Are the SPDC in denial? And I’m not talking about a river in Egypt

Posted on June 29, 2008
Filed Under Burma news |

First, the SPDC (State Peace and Development Council), Burma’s ruling military junta decided Cyclone Nargis did not pose a serious threat and there was no need to warn the millions of people living in the low lying Irrawaddy Delta of the storm’s approach.

Then, they told the rest of the world that the storm damage was not that bad and they were taking care of everything.

Then they said they did not need international aid.

Then, they said they would accept aid, which they would distribute to the storm’s victims and there was no need for foreign aid workers to enter Burma and oversee the distribution.

Now, in the junta’s latest attempt to avoid the truth, the Democratic Voice of Burma’s (DVB) website reports the SPDC has removed a speech and writings by General Aung San from the country’s basic high school curriculum for this year.

General Aung San
General Aung San

General Aung San is regarded as the hero of Burma’s independence and the founder of The Union of Burma. His name has in the past been invoked by the junta in an effort to lend credibility to their government.

However, it seems the ruling generals are now trying to diminish his place in Burmese history and by doing so lessen the credibility of his daughter, pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

One Karen leader I spoke to in Mae Sot said he thought the SPDC were trying to make the younger generation less interested in politics and Aung San Suu Kyi in particular.

Also removed from the curriculum were ‘The elders and the young’ and ‘When Thabyay sprouts’, an essay and a poem written by peace architect Thakhin Kodaw Hmaing.

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