An educated call to 2010 elections participation by the indecisive NLD, inspired by the current Iran situation that everyone there is closely watching, with even an idea to create a motive for China to withdraw their knee-jerk UN veto:
Thinking outside the box
by Bo Kyaw Nyein
excerpts:
...current junta Supremo General Than Shwe uses poverty, time and space as tools of suppression concerning the general public. When people are struggling for their own survival they do not have the time or means to finance political opposition.... As time passes on, the opposition becomes depressed and hopeless.
The military has even created a think-tank, the Office of Strategic Studies (OSS), to formulate and implement strategies to counter Western economic sanctions. The wooing of the triumvirate of China, India and ASEAN as well as promotion of the policies of constructive engagement and the so-called 7-step roadmap are all OSS products.
It is the failure of the opposition, especially those in exile, not to have created a think-tank to study military thinking and formulate strategies and policies to counter political offenses initiated by the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), the official name of today's Burmese military junta. The result of this critical shortcoming is obvious – the opposition still clings to an outdated strategy of pressuring the SPDC to come to the negotiating table via Western economic sanctions and the threat of UN Security Council action.
...it has been a dilemma for the NLD in deciding whether to join or boycott the election.
...However, if the NLD does not participate in the election they lose by default.
...Like it or not, the reality is that the opposition is presently dead in the water with no proper infrastructure, organization or strategy at its disposal. It is time to smell the coffee, take a risk, and change the plan.
...It is time to move from passive non-violence to active non-violence, and fight to win. Otherwise, history will condemn our generation.
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And an interview with U Win Tin, the recently released dissident hardliner mentioned in the above editorial:
