# Force-feeding Myanmar? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [May 10, 2008, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/force-feeding-myanmar/448843 "2008-05-10T20:40:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2009, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/force-feeding-myanmar/448843/161 "2009-01-26T05:40:18Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > This is rather bizarre: [Nigeria’s Puzzling Gift to Burma](http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/editorial_opinion/article01/indexn2_html?pdate=220109&ptitle=Nigeria%27s%20puzzling%20gift%20to%20Myanmar). > > That giant of a philanthropic benefactor, Nigeria, slipped half a million US dollars to Burma at the UN late last month. Rather hurriedly and with few witnesses. Supposedly for hurricane relief … 7-1/2 months after the fact?? All very odd. No mystery there. Burma just helped them with the transfer of TEN MILLION UNITED STATES DOLLARS to an offshore account in exchange for 5%. And you thought those emails were all scams. Ha! ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2009, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/force-feeding-myanmar/448843/162 "2009-01-26T05:56:23Z")
> [@Gorsnak](#): > > No mystery there. Burma just helped them with the transfer of TEN MILLION UNITED STATES DOLLARS to an offshore account in exchange for 5%. And you thought those emails were all scams. Ha! Damn! I’m gonna answer my most recent one right NOW! ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/force-feeding-myanmar/448843/163 "2009-01-27T03:44:15Z")
The pressure is being kept on Thailand regarding the Rohingya refugees from Burma. Long-time resident reporter Jonathan Head has [this report](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7846570.stm) for BBC. Also, it appears that Obama’s inauguration speech was censored in Burma. Story [here](http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=14994). (It was in China, too.) ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/force-feeding-myanmar/448843/164 "2009-01-28T03:34:02Z")
More Rohingyas coming in from Burma. Stories [here](http://nationmultimedia.com/2009/01/28/politics/politics_30094332.php) and [here](http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/01/27/thailand.refugees/index.html). Not mentioned is what they’re saying elsewhere in the media, that the reason they’re being handed over to the police now is to protect them from the army. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/force-feeding-myanmar/448843/165 "2009-01-30T04:09:57Z")
And [here](http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=15005) we see that Thai and Malaysian authorities may be (read: almost certainly are) tracking Burmese migrants for purposes of human trafficking in labor. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2009, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/force-feeding-myanmar/448843/166 "2009-02-02T04:23:35Z")
This week’s issue of _The Economist_ has been banned in Thailand, the third such banning in two months. This time it’s largely because of an article criticising the Thai military’s treatment of the Rohingya refugees from Burma. See [here](http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2009/01/31/asia/AS-Thailand-Censorship.php). Contains other information that I dare not speak about. In fact, the link above itself appears to have been banned by specific ISPs in country, although I can open it okay. Excerpt: "The Jan. 31 issue contains an article, entitled ‘A sad slide backwards,’ that criticizes Thailand for alleged abuse of Muslim migrants from Myanmar known as the Rohingya. “Their plight gained international attention after several boats carrying around 1,000 migrants were intercepted in December by the Thai navy. Human rights groups allege that Thai officers detained and beat them before forcing them back to sea in vessels with no engines and little food or water. Hundreds are believed to have drowned. Thai authorities have repeatedly denied the allegations.” ---
**Author:** ![Lady\_of\_the\_Lake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e19adc/32.png) [@Lady\_of\_the\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lady_of_the_Lake)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2009, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/force-feeding-myanmar/448843/167 "2009-02-02T22:32:05Z")
I’ve been much more aware of the situation in Burma because of this thread, so I appreciate the updates! One thing that had really stuck out for me was a quote from [this](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7860095.stm)BBC article - I just don’t understand. I find myself boggled by the whole thing. > [@](#): > > Burma says Rohingya migrants arriving in Thailand recently could not have come from its shores because they are not among its recognised ethnic groups. So…Burma isn’t even recognizing that these people exist ? How can you do that? It seems so hopeless. They can’t go back, they can’t go forward… ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/force-feeding-myanmar/448843/168 "2009-02-03T04:23:32Z")
The Burmese junta is indeed pretty mind-boggling. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2009, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/force-feeding-myanmar/448843/169 "2009-02-05T04:52:25Z")
And [here](http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=15060) we see that 1000 Thais turned out in Ranong on Tuesday to protest suggestions the UNHCR set up a Rohingya refugee center there. Ranong is just across from Burma. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/force-feeding-myanmar/448843/170 "2009-02-06T05:00:56Z")
And [here](http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=15067) we see that the Burmese prime minister’s delicate flower of a daughter was a wee bit camera shy at her recent wedding. Excerpt: “According to one of the guests at the event, the bride and groom were showered with gifts worth billions of kyat—or millions of dollars—including jewels, luxury cars, houses and deeds to valuable real estate.” Hmmm. I wonder how much of that was courtesy of charitable relief donations. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/force-feeding-myanmar/448843/171 "2009-02-06T20:51:35Z")
