By Kyaw Myint Tun (Paris)
FOREIGN forces have withdrawn from Afghanistan. After twenty years and trillions of dollars, the word is that Afghans should decide their own future. That is in the face of widespread acknowledgement of the advances by the Taliban forces and the threat of civil war. Well, there you go! Are Myanmar’s neighbours listening?
A British-funded outfit called ‘‘Myanmar Witness” has set up a ‘‘task force” to “investigate evidence of human rights violations in Myanmar”. It went on to say this outfit would be sharing information with United Nations Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar. A British-funded? Seriously? Only in their minds, the sun has not set on the Empire. Are Myanmar’s neighbours listening?
For years, some of Myanmar’s neighbours have been the biggest investors in Myanmar.
After Myanmar changed course in 2010, some of these neighbours stepped back from investing in the country. Hopes were high that western countries would pour investments into Myanmar. That did not happen. FDI dipped.
As long as memory could recall, the West had been using foreign investment as bait for Myanmar to make a political change. The change came in 2010 but the west did not deliver.
There were all kinds of manipulations to make sure projects never came to fruition. There were manipulations in the name of “transparency”. There were manipulations in the name of “sustainable development”. There were manipulations in the name of “good governance”. All very good but what Myanmar needed desperately were jobs.
From 2015 to 2020, starting from the top, government officials were under the influence of foreign elements. It was ‘‘carte blanche” come one come all. Myanmar was extremely fertile ground for foreign interference. A self-proclaimed Myanmar business guru, a George Soros disciple, who was placed in charge of foreign investment, inserted a “Swiss Model” in the process for business tenders. Swiss Model? By inserting the “Swiss Model” the process for tenders goes on and on. Nothing ever gets done. Did Credit Suisse implement the “Swiss Model” when they made investments in Archegoes Capital Management and Greensill Capital and the process, lost billions? Is the “Swiss Model” widely implemented at Swiss Banks, which hold some of the biggest accounts from all kinds of people from all over the world? Repeat, banks accounts in Swiss banks from all kinds of people! Transparency anyone?
Talk about George Soros, his institution was shut down in his own native country. Perhaps there was a realization that the “Open Society” was not open at all. Since George Soros likes to preach “open society” let’s open up their books in Myanmar. What have Soros linked outfits been doing in Myanmar? Has anyone in Soros immediate or extended sphere, foreign or domestic pursued any of Myanmar business projects? Let’s look into that it should not be difficult to find some trails.
Foreign interference also comes in a form of information gathering. Here too it was free for all! To be designated as conducting business in a “responsible” manner, Myanmar enterprises, including leading banks, are scrutinized by an organization founded by a former British foreign service official. Where’s all that information finally ends up is anyone’s guess. Yet, these locals’ companies, oblivious to the reality and eager to be seen as carrying out good business practices, rendered all kinds of information to outfits established by foreigners.
The intention for the West has always been it was fine as long as investments of small scale dripped into Myanmar here and there. But for big substantial projects, none was meant to come to fruition. In translation, Myanmar people were never meant to enjoy prosperity. As long as the country remains impoverished, the country will always remain at their mercy.
Then there are interferences from international organizations. Let’s look at the UN for example. The United Nations Envoy to Myanmar made reckless comments in New York last week after the meeting in the United Nations general assembly. Mrs Schraner Burgener’s views and the comments she continues to make would make perfect sense if looked at from “algorithms” and “formulas” she studied in her university classroom. Models and algorithms formulated based on western values and from the western perspective.
It must have been difficult for Mrs Schraner Burgener to leave the tropical cities she has been living in in recent months. Maybe she needed to go to New York so that on the heels of the general assembly meeting her western supporters will hear what she has to say. Maybe her contract is up and she needed to justify the renewal of her contract and thus, she needed to be seen in New York and be seen as saying something. So Mrs Schraner Burgener goes to New York City. She walks down the street and no one knows who she is. She gets into the taxi, no one knows who she is. But she comes to tropical countries in the orient, she demands to meet with government officials at the highest levels. Meetings with prime ministers and such, in comparison, say for example in Washington DC, Mrs Schraner Burgener might be accorded with a meeting with a congressional aide. For Mrs Schraner Burgener’s remarks in New York, BBC gave her 20 seconds. Objective achieved!
This is the problem with UN types. They come to poor third world countries and instantly assert the feeling of superiority over the locals. When the matter involves big powerful countries, the UN is nowhere to be found nor heard. But when the crisis involves small countries the UN plays it up to justify its existence.
The first UN envoy was appointed around 1996. All these years what have all these envoys managed to achieve for Myanmar, except to travel in style, pile up mileage and stay at top hotels?
A recent UN report stated that the number of displaced persons around the world are at a record high. High and might people at the UN must be doing a great job. The world seems to be getting more peaceful under the UN’s watch! If one listens and believes the misguided, ill-informed, bias, reckless and self-serving statement being made by numerous senior UN officials about the recent developments in Myanmar, it sounds almost like the fate of Myanmar depends on those high and might forces in the UN. Well... there they go again!
(Opinions and views in this article are only those of the author – Ed).
