<i>Fight for democracy</i>
Photo: AFP
Mark Twain once said, “History never repeats itself, it rhymes.” Countless times in the history of mankind people have resorted to violence for liberty and freedom, with the ineluctable outcome of bloodshed and conflict. Myanmar stands as a witness epitomizing man's imbecility and the failure to learn from past mistakes. Yet another outbreak of protest, with an imminent upheaval awaiting the military regime. The repercussions are inevitable: bloodshed, loss of lives and then the coup de grace, the downfall of the dictator. It is important to note the cause from which this sudden disturbance stems. Disparity among the rich and poor, discontent among general population, people living in squalor and poverty, corruption and rising political turmoil have all led to the mass protests. Government officials have amassed incredible wealth due to widespread corruption. When the question of inequality comes, I must mention that the people there only earn enough so that they can eat for the day. The living standard of people is awful. This situation became impossible to tolerate and out of desperation the monks came out to protest against the Military Junta. In this violence at least four people, including three Buddhist monks, were killed near the holiest place in Myanmar, the Shwedagon Pagoda. The monks also protested before in 1988 but that couldn't bring democracy to Burma. General Ne Win, as a superstitious man, wanted only 45 and 90 kyat notes in circulation. This was because they were divisible by nine, which he considered a lucky number. But by cancelling the other notes which people held, much of their savings were wiped out overnight. This outraged the students and led to a huge protest against the government. That was a scene of 1988 but things have not changed much and that is why another protest began in the hope of bringing democracy in the country. Burma is a country full of natural resources, even more than Bangladesh and many other countries in South East Asia. In spite of having plenty of resources, Burma is still counted a least developed country. Higher education is restricted there. The martial law and the restrictions made Burma an underdeveloped country. After the violence and the protests by the Buddhist monks, the government decided to increase the petrol cost by 500%. That will definitely lead to high inflation rate, in terms of cost push inflation and will crush the whole economy of the country. The embargo from America will further aggravate the situation. So, if this continues Burma will become a history to the people around the world and, therefore, some urgent steps should be taken by the UN and the neighboring countries, especially China.
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