WHITE ELEPHANT WAR PITS THAILAND AGAINST MYANMAR (PART 5)
A Buddhist monk protests against a decision by a Thai court, Yangon, Myanmar, 4 March 2017 (AP Photo/Thein Zaw)
Part 5
White Elephants Bring “Peace, Stability, Prosperity”… and War
Note from the Author
As we follow up our fourth installment with a final chapter, I invite you to try this at home.
Expand your world. Go beyond a slavish obligation to “tell the truth” and “get your facts right.”
Emulate a politician. Lie.
But unlike a politician, as you gather by the campfire, tell whoppers that illustrate elusive truths.
Fabulate. Imaginate. Explore enhanced reality.
By Paul Sochaczewski
White elephants have long played a jumbo-sized role in Burma’s geopolitical ambitions.
As the late U Toke Gale, Myanmar’s leading elephant expert, explained: “The white elephant has always been a symbol of Buddhism, of prestige, prosperity and political power, and has, at the same time, been for centuries one of the chief causes of invasions and plunder among some countries of the East.”
When the most recent of Myanmar’s white elephants was captured in Rakhine province and put on exhibit at the Naw Pyi Taw sanctuary, the official New Light of Myanmar newspaper predicted that the abundance of white elephants in the country heralded a new era of prosperity.
“Throughout history, white elephants emerged during the time of Myanmar kings and governments who ruled the nation discharging the 10 kingly duties,” the government newspaper reported.
“It is said that the white elephant brings peace, stability and prosperity … a good omen when the State is endeavoring to build a peaceful, modern and developed nation.”
***
As I write this, Thai authorities have cordoned off the dozens of refugee camps along the Thailand-Myanmar border that house thousands of ethnic Karen and Karenni people fleeing Myanmar.
The move parallels the incarceration by paranoid U.S. officials of Japanese-Americans during World War Two to prevent them from forming a sixth column of Japanese sympathizers.
The Thai Navy has seized Myanmar fishing vessels allegedly plying Thailand waters and have torpedoed several Myanmar naval vessels for similar “incursions.” They have placed hundreds of thousands of Myanmar laborers under strict controls and enforced stringent “lèse-majesté” laws.
The Burmese, who like the Thais rely on American-supplied weapons, have shelled Thai military bases near the Thailand border towns of Trat, Ranong, Mae Sot and Mae Hong