absolutely alex’s adventures & times

When the unfortunate people of Myanmar get through the catastrophe of the cyclone that is believed to have killed over 23,000 over the weekend and put 1.5 million at risk of starvation or disease, they will hopefully have the strength to come together and overthrow the nasty, corrupt and callous military regime that is prolonging their misery.

It is truly mind-boggling how callous the junta is towards its people.

After the massive cyclone that leveled homes, took lives and cut off supplies to the survivors and threatened their survival, the military junta’s first instinct was self-preservation.

Rather than focus on bringing relief and aid to those afflicted by the cyclone, the junta insisted on carrying on as scheduled this Saturday with a ridiculous referendum on the country’s new constitution, which is likely to be rigged anyway. After much international criticism, it only begrudgingly stated that the voting would be postponed in the worst affected areas.

While bodies pile up, people remain thirsty and hungry as water and electricity supply stayed cut-off, and the injured receive no medical aid, the Myanmar generals dawdle about letting international aid and supplies into the isolated and paranoid country.

It has been six days since the disaster and aid organizations and foreign governments had been lining up, waiting to be of help and service.

While the well-meaning foreigners are anxious to get into the country to help, the Myanmar government takes its time to issue visas for aid workers and puts off granting permission for flights ferrying supplies and aid to land in the worst hit areas. Aid is only just trickling in painfully.

The stalling has caused such international anguish and worry for the state of the injured and needy in Myanmar, that the United Nations is practically demanding that the intransigent generals allow aid workers and organizations in without further delay.

“The situation is profoundly worrying,” the United Nations official in charge of the relief effort, John Holmes, told the New York Times. “They have simply not facilitated access in the way we have a right to expect.”

Some countries such as Britain and France are so desperate to get help where it is most needed, they are actually contemplating invading Myanmar’s air space by flying in and air-dropping food and supplies.

Suffer the poor Myanmese people. Why is it that outsiders are more worried for them than their own government?

Under pressure, the regime said outsiders were free to help and donate supplies but made clear the presence of foreigners is not welcome.

“Currently Myanmar has prioritized receiving emergency relief provisions and is making strenuous efforts to transport those provisions without delay by its own labors to the affected areas,” the country’s Foreign Ministry said. “As such, Myanmar is not ready to receive search-and-rescue teams as well as media teams from foreign countries.”

It is a classic conundrum for aid organizations: put human lives that are at risk first by demanding to be let in to help, or respect the sovereignty of states.

Clearly, the regime feels threatened by the presence of aid groups and foreign help. If they were allowed in, it would only cement the resentment the people already feel against the junta, and contribute to the impression of its inability to handle the country’s affairs competently.

So while the junta worries about its image and remains suspicious of getting external help, foreign planes and personnel ready to help sit by helplessly, waiting for the green light; and the suffering people of Myanmar face a potentially disastrous health catastrophe as the threat of malaria, diarrhea and other related starts to spread.

This is a crime against humanity. If only the generals could be hauled off to face trial and punishment for this.

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It was the biggest cop-out ever.

The city of San Francisco, the sole US stop for the global Olympic torch relay, decided to chicken out rather than face the protesters.

Reuters photo

The city claimed that in the interest of public safety, it had to pull a bait and switch on both pro- and anti-China protesters who had lined the Embarcadero route that the torch relay was expected to go through. After delaying the start of the event, the route was changed at the last minute. The closing ceremony was also canceled, with the torch hurriedly leaving the city through the airport like a thief.

“We assessed the situation and felt that we could not secure the torch and protect the protesters and supporters to the degree that we wished,” San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom told the media. “As a consequence we engaged in subsequent contingency planning that we felt would keep people safe.”

Some people might argue that Newsom faced a damned if you do, damned if you don’t dilemma. But the option he took was the least satisfying.

If it was seriously that much of a problem, why not just scrap the whole thing and save public funds instead of taking the easy way out and playing hide-and-seek?

Since they decided to let the show go on, Newsom and the city’s police should have been brave enough and prepared to allow the dissent and protest that would have greeted the torch relay as it passed through the original route. Don’t they have confidence in their police forces’ ability to keep the peace?

