I don't usually make time for blogging in the middle of the day but this is so important, here goes. There's a huge on-line petition to try to get the Chinese government to exercise whatever influence they have over the Burmese dictators to stop the violent oppression and exploitation of that country and its people. The petition reads:
To Chinese President Hu Jintao and the UN Security Council:
We stand alongside the citizens of Burma in their peaceful protests. We urge you to oppose a violent crackdown on the demonstrators, and to support genuine reconciliation and democracy in Burma. We pledge to hold you accountable for any further bloodshed.
You can read more and sign by going to the link above so please, please go there and read it even if you don't feel for some reason you should sign. At least make it an informed decision.
Thank you.
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2 comments:
The Chinese government may not be the nicest in the world but the phrase 'We pledge to hold you accountable for any further bloodshed' makes this petition utterly pointless.
This is not the way to speak to a major global power with more than one fifth of the world's population if you want their support.
Why people think that the Chinese Government will intervene to stop the brutality in Burma is beyond me.
Facts:
They sat on their hands while attrocities were committed in Darfur.
They opposed intervention in Kosovo when Milosevic was unleashing the Serbian army against Kosovar civilians.
They have propped up Mugabe in Zimbabwe.
They don't exactly have a great record in their own backyard. To be frank, given that Hu congratulated the response of Li Peng and others in Tiananmen in 1989 he would look a bit of a hypocrite to start condemning the Miltary Junta in Burma.
I think it is time to face facts. The Chinese Government is not the solution to the situation in Burma, it is part of the problem.
It is the UN that needs to determine when it is going to intervene and how. The Chinese Government is likely to oppose any multilateral intervention in Burma to protect civilians.
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