I'm really curious what the power dynamic is that makes it possible for this to happen, and more importantly to go on for so long. How do the military leaders keep common soldiers ideologically isolated from the population for so long? Are there ethnic or social divides in the subtext that make this possible? What story do soldiers tell themselves to justify what is going on?
Apparently recruits mostly come from isolated, rural areas. There are also ethnic divides in the sense that the army is in active conflict with several (but not all) ethnic militias.
> From the moment they enter boot camp, Tatmadaw troops are taught that they are guardians of a country — and a religion — that will crumble without them.
> “Most of the soldiers have been disconnected from the world, and for them the Tatmadaw is the only world,” he said.
> The captain on active duty said it was common for unmarried soldiers to draw lots to marry the widow of one who died in battle. The woman, he said, has little choice about who her new husband will be.
The power dynamics that makes it happen is the following:
Powerful countries like U.S., Russia, China etc. want to control countries that give them strategic advantage in a region. Myanmar happens to be one such country where all of these countries are interested.
After WW II, Burma, like most other countries, was controlled by the U.S. as they won the war. That lasted around 25 years. Then Soviet Russia took over for 15 years or so... and then Soviet Union fell apart. Then, China took over... and the U.S. has tried to take it ever since.
All the current protests are orchestrated by the U.S. to try to take over it again.
So, the U.S. is trying to take control of some other country and is causing deaths of hundreds of people to do so. The story you are telling yourself is the story fed to you by your rulers. Similarly, the soldiers there listen to their own rulers.
The army are taking down the Internet every night. Apparently they expect business as usual in the day, and maximum censorship of their mass murder. Disgusting
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[ 3.5 ms ] story [ 31.5 ms ] threadSome quotes:
> From the moment they enter boot camp, Tatmadaw troops are taught that they are guardians of a country — and a religion — that will crumble without them.
> “Most of the soldiers have been disconnected from the world, and for them the Tatmadaw is the only world,” he said.
> The captain on active duty said it was common for unmarried soldiers to draw lots to marry the widow of one who died in battle. The woman, he said, has little choice about who her new husband will be.
Powerful countries like U.S., Russia, China etc. want to control countries that give them strategic advantage in a region. Myanmar happens to be one such country where all of these countries are interested.
After WW II, Burma, like most other countries, was controlled by the U.S. as they won the war. That lasted around 25 years. Then Soviet Russia took over for 15 years or so... and then Soviet Union fell apart. Then, China took over... and the U.S. has tried to take it ever since.
All the current protests are orchestrated by the U.S. to try to take over it again.
So, the U.S. is trying to take control of some other country and is causing deaths of hundreds of people to do so. The story you are telling yourself is the story fed to you by your rulers. Similarly, the soldiers there listen to their own rulers.
I hope we keep hearing about Myanmar. Silence will mean resistance has failed.