=====
Zomi says:
SPDC has been doing things for show. That began with General Ne Win, who
was
the granddaddy of the present generals.
Highlights:
State television has shown footage of top generals handing out relief
supplies at Buddhist temples or climbing into helicopters, and soldiers
hacking away at fallen trees with axes and hand saws.
But many in the country of 53 million people are likely to see such images
as pure propaganda and are unlikely to be convinced, said political
analyst
Aung Naing Oo, who fled to Thailand after a brutally crushed 1988
uprising.
"They often want to show the people that they have enough in the country
to
handle any disaster. This is the message they always send out -- we don't
need help," he told Reuters in Bangkok.
"But the myth they have projected about being well prepared has been
totally
blown away," he said. "This could have a tremendous political impact in
the
long term."
=====
Cyclone exposes myth of "strong" Myanmar military
Tue May 6, 2008 1:39am EDT
By Aung Hla Tun
YANGON (Reuters) - For decades, Myanmar's ruling generals have defended
the
military's iron grip on power as vital to keeping the former Burma intact
and on the road to prosperity. This week's devastating cyclone, which has
killed at least 15,000 people in the Irrawaddy delta, has exposed the
fragility of that myth with potentially major long-term implications for
the
junta, analysts say.
Many survivors of Cyclone Nargis's 190 km (120 miles) per hour winds
criticized the army for a sluggish response, especially when compared with
its willingness to flood the streets of Yangon with troops to crush last
September's monk-led protests.
"The regime has lost a golden opportunity to send the soldiers as soon as
the storm stopped to win the heart and soul of people," one retired civil
servant told Reuters.
"But where are the soldiers and police? They were very quick and
aggressive
when there were protests in the streets last year," he said.
Even though the junta appears to have overcome its deep distrust of the
outside world in saying it welcomed foreign assistance, many residents of
the city of 5 million are reluctant to believe it.
"They can't handle it on their own but I'm afraid they are too proud to
accept assistance from the international community," one resident of
Yangon
told Reuters.
"Priority should be given to relief and resettlement, but I'm afraid the
present situation is very bad."
In its coverage of the most devastating cyclone to hit Asia since 143,000
people were killed in Bangladesh in 1991, official media has given
prominence to the military response.
State television has shown footage of top generals handing out relief
supplies at Buddhist temples or climbing into helicopters, and soldiers
hacking away at fallen trees with axes and hand saws.
But many in the country of 53 million people are likely to see such images
as pure propaganda and are unlikely to be convinced, said political
analyst
Aung Naing Oo, who fled to Thailand after a brutally crushed 1988
uprising.
"They often want to show the people that they have enough in the country
to
handle any disaster. This is the message they always send out -- we don't
need help," he told Reuters in Bangkok.
"But the myth they have projected about being well prepared has been
totally
blown away," he said. "This could have a tremendous political impact in
the
long term."
(Writing by Ed Cropley; Editing by Darren Schuettler and Alex Richardson)
http://www.reuters.com:80/article/topNews/idUSBKK17479720080506
|