This is San Francisco we are talking about here, not downtown Beijing. Free speech and dissent are part of the constitutional rights of this country, and San Francisco has always been known as a bastion of democracy in speech and action, so why the need for trickery and secrecy? If France and Britain could allow it, why not San Francisco?

Moreover, there were people and tourists who genuinely wanted to see the torch run. They were waiting all day and left disappointed. The torch relay was meant as a public event. What good is it if hardly anybody saw it?

What Newsom did was lame. It was the worst compromise and provided the Chinese government with the public relations, faux protest-free torch relay photo-op they would gladly use to show its poor folks back home who don’t know better. Newsom should not have dragged San Francisco into being an accomplice for propaganda.

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It’s hard not to feel sorry for the plight of Ingrid Betancourt, the Franco-Colombian politician who has been held hostage by the Colombian rebel group Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, for over six years.

The once-thriving woman was kidnapped by FARC after she tried to negotiate with them and is believed to be seriously ill. Recently freed hostages had expressed fears that Betancourt’s condition could deteriorate if she did not receive medical attention soon.

Betancourt is reportedly chained up now because she tried escaping from the rebels, who besides fighting the Colombian government, are notorious for smuggling cocaine and kidnapping Colombian politicians, civilians and even a few Americans.

Understandably, the French government, together with the Spanish and Swiss authorities, has sent a humanitarian/ medical mission to the Colombian jungles where the FARC are based in the hopes of getting Betancourt out to receive medical treatment.

But their approach could have inadvertently worsened things for Betancourt.

Their action, which had not come with prior negotiations or agreements with FARC rebels, might have ticked the rebels off and jeopardized Betancourt’s chance for freedom.

“The French medical mission is not acceptable and much less so when it is not the result of a prior agreement,” FARC’s ruling secretariat said in a statement.

“We do not act under blackmail or under pressure from media campaigns.”

The operation cannot for faulted for its good intention. But it was badly handled and seemed ill thought out. The European governments should have known that FARC comprises merciless terrorists and appealing to their sympathy for Betancourt would not be effective. Could it be that their priority was not just to save a possibly dying woman, but more so to play to the three countries’ home audience, to prove that action has been taken, however flawed it was?

France especially, had made it a priority to have Betancourt freed and might have hoped that its medical mission would move FARC. But by flying there unilaterally, without first having worked something out with either the Colombian government or FARC smacks of rashness to the point of folly.

Experts worry that the latest French initiative could worsen things.

“This rejection contributes to the contamination of the atmosphere,” Alfredo Rangel at Bogota’s Security and Democracy Foundation think tank told Reuters.

The International Committee of the Red Cross would have been an ideal intermediary for the French to use to obtain an agreement, given its track recording of securing hostage release. But the French had not approached it for help at all.

The French seemed not to have learned from an earlier failure. In 2003, it too, had tried to send a mission to free Betancourt but ended up empty-handed and received criticisms from the Colombian and Brazilian governments for its actions instead.

If the French were serious about helping Betancourt, they should forget about grandstanding and wasting taxpayers’ money unnecessarily by flying those fruitless attempts over to Colombia. They should have tried harder to reach out to the rebels or intermediaries behind the scenes to get Betancourt freed. Flying in unannounced will only raise the FARC’s suspicions and harden its resolve. That means poor Betancourt will remain captive longer.

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On the one hand, watching the world relay of the Olympic flame turn from a “Journey of Harmony” celebration into a debacle is rather satisfying, knowing that the protesters are using this golden opportunity to highlight and take the China government to task for its human rights abuses against its own minorities and its policies of supporting dictators in its thirst for raw materials.

But on the other, it is totally unfair to and unfortunate for the athletes who have spent the last four years sacrificing everything else by training hard and waiting for their moment of glory at the Games, only to have the once-in-a-lifetime event marred and their efforts overshadowed by politics rather than sports. With the life of an elite athlete being so short, it is a tough proposition to ask them to forgo the chance to compete.

Some are worrying that things might get even worse when the torch relay continues on its journey to more countries.

London and Paris both said they were prepared for any unrest but were overwhelmed, perhaps even stormed by surprise, at the level of chaos and opposition they encountered.

