Burma Betrayed?

The fact that these groups agreed to subject their operations to a thorough examination, which involved sharing sensitive information such as the visa status of their members, attested to their willingness to abide by the terms of their agreements with the Danish Embassy. Unfortunately, however, their sincere efforts to cooperate were not reciprocated.

In a manner disturbingly reminiscent of the attack on The Irrawaddy, it appears that the original audit reports—which were password-protected and stamped “strictly confidential”—were leaked to the Danish press without the knowledge of those most affected by the disclosures they contained, raising serious concerns about their safety. In the case of both groups, the immediate financial effect of the reports was devastating; but this could pale beside the threat to their security posed by the irresponsible leaking of information about individuals engaged in political activities both in Thailand and inside Burma.

Until they were released to the Ekstra Bladet, the reports were in the possession of just three parties—the Thai author, the Danish Embassy and the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It is unclear who actually leaked the reports, but it is obvious that the intention was to do substantial harm.

In light of these revelations—which until now have attracted very little attention—the accusation that The Irrawaddy has become a “donor stooge” (to use the words of the e-mail sent from the Danish Embassy to our donors on Sept. 23) now sounds like something of a red herring. In criticizing our failure to develop a business that would make us more self-sufficient, the Embassy ignores the fact that many of the world’s most highly respected media organizations are publicly funded. It also seems to be reaching for straws when it points out that sales of our monthly print magazine are very low, without acknowledging that we also produce a range of other media products that have been highly successful in terms of reaching a wide audience.

And if the Danish government is so thoroughly unimpressed with our work, how does it explain its apparent reluctance to disburse $500,000 in funding to the Norway-based Democratic Voice of Burma, whose coverage of the 2007 Saffron Revolution inspired the Oscar-nominated documentary “Burma VJ,” by Danish director Anders Østergaard?

What are we to make of Denmark’s position on funding exile groups at a time when many seem to believe that Burma’s rulers are poised to open the country to a post-election free-for-all for anyone prepared to play by the regime’s rules? Are the Danish Embassy’s actions those of a truly disillusioned donor? If so, we sincerely wish it luck in making better use of its aid money inside Burma—a resource-rich yet deeply impoverished nation run by ruthless generals with multibillion-dollar bank accounts.

Quisling is a very ugly word to level at anyone, but unless Denmark clarifies its recent actions and its stance on aid to Burmese exile groups, it will be difficult not to conclude that it has betrayed our country’s democratic cause and sided with Burma’s fascist rulers. That might sound like the simplistic thinking of naïve activists, but if the people of Europe are genuinely interested in understanding our plight, they need only look back seven decades to their own darkest hour and imagine it never ended.