So… **Siam Sam** , this Board is your Thailand blog now? ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/force-feeding-myanmar/448843/172 "2009-02-06T22:15:21Z")
Well many of us appreciate the updates, even if there does not seem to be much debate: Junta bad; situation fairly hopeless. No one taking the pro-Junta position? Oh well. ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/force-feeding-myanmar/448843/173 "2009-02-06T23:56:13Z")
Indeed! I am very interested in this. Sam saved my parents from taking a trip that would have gone off just as this all went pear-shaped, as I reported the events to them. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2009, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/force-feeding-myanmar/448843/174 "2009-02-07T01:54:12Z")
Ya know, I actually forgot this was in Great Debates, as I always access the thread through my User CP and often don’t pay attention to the actual category. But I’ve kept putting my Burma stuff in here because I don’t want to make a new thread each time. It’s become more of a Burma blog than a Thailand blog, and I don’t blame anyone for thinking I’m obsessed with Burma. But I’m not obsessed, just completely disgusted with this brutal regime who wields iron control over what are essentially some of the gentlest people on the face of this Earth. The words have not been invented for what I feel about the Burmese junta; the standard pejoratives are just too wimpy in this case. Perhaps I should start a new thread in a different category, but I’ve been using this thread so long that it feels like I should stick to it. Maybe it should be moved? There’s so much that goes on in Burma that few in the West know about. Just the little that I find is only the tip of the iceberg, and I’m right next door. I’m such a fan of the people there that it is ironic for me to recommend strongly that no one donate any aid. Maybe you want to do something good, maybe you have a church group that in all sincerity desires to help. But the money will only be funneled into the private bank accounts of the junta members. The people there will never see any of it. A lot of it just went to that daughter’s wedding a week ago. I’d say it’s definitely a situation where you have to be cruel to be kind. The junta just doesn’t care. If Aung San Suu Kyi says not to travel to Burma, then that’s good enough for me. And if you look into the history of Burma, you’ll see the junta members are acting in the grand tradition of the old kings. They did the same thing. There were three Anglo-Burmese wars in the 19th century, each one increasing Britain’s involvement with the area just a little bit more until finally it became lumped in with India, and it was these same actions and attitudes by the kings back then that sparked it. It makes for some fascinating reading. But here are a couple more items. There’s an excellent _New York Times_ editorial just out called [Sneaking In Where Thugs Rule](http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/05/opinion/05kristof.html?_r=1). And Angelina Jolie has been in Thailand this week asking the government to release some 110,000 refugees that have been confined to camps here for 20 years, since the troubles of August-September 1988. Story [here](http://www.newkerala.com/topstory-fullnews-88334.html). ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2009, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/force-feeding-myanmar/448843/175 "2009-02-07T01:58:31Z")
A year ago I spent a month in Thailand and a month in Burma, but I’m glad you are keeping me up to speed. I don’t have Internet access where I am or anything. ---
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2009, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/force-feeding-myanmar/448843/176 "2009-02-07T02:03:36Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > If Aung San Suu Kyi says not to travel to Burma, then that’s good enough for me. And should be enough for anybody. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2009, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/force-feeding-myanmar/448843/177 "2009-02-07T02:06:32Z")
> [@furt](#): > > And should be enough for anybody. I don’t want anyone to think I’m condemning people who do go to Burma. That’s strictly an individual choice, and an argument can be made for it. It’s just I vote against it myself. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2009, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/force-feeding-myanmar/448843/178 "2009-02-11T17:48:07Z")
Well, this is lovely: The senior Burmese official in Hong Kong has described the Rohingya boat people as “[ugly as ogres](http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking+News/SE+Asia/Story/STIStory_336924.html).” Prick. The Thai government is telling Angelina Jolie to [shut up about the Rohingyas](http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/30095440/UNHCR-warned-over-Angelina-Jolie's-criticism-on-Rohingya). And speaking of Brangelina, it looks like Burmese children are the flavor of the month for [adoption by them](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1139651/Weve-Vietnam-Cambodia-Ethiopia--Angelina-Brad-set-adopt-boy-Burma.html?ITO=1490). ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2009, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/force-feeding-myanmar/448843/179 "2009-02-14T03:26:17Z")
[The Karen Old Soldiers That Britain Forgot](http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=15101). The Karen are an ethnic group that have been waging a separatist war along the border for decades. They helped the British fight the Japanese in World War II. This reminds me somewhat of the Hmong in Laos during and after the Vietnam War. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2009, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/force-feeding-myanmar/448843/180 "2009-03-01T04:35:13Z")
I started a [Burmese Overview](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=10889324#post10889324) thread over in MPSIMS, to take up from this one. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/force-feeding-myanmar/448843.md?page=8)