San Francisco is next and while the city is braced for trouble, being the hotbed of liberalism that it is, San Francisco is likely to witness protests on the scale similar to the preceding cities, if not larger.

Activists there had already made a headline-grabbing statement around the world even before the Olympic torch reached American soil, by hoisting Tibetan flags and huge banners proclaiming “One World, One Dream, Free Tibet 08″ and “Free Tibet” on the iconic Golden Gate Bridge.

Tove Paule, who heads the Norwegian Olympic Committee, suggests that the torch relay be halted.

“Should violent demonstrations occur in all the places the torch relay is visiting,” she said, “it is not a positive thing. It’s a shame, because the athletic achievements we will see will disappear in the politics.”

But Beijing is adamant that there will be no changes to the torch relay.

“No force can stop the torch relay of the Beijing Games,” said Beijing Olympic organizing committee spokesman Sun Weide.

Perhaps China should rethink its stand.

Undeniably, it wants to win in this battle of wills and to stop the worldwide relay of the flame will be seen as a defeat. There is also the little problem of how the hardline Chinese government is going to explain to people at home that their moment of glory has been snuffed out, when it has blacked out the scenes of melee in Paris and London on Chinese television.

But it cannot fail to see that the whole public relations exercise has descended into a fiasco. Security forces in the cities that the torch will pass through have to put up ridiculous amounts of forces and come up with ever more draconian measures to quell the protesters. What good is it to keep persisting with the relay if it would only serve as occasions for protesters to stand off against the police?

The sad thing is, the protests will not make a difference to the hardened mindsets of the Chinese government. It is only going to treat them as an insult to its opportunity to showcase China to the world and will instead use them to turn its people even more against the West. Unfortunately, many of the Chinese population, indoctrinated with the government’s line and swollen with ultra-nationalistic pride, will buy it.

Many say sports and politics should not mix. But a sports event with as global an audience as the Olympic Games inevitably carries political undertones. Countries vie to hold the Games for their individual prestige and pride. That is political.

China may claim that it is merely a sporting event but it wants to use it to fulfill political ends such as a chance to demonstrate China’s progress and economic prosperity to the world, and for internal propaganda. Whomever said that sports and the Olympics are only about the athletes and their achievements is lying, or deluded.

Just feel sorry for the athletes unfortunate enough to be caught in the crossfire.

(photos by AP and AFP)

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Fidel Castro’s younger brother, Raul, who took over in February as the president of Cuba from the ailing Fidel, sure moves fast.

Following his pledge to make major reforms, he has done it again, in a quick succession of moves.

This time, Cubans are allowed to check into the country’s hotels and play tourist, a perk that was previously available only to foreigners. This new ruling follows the recent loosening of rules to allow Cubans to own cellphones and buy consumer electronic products.

But once again, Raul’s augmentation of personal freedoms for ordinary Cubans might only be enjoyed by the wealthier spectrum of Cuban society.

Hotel room rates, cellphone charges and computers & DVDs are dealt with in hard currency, Cuba’s Convertible Peso, which is about 24 times the amount of the local non-convertible Cuban peso. Unfortunately, most Cubans are paid in the local currency and make around $20 a month. So these new initiatives will remain just as out of reach for many Cubans, who simply don’t have the economic means to afford them.

The moves, however small and symbolic, are at least steps in the right direction and give hope about further changes the Cuban government might be bold enough to undertake.

Now, Raul’s next moves will be closely watched, to see if he might proceed with even bigger gestures, such as giving Cubans the ability to travel overseas freely or access to the internet.

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After harping on relentlessly about the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, being behind the recent unrest in Tibet, the Chinese government has finally presented some evidence in an attempt to back its words.

But it has only reinforced the world’s opinion of the brutality and Leninist tactics of the Chinese regime. Nor would it not help China regain credibility or quell the calls for it to settle the Tibet question peacefully.

The Chinese claim to have a written confession by a Tibetan Buddhist monk which described the role he played in the recent riots, as directed by the Dalai Lama and other Tibetan leaders in exile.

“For the sake of protecting myself, (the Dalai Lama clique) asked me not to participate in the demonstrations in person, just in charge of stirring people up,” according to the monk’s confession.

