Letters to the Editor_2004

Actions Speak Louder than Words

November 16, 2004—It is truly a large number of prisoners, fourteen thousand and three hundred! No country in the world has ever pardoned these many prisoners, save for the military regime in Burma.

After the regime’s announcement of the amnesty, I phoned friends in Burma to gauge their reaction. They were overwhelmingly excited about the possibility of their friends and family members regaining their freedom and returning home. Even those who had doubts remaining in their hearts stressed that the current generals could be different from the ousted Gen Khin Nyunt and his NIB lackeys. They were reassured by the newly appointed generals’ remark that “all these prisoners were wrongly detained by the NIB, and they will be released.”

I guess the people inside Burma, close as they are to the generals, would know more than an exile like me. In the end, their optimism may prove justified, and the current generals may take a different path to solve our national problems. While I’m writing this, 14,318 prisoners have regained their freedom. It was shocking that the NIB recklessly imprisoned these many people. Like many others, I felt that the regime was showing signs of positive improvement.

Unfortunately, many people’s hopes began to flag and eventually faded when families soon found out that o­nly a handful of political detainees would be released. According to all available reports, the prisoners that were newly freed appear to be those sentenced to o­ne or two years for criminal offences.

What is this all about? Did the junta leaders do it in accordance with their astrologer’s advice to avert impending misfortune? Or do they want to hear praises from their fellow Asean members and gain international acceptance?

Too bad for the junta that the world is not blind like the profits-seeking Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who prioritizes pleasing Rangoon’s generals before solving his internal problems in the South. It is obvious that every caring person wants to see sincerity and not ploys from the military regime. And everyone knows that the political conflicts in Burma would be solved if the regime releases Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the generals have a genuine political dialogue with the opposition. The regime cannot keep using force to achieve national reconciliation, peace, and development.

Sr-Gen Than Shwe expressed at the World Buddhist Summit’s Opening Ceremony his loving kindness (metta), compassion (karuna), joy and equanimity (upekkha).