"It is not power that corrupts but fear. Fear of losing power corrupts those who wield it and fear of the scourge of power corrupts those who are subject to it."
Aung San Suu Kyi started her "Freedom from Fear" speech with these words. Her party won the Myanmar (formerly Burma) general elections in 1990, however the ruling military junta annulled the elections. Aung San has been under house arrest since 1989 in her quest to bring democracy to her country (reminiscent of Mahatma Gandhi's and Nelson Mandela's struggles), however the world has turned their back on her and her non-oil rich country (hence not fit for democracy).
Thailand - the military staged a coup when the Prime Minister attended the UN General Assembly in New York. This isn't Thailand's first coup and it remains to be seen if Aung San's words come true.
Pakistan - President General Pervez Musharraf is on a state sponsored official tour of the United States cum book promotion tour. Its nice that the general gets to go on the Daily Show with John Stewart with the state sponsoring the expenses. Aung San's words have come true in this case as the General was supposed to call general elections three years after seizing power, maybe the millions earned in book sales would ensure a healthy retirement fund.
1 comment:
Enjoying your blog, much more serious than mine, I'll keep stopping by.
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