The Chinese did not name the confessing monk. Nor did it describe how it obtained the so-called confession. Which only serves to increase the skepticism of its authenticity and raise more questions about China’s intention.

At this point, it does not look like China cares about world opinion, despite its hopes of using the upcoming Beijing Olympic Games this summer to showcase its progress and stability. Even as European heads of government such as German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the Czech Republic’s president Vaclav Klaus indicate their boycott of the Olympics by their no-show in August, China is refusing to soften its line. It continues to heap unfounded accusations on the Dalai Lama, blaming the Nobel Peace Prize winner for using the Olympics as a political tool to undermine Beijing.

These actions by the Chinese government are instead playing to its local population, attempting to jack up Chinese nationalism by presenting a China under fire by the ungrateful Tibetans, whom China has done so much for in terms of economic and social development, and the international media for its bias against the Chinese.

What China’s population do not know — since they face limited access to information due to censorship and internet restrictions, while being fed the government’s official line — is the repression of the Tibetan identity and religion and the forced “re-education” of ordinary Tibetans. The Chinese people have unwittingly been manipulated into being the government’s tool, as they react passionately and angrily to both the perceived “ingrate” Tibetans and the “unfair” foreign media which had been highlighting China’s brutal suppression of the unrest.

Its woes are clear indications of the Chinese failure to understand the Tibetan psyche, that the comforts of materialism do not motivate them to recognize the legitimacy of Chinese rule, which was imposed on them in the 1950s. So while China has poured billions into infrastructure projects in the Tibetan region, building roads, trains and provided services to the Tibetan capital of Lhasa, the Tibetans remained unmoved and continued to harbor grievances against Chinese rule.

Some analysts had hypothesized that the Chinese foot-dragging in entering into a dialogue with the Dalai Lama is calculated. The move is viewed as the Chinese government biding its time, waiting for the 72-year old Dalai Lama to pass on so that they could install a malleable replacement.

But on this, the Chinese are likely to have again miscalculated. Many experts believe that the reverence with which the Dalai Lama is held by the Tibetan people is the only reason why violence on a larger scale, or of the guerrilla variety, had not erupted. The Dalai Lama’s call for a non-violent, peaceful way in dealing with Beijing had kept younger and more impatient Tibetans from attempting more radical measures. His death, far from solving problems as China had hoped, might be the release that could result in a surge in violence against the Chinese regime.

It would be wiser for Beijing to open honest dialogue with the Dalai Lama and work out a more satisfactory solution to the issue. But the Chinese government, having painted itself into a corner with its condemnation of the Dalai Lama and its stirring up of the nationalist fervor of its people, seem incapable of pulling back from the brink and working out a solution to this unfortunate state of affairs.

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The cellphone, a ubiquitous consumer product that the modern person takes for granted, even in third world countries, has broken another barrier and opened up a new frontier — Cuba.

The socialist nation, led by its recently-elected president Raul Castro, just announced that it is doing away with its restriction on cellphone use, allowing normal citizens access to buying and using cellphones for the first time. Previously, cellphone use was confined to government officials and foreigners. Cubans who tried to circumvent the rule had their phones either registered in their foreign friends’ names, or through the companies in which they worked.

It is a calculated move to open up bit-by-bit the highly government-regulated and controlled island, and comes on the heels of Cubans being able to buy previously-monitored electronic equipment such as computers.

On paper, this loosening of rules sounds great. It demonstrates the change in mindset of the Cuban government and a response to the wishes of its people for more personal freedom.

But in reality, these latest moves will benefit only the wealthier Cubans or those with access to hard currency through foreign remittances, as the cellphones and other electronic equipment have to be purchased in hard currency, Cuba’s convertible pesos, which is linked to the US dollar.

Consider this — the average Cuban makes about $20 a month in their mostly government-linked jobs, while it is estimated to cost $140 for a handset and credits for using it. That puts cellphone use out of the reach of a large number of Cubans, and will further deepen the divide between the “haves” and “have-nots” in the country, making the claim that equality is a part of Cuban life a lie. Already, resentment is high among those who see the better quality of life Cubans with hard currency have. This could build up more frustration in the citizenry.

