Clearly allowing Burma to become independent two generations back was the wrong idea. It’s not just that we should but that we must reverse this appalling mistake.
This is not, you’ll be astonished to hear, the opinion of some gammon like myself. It is, instead, the collective decision of the woke and the left.
For this is what this is:
Global oil and gas companies Woodside, Chevron and Total should make sure no money flows from projects in Myanmar to the government or be held responsible for effectively helping fund the military junta’s violent repression of the country’s people, pro-democracy advocates say.
At least 18 people have been killed by the military for participating in pro-democracy protests since the 1 February military coup, with soldiers firing live rounds into crowds of thousands demonstrating in cities across the country.
The oil and gas industry contributes US$900m (A$1.1bn) a year to the Myanmar government, which since last month has been controlled by a military that has been accused of serious human rights abuses including genocide against the ethnic minority Rohingya people, non-government organisation Publish What You Pay (PWYP) said.
A few little points. The resource rents for that oil and gas I think we all do agree belong to the Burmese state as the representatives of the people, yes? The value of the oil and gas just being there should have the pips taxed and handed over. This is Ricardo on rent and seems fine. Saudi should be getting their oil money, not the Seven Sisters and so on.
OK.
So, why should the Burmese State not be getting those royalties? The answer being given is that we don’t, or shouldn’t, approve of the government of Burma as it currently is therefore no munnies.
Which is, of course, colonialism. Those little brown and slitty eyed folks shouldn’t get White Man money unless they do what the wipipo upper middle classes think they should.
All we need to add is gunboats and we’re back to Palmerston.
Colonialism, it’s only the excuse for it that has changed.
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I do agree with you Tim. Freedom necessarily includes the freedom to be wrong. Or as I like to put it, the freedom to go to hell after your own fashion.
Lets look at the war in Yemen that the woke have been fussing about. Should we give aid only to the Houthis, so they can conquer the place. Or should we aid the government, since certainly a large number of people don't really wish for Houthi rule.
No. They feel we should give aid to both sides - perhaps I should call this all parties - meanwhile it's our responsibility to bore them to death with our carping until they decide on a system of government that the woke approve of.
Needless to say, I feel we should leave the place strictly alone. Except for buying oil from the participants if they've any to sell, and trading them arms in return. They always want some arms, since they get burned up in use just like oil.
The same thing applies to Burma - oops Myanmar. I wouldn't like to be ruled by the junta. Well, I wouldn't like to be ruled by any damned foreigners. But how the locals choose to misgovern themselves is their business. We should simply kiss the arses of the powers that be, pay them the requisite bribes - oops taxes, and let them sort out their own problems.
Should we never meddle in the affairs of others? Well the instance I really approved of was the Russian invasion of Afghanistan and the Iran-Iraq war. We helped the wicked Taliban against the wicked Russians, and made sure that wicked Iran couldn't conquer the Russian ally, Iraq which had invaded them.
To misquote Kissinger, they all lost. The Iraqis, the Iranians, the Russians, the poor old Afghans who were stuck with the Taliban, and of course ourselves who also had to put up with the Taliban's antics.
But this bankrupted the Russians and got them off our backs. And after we invaded Afghanistan to chase out Osama, Trump was finally going to leave, though Biden is havering.
But if our interests are not involved, and I'd apply this principle pretty strictly, I'd just leave the locals alone to make a mess of their affairs as they see fit.
‘... violent repression of the country’s people, pro-democracy advocates say.’
Perhaps they should be looking closer to home.