy of The Prince…)

Thanks for reading.