With the lowest rate of cellphone use in Latin America, Cuba also suffers from an under-developed telecommunications infrastructure, which means that costs of use would be high for at least a while, before more investments are made.

So while this new step by Castro will make headlines around the world, it is a Pyrrhic victory for ordinary Cubans.

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“I do not agree with what you have to say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.”

-Voltaire-

Freedom of expression is one of the principal bases of living in an open, liberal society. We are allowed to say what we think and feel, but not without consequences, of course. Remarks or opinions judged inappropriate by society or the affected party usually have a way of coming round to haunt the utterer. Yet, we agree that in an open society, free speech is a basic right that we enjoy.

Against this backdrop, the online release of an anti-Islam, anti-Koran short film by notorious Dutch legislator Geert Wilders, should not receive the condemnation it has garnered. Wilders has a right to express what he feels, despite the efforts of some Dutch politicians to ban his film. What could be criticized, however, is the content of Wilders’ film.

Titled “Fitna,” Arabic for civil strife, the film painted Islam as violent, a religion that encouraged terrorism and provided gruesome images such as beheading and shootings in the name Islam.

While it is no secret that Islam has its extremist and violent wing, the vast majority of its practitioners are peaceful and law-abiding people. Wilders was unfair and one-dimensional in his film’s depiction of Islam. But he remained insistent.

“It is not a provocation, it is tough reality — a reality that some Muslims might not find comfortable,” Wilders — the leader of a far-right, anti-immigration Dutch political party, Party for Freedom — told the media.

His latest action comes in defiance of death threats that had been previously issued against him. Wilders has bodyguards protecting him around-the-clock.

A Dutch filmmaker, Theo Van Gogh, was killed in the streets of Amsterdam by an Islamic extremist in 2004, after he released a film critical of Islam’s treatment of women.

The Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende, in reflecting his country’s open and tolerant society, struck a balanced tone in handling Wilders. “The film equates Islam with violence: we reject that interpretation,” he said. “We believe it serves no purpose other than to offend. But feeling offended must never be used as an excuse for aggression and threats.”

The problem is that the radical Islamists would not take such a measured approach. Free speech is not something they would necessarily understand. This is a cultural and civilizational clash that will pit different ideologies and beliefs against each other, with devastating consequences likely. Balkenende is right to worry that Wilders’ film will not only provoke protests in Islamic countries; Dutch interests, be they soldiers, citizens or businesses, might also face backlash or even come to harm.

So it is a tough line to walk — other cultures might not understand or accept it, but we need to protect and guarantee freedom of expression. At the same time, unfortunately, managing the repercussions such as those that could be unleashed by Wilders’ film, is also going to be a tough prospect. But if it is a principle we believe strongly enough in, we must stand by it, just as Voltaire had so aptly stated.

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Tibetan Buddhist monks today defied the draconian tactics of the Chinese government by staging a daring and fervent protest of heart-breaking proportions.

They burst onto a tightly-orchestrated news briefing held by the Chinese authorities in Lhasa, the Tibetan capital, for a select group of foreign journalists, which Beijing had hoped would beam images of a Tibet now pacified, while telling the story of Tibetan “aggression” in the past week of anti-Chinese uprising by ethnic Tibetans there.

It was poignant to see the young monks, in their crimson robes, valiantly risking their necks by speaking to foreign journalists about the conditions they had had to endure. In front of the world’s cameras, they exhorted reporters not to be taken in by the official line from Beijing, which accuses the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, of being behind the unrest.

The monks’ shouts of “Tibet is not free!” exposed the sorry fact that they had been detained in the monastery for over two weeks, after being accused of fomenting more turmoil and destruction. In the melee after the monks stormed the news conference, they were seen being led off by the Chinese security forces, but their fate is unknown, although the authorities had said they would not be “punished”.

China now has eggs on its face a second time, even though it had taken much precaution to ensure that only positive publicity in the country’s run-up to the summer Olympics in Beijing is broadcasted or printed. The lighting of the Olympic torch ceremony earlier this week in Greece was another occasion for Tibetan activists to shine a light on their cause, ruining the photo-op and satisfaction of the Chinese government.

The incidents are a testament to the bravery and impressibility of the human spirit. Violence, censorship and force are not enough to put the determined and passionate people of Tibet and their supporters down.

While pro-Tibet activists are doing their bit all across the world, the world’s government had been shamefully quiet or restrained on China’s crackdown on the Tibetans in China. Only France had created a bit of stir, with its president Nicolas Sarkozy threatening to boycott the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics as a response to Chinese brutality.

Other countries had issued toothless statements, while the US had only urged for dialogue between China and the Dalai Lama. Despite the clear violation of human rights by Beijing, President George W. Bush is still expected to attend the Olympics’ opening ceremony. This, even after the Tibetan government-in-exile said about 140 people have been killed in a crackdown on protesters by the Chinese. The US response is another reprehensible example of trade and economic considerations trumping the hollow calls for human rights protection.

“I think this is time the Chinese government and Chinese officials, I think, must accept the reality. I think that’s important. Now in any case we are (in the) 21st century, pretending or lies cannot work,” the Dalai Lama told reporters in New Delhi, referring to attempts to start talks with China over the Tibet issue.

While the Chinese government stuck to its mule-like insistence against communicating with the Dalai Lama, one cannot watch the following video and not weep for the monks and the people of Tibet for what they have to go through.

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Power, as Mao had said, comes from the barrel of a gun.

His classic teaching to the Chinese Communist Party has sadly proved true once again in recent days in Myanmar, where the unflinching willingness of the Burmese military junta to use force to quell protests, have stifled the moral authority wielded by the country’s revered monks.

The groundswell of dissatisfaction and despair triggered by the rise in fuel prices was the latest in a series of protests by the repressed Burmese people to make political change happen in their country, after the most notable failed attempt in 1988. But they have all been ruthlessly quashed by the Burmese junta, which was quick to use its guns and fists to ensure they remained in power.

Though countries like the US have issued heavy sanctions against the Burmese regime, the US has simply lost the moral authority and the clout to enact change in Myanmar or help bring about democracy there, no thanks to its missteps in Afganistan and Iraq.

No power survives without economic backing and the Burmese junta is able to keep its coffer filled up, thanks to the complicity of neighbors who have no qualms about trading with it.

In this, Myanmar’s rich resources of oil, gas, minerals and timber that could have been the origin of the furniture in your home, have been both a blessing and a curse.

Myanmar’s trading partners in Asia are willing to turn a blind eye to its repressive regime and pay lip service to the idea of enacting change in Myanmar, as long the lucrative trade they have going is not affected.

In this, three parties stand as the guiltiest.

China, which is Myanmar’s third largest export market and its biggest importer, has always been reluctant to meddle in the affairs of its most odious neighbors, in the hope of not having to suffer similar consequences. China has invested too much in Myanmar to allow it to fail and have lucrative contracts voided by a less friendly government that might take the generals’ places. China’s interests there include hydropower and gas-and-oil projects. Its military has also found a friendly neighbour in Myanmar’s junta, which gives China access to the Bay of Bengal, according to The Economist.

Analysts have pointed out that Thailand’s acquiescence with Myanmar’s junta come from a slightly different angle. Thailand has kept mum about its neighbor’s troubles, but the historical baggage between both countries, which have been foes and fought bloody wars for centuries, has perhaps given Thailand an unfortunate sense of schadenfreude. That and the fear of refugees from Myanmar flooding in through its borders and the supply of cheap gas piped in from Myanmar being disrupted, are more reasons for Thailand’s inertia.

The regional group, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), is equally culpable in the mess. It admitted Myanmar into its grouping a decade ago, promising to use persuasion to soften the junta. Ten years on, little has been achieved by the grouping. Instead its member countries, such as Singapore, are supplying the Burmese generals with the weapons and guns that are used on the protesters and monks.

The United Nations itself, hamstrung by Security Council member China’s reluctance to put too much pressure on Myanmar, could only come up with a feeble resolution to “strongly deplore” the recent incidents there.

The divided reaction of the world to the misery of the Burmese people could only mean that much more blood will have to be shed by its desperate people, before change can truly happen.