‘Myanmar’ The Buffoon Of The World – OpEd

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“Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, on her trip to Thailand and Europe skimming on the world’s media headlines laid bare the buffoonery of the Burmese Generals in every aspects, especially in calling our beloved country Union of Burma founded by her father, instead of Myanmar, founded on the theory that Dictators can change the name of their country according to their whims and fancies without the consent of the people.” was commented by one of my intellectual friends and we could not agreed to more than this. Historically all the ethnic nationalities including the Burmese ethnic, now calling themselves Myanmar has unanimously agree to call the new born country as the Union of Burma even before independence was proclaimed in 1948and this is raison d’être of why they signed the PangLong Agreement in 1947 one year earlier or otherwise there will be no Union of Burma. Now the idiotic idea of Myanmar was forced upon the country and people without any body’s consent.

The quasi military government of Burma did not want the Truth to be known and is compelling everyone within its clutches, including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to comply to the theory that “the end justifies the means.” Former dictators now dress in civilian clothes and pretending to be changing for the better is endeavoring is trying to fool the civilized international community to acquiesce to their obsession. But the international community is composed of not only ASEAN or even Asia whose Constructive Engagement policy is prolonging the life of the military juntas in Burma just to exploit the country’s human and natural resources and knows much better.

Also common sense, dictates that communicating each other in English, it is natural that we call a country’s name in English and not in their native tongue. Thus we call China as China and not Chung Kio (the middle kingdom) in Chinese, unless we speak in Chinese and ask Ni Chwe Nar Li.(where are you going in Chinese), then if that person understand and speak Chinese he would reply Wor Chwe Chung Kio .meaning I am going to China. So also we did not call Sweden as Sverige, Germany as Deutchland, Spain as Espania, Finland as Suomi and so on. Hence there is no reason to call the country Burma. One cannot please the ex generals whose hands are soak with blood in their ethnic cleansing policies, Call a spade a spade why call it a hoe?

The simple reason is that in English language the people from America are call American, from France is French, from England is English, from India is Indian from China is Chinese and so on. So what is wrong calling the country Burma and its people Burmese? Even if the whole world accepted this illogical name of Myanmar as a country than the people should be called Myarmarnese. Yet they objected themselves to be called Myarmanese? From this episode alone one can know that two screws are loose in the ex generals’ upper storey. It is ridiculous to call the country and the people by the same name of Myanmar in the English language. We cannot comprehend of why the ex generals are making themselves a nuisance and international fools.

On the other hand if the ex Generals are bent on compelling the world to adhere to their unreasonable version of Burmese English then they should make it clear that the people should be call “Myanmar” and that the country should be called properly “Myanmar Naing Ngan:” (jrefrmEdkifiH ) for Naing Ngan in Burmese means country. In the Burmese language they call China, as Ta Yoke Naing Ngan Thailand as Thai Naing Ngan, France as Pyin Thit Naing Ngan. England as England Naing Ngan. America as American Naing Ngan and so forth, Hence even from the perspective of the Burmese language there is no logic in it as the word Myanmar is both phonetically and politically wrong. Phonetically wrong because there should not be an r at the end and should be spell as Myanma as the word mother in English where r is pronounced softly. Politically wrong because it is the Union and not under the big race of Myanmar only.

Of course in terms of education as the Burmese saying goes that “the education of 7 soldiers combined together will not come to 7th standard” (7 a,mufaygif;&if 7 wef; r atmifbl; ) not to be compared with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi who has been just honored with a doctorate from the Oxford University and yet it is a pity that the Burmese Generals did not know themselves that are making a fool of themselves by insisting on the English language which is not their mother tongue. The ex Generals seems to be what in Burmese call “pining for the aunt over the shoulder of the mother” (tarausmfa’G;a’:vGrf;) considering themselves to be somewhat the most conspicuous people of Southeast Asia. They seem to belong to the category of people who knows not that he knows not.
In their vain attempt to influence English language of compelling the world to change the word Burma to Myanmar, why did they targeted the English language only? The French call them Birmanie meaning Burma, the Spanish call them Burmania again meaning Burma, the Dutch call them Birma and even in Filipino Tagalog call them Burmanya and the Japanese call them Beruma all meaning Burma. Why don’t the ex brass compel the other international languages to change? It seems that the current Burmese generals hark back to the old Burmese kings who refer any European as white Kalar meaning white Indian because they know only India. So also the Generals knows only a little English language.

Why are they so intent is that they want to justifies their ethnic cleansing policies and want to be what we call in Burmese Ma Har Myan Mar (r[mjrefrm ), the policy of a great nation where eventually all people residing in Burma must speak Myanmar, must belong to a major race Myanmar and worship only one religion the Theravadha type of Buddhism. That is the reason of why they are continuing their ethnic cleansing policies particularly in Kachin State and in other ethnic dominated areas of Shan Chin Karen, Karenni Mon and Arakanese in other words One country, One Race and One Religion. This they copied from history of England, when the Normans (from France) conquered the Saxons, the original race residing in Britain the killed the Saxons, rape the Saxons girls and inter married them and in the course of centuries they became one race called English, which became a great nation. That is what the Mahar Myanmar aspire. Of course there are many instances in history e.g. Alexander the Great married a Persian women after he conquered Persia (Iran) and in the contemporary history of how the European killed and rape the Red Indians (aborigines) and became a great nation America and Canada. So their logic is what if we rape the ethnic women and married them, their children will not be so rebellious seems to be their raison d’être.

More over their version of Burmese History is that the Burmese kings have ruled Burma since the first Burmese kingdom of Pagan Dynasty (1044) where the great king Anuruddha (Anawrahta) ruled the whole of Burma, then there were successive dynasties such as the Toungoo Dynasty founded by King Bayinnaung, then the Kone Bong Dynasty founded by Alaungpaya (U Aung Ze Ya) and was interrupted only by the British colonial in 1850s by the Anglo Burmese wars. So the Myanmar or Bamar race is the superior unifying race and that all other ethnic nationalities are second citizens second only to Myanmar. Hence the name of Myanmar must be established at all cost no matter what the logic is and that the world must recognize Myanmar.

On the other hand the architect of modern Burma Aung San father of Aung San Suu Kyi visualize the importance of Union which he took the initiative to ink it 1947 at the little Shan town of Pnanglong better known as the Panglong Conference, the foundation stone of the Union (Pyidoungsu) of Burma and modern Burma was formed. It is written in the agreement as well as a year later in the independence declaration of Burma on Jan 4th 1948 that it will be the Union of Burma and that no race be it Myanmar or non Myanmar can dominate the country. That there would on equal rights which in Burmese call it Shan Ta Kyat Myanmar Ta Kyat (&Srf;wusyfbrmwusyf ) meaning that if there is benefit if Myanmar take one Kyat (Burmese currency) Shan or any other ethnic race will also have one kyat indicating that they will stand and share together in equality in weal and woe. In other words the current ex generals did not recognize the Union of Burma and could not comprehend what is the Union. That is why they did not give credit to the Panglong Concordat.

The other factor is that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi by her trip to Europe has automatically become not only the leader of Burma but that of the world, a great moral force, a shining lighthouse in a stormy dark night. Instead of taking pride as any Burmese should, the ex Generals had tried to discredit her by revealing the inheritance case with her derange brother, brain wash by the Junta and when this is not successful, they chastise her that calling the country Burma is against the Constitution. But time is not on their side, it will be very soon that these buffoons making a laughing stock of themselves will soon fade away in the meantime we will have to expect a storm raising in a tea cup.

Kanbawza Win

Kanbawza Win is a political scientist based in Canada

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