This is the second part to the Myanmar (which I’m now calling Burma) post. It wasn’t supposed to be in two parts, but after receiving some comments and e-mails about the first one, I’ve decided write this very opinionated post, in contrast to the last one which mostly provided basic information. I suggest you read both.

The Burmese governement is ridiculously corrupt and they operate only for self-interest, not in the interest of the people who live there. Since 1962, Burma has been under a military dictatorship and the situation has gone from bad to worse. Unfortunately, I think that there is no hope for the Burmese people unless they plot an incredibly well planned overthrow of the current government.

As things stand now, the people are being oppressed and the military is doing the oppressing. The people don’t like the current government, but they tolerate it because the government hasn’t been involved in their everyday lives for years. If they ever want to be truly free, it would require untrained citizens overthrowing a miltary government.

Right now the Burmese people need their government more than ever. I hope that the Burmese government starts letting in aid to the people who need it most. I’m sure that this will eventually happen in some form, but the relief workers will not be nearly as free as they need to be to do their jobs properly and the victims of the cyclone needed aid ten days ago. Some estimates say that if disease sets in the death toll could rise to a million. I’m sure that’s an upper limit, but either way there are thousands of people dead or dying who don’t need to be.

The international community also needs to step to the plate. I can’t support military intervention in Burma without knowing a lot more about the topic, but sanctions are a slippery slope. Some corporations have been accused of financing the Burmese government, despite their human rights violations, and the United States has considered sanctions in the past, though China is against them. So now we have to decide if offending China or hurting the Burmese government is better. I’m not really in a position to judge, but I would err on the side of no sanctions. We don’t want to offend China, but even more importantly, we could end up hurting the people of Burma rather than their government.

Given the difficulty of the situation, there are no easy solutions. It’s not a situation where convincing the right people will lead to a favorable solution. Of course, it’s possible that I’m missing something because I’m not a Burma expert, but based on what I know, an overthrow of the current government will have to be a revolution by the people of Burma.