Do you remember Higgins from the old TV show Magnum PI? He was the British fellow who played the man Friday to Magnum.
One of his famous lines was…..It was during the Burma campaign, we were hopelessly outnumbered, and everyone would roll their eyes know they were going to get a long story.
Well folks, I am here to tell you the story since we are now seeing a lot in the news about a coup taking place in Burma.
So lets start with a little WWII history.
https://www.pacificatrocities.org/
| The Burma Campaign 1/8/2019 by Jessica Leung |
From January 1st, 1886 to January 4th, 1948 Burma was a territory held by the British, who seized it for its tremendous wealth. Burma was wealthy due to the Silk Trade route and its agriculture.
Burma’s precious resources such as rubies and gems, gas, oil, tin, and rubber made it a prime target for many countries seeking profitable commodities for the war effort.
The benefits of having these raw materials contributed to the economic production of other countries that helped them in creating great national wealth.
Rubber could be used to produce tires as well a resource that was extremely valuable to the war effort. Nearly all war-related efforts needed rubber. To achieve victory without rubber would have been impossible for Allied success in WWII.
For the same reason, the Japanese came to occupy Burma for the same raw materials.
It was the primary reason why the Japanese came to Burma but there were also other reasons militarily and politically.
The Burma road was used by the Allies to transport troops and supplies to the Chinese nationalists fighting against Japan.
The Japanese came to shut down that supply line. Once they achieved that the Japanese would be able to isolate the Chinese Nationalists from receiving necessary supplies to survive combat.
The Route started from Lashio and ended in the Chinese province of Yunnan. Their campaign was the most successful in Burma outside of the Chinese regions during WWII when Chiang Kai Sheik was effectively forced out of the region and ended in a Japanese victory.
There were many reasons for the victory as the British forces were weak, the Burmese were in an uprising against the Empire for independence, and the overwhelming manpower of the Japanese forces.
In addition to these factors, the British were not prepared for a Japanese invasion.
In addition to poor equipment and training, internal conflict between the allied forces caused issues between Chinese, English, and American forces.
China was a valuable member to the cause, but the British forces had their doubts about the alliance due to centuries of political struggles between the two nations.
A fear the British had was that the Burmese people would uprise against them if the example was set for Chinese troops to become successful in combat.
Americans respected the Chinese as a valuable part of the Alliance despite their poor training and being ill-equipped.
American General Joseph Stilwell reorganized their formations while outfitting them for battle when he was assigned to his post in January 1942 believing that the Chinese troops did not have proper supplies or training from their own government.
Morale was low on the Burma road when the Japanese occupation closed off all access the Chinese troops would have for supplies and back up.
To make the situation more difficult the Fall of the Burma road in 1942 caused the British to stop supplying troops to reopen the roads as the British no longer saw any reason to help the Chinese.
Despite the loss of the road Stilwell negotiated to train Chinese troops with Chiang Kai Sheik. They turned out to be a valuable source of victory for the allied forces after a 6-week retraining with American commanders.
In October 1943, the Allies steadily began the offense to recapture Burma.
Despite several attacks in an attempt to destroy the Chinese troops, the Japanese General Shizuichi Tanaka was not able to break their formations or put a dent in their morale. The outcome was an astounding victory for the Chinese battalion.
On April 7th the 1st Battalion pushed back Japanese troops in southern Burma, setting up a post to block them from entering at the Village of Setan.
By May 18th the Japanese attempted an attack on the 150th Battalion but failed and the Chinese offensive came to a halt.
By late June of 1945, the Japanese withdrew from the battle and Burma’s Railroad was open once again in allied hands. (Bridge on the River Kwai)
After the campaign ended for the Allies and NATO agreements were signed Burma became an independent country on January 4th, 1948.
The last of the Allied troops left Burma and Burma is now officially renamed Myanmar.
Now to our current situation.
By Alice Cuddy
BBC News
Myanmar hit headlines around the world on February 1, 2021, when its military seized control of the government.
The country’s leader, Aung San Suu Kyi (own san sue chee), and members of her party were detained.
So where is Myanmar?
Myanmar, also known as Burma, is in South East Asia and neighbors Thailand, Laos, Bangladesh, China and India.
It has a population of about 54 million, most of whom speak Burmese, although other languages are also spoken. The biggest city is Yangon (Rangoon) but the capital is Nay Pyi Taw (Nay Pee Daw).
The main religion is Buddhism. There are many ethnic groups in the country, including Muslims.
The country gained independence from Britain in 1948 and was ruled by its military from 1962 until 2011, when a new government began ushering in a return to civilian rule.
So why is it also known as Burma? This is confusing in the national news.
The country was called Burma for generations, after its largest ethnic group, the Burmese.
The ruling military changed its name in English to Myanmar (Mee Yen Mar) in 1989, a year after thousands of people were killed in a crackdown on a popular uprising.
The two words, Burma and Myanmar, mean the same thing but Myanmar is the more formal version.
Some, including the United Kingdom, initially refused to use the new name as a way of denying the military regime’s legitimacy.
But as the country moved towards democracy, the use of “Myanmar” became increasingly common.
The US still officially calls the country Burma. Thus, the confusion in reporting the news.
So what has happened now, and why?
The military is now back in charge and has declared a year-long state of emergency.
It seized control following a general election which President Suu Kyi’s (Sue Chee’s) National League for Democracy (NLD) party won by a landslide.
The armed forces had backed the opposition, who were demanding a rerun of the vote, claiming widespread fraud.
The election commission said there was no evidence to support these claims.
The coup was staged as a new session of parliament was set to open.
Ms Suu Kyi is thought to be under house arrest. Several charges have been filed against her, including breaching import and export laws and possession of unlawful communication devices.
Many other government officials have also been detained.
As a result, power has been handed over to commander-in-chief Min Aung Hlaing (Min Hon Lang).
He has long wielded significant political influence, successfully maintaining the power of the Myanmar military – even as the country transitioned towards democracy.
He has received international condemnation and sanctions for his alleged role in the military’s attacks on ethnic minorities especially, the Muslim population.
The military has replaced ministers and deputies, including in the areas of finance, health, the interior, and foreign affairs.
It says it will hold a “free and fair” election once the state of emergency is over.
Aung San Suu Kyi (Own Sahn Sue Chee) became world-famous in the 1990s for campaigning to restore democracy.
She spent nearly 15 years in detention between 1989 and 2010 after organizing rallies calling for democratic reform and free elections.
She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize while under house arrest in 1991.
In 2015, she led the National League for Democracy Party to victory in Myanmar’s first openly contested election in 25 years.
Ms Suu Kyi’s international reputation has suffered greatly as a result of Myanmar’s treatment of the Muslim minority.
Myanmar considers them illegal immigrants and denies them citizenship. Over decades, many have fled the country to escape persecution.
Thousands of Muslims were killed and more than 700,000 fled to Bangladesh following an army crackdown in 2017.
Ms Suu Kyi appeared before the International Court of Justice in 2019, where she denied allegations that the military had committed genocide.
Even with these allegations, the UK, EU and Australia are among those to have condemned the recent military takeover.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres said it was a “serious blow to democratic reforms”.
US President Joe Biden has threatened to reinstate sanctions.
But not everyone has reacted in this way.
China blocked a UN Security Council statement condemning the coup. Uh Oh! Here we go again with the China thing!
The country, which has previously opposed international intervention in Myanmar, urged all sides to “resolve differences”. Its Xinhua news agency in China described the changes as a “cabinet reshuffle”.
Neighbors including Cambodia, Thailand and the Philippines, have said it is an “internal matter”.
Ms Suu Kyi has urged her supporters to “protest against the coup”.
Each night since the coup, residents in the main cities have been showing their dissent by banging pots and honking car horns.
Staff at dozens of hospitals and medical centers have walked out, and many others are wearing ribbons showing they oppose the coup.
Friday saw hundreds of teachers and students take to the streets of Yangon, where they displayed the three-finger salute – a sign that has been adopted by protesters in the region to show their opposition to authoritarian rule.
Large-scale demonstration are yet to be seen though.
Many have turned online to protest against the coup. The military has temporarily banned Facebook, which is widely used across the country.
Some users have switched to other social media platforms, using them to share pro-democracy statements and criticize the country’s military.
So folks, I know I sound like a broken record, but once again, you can see what happens when a country falls apart internally.
Through it’s long history, Burma has seen tremendous conflict.
It is now facing another crisis.
The question is, will this simply remain a conflict between Burma’s government and its military, or will the entire revolution be gobbled up by the all powerful Chinese?
If we see the latter scenario, what will be the position of President Biden and the US?
To step in on behalf of the pro-democracy party of President Suu Kyi (Sue Chee) could trigger conflict with the Chinese.
Should we simply stand to the side and let the whole Burma mess play out, leaving the fate of the country in the hands of the current players, or should we come to the aid of a nation fighting for democracy?
If we stand down, what message are we sending to the rest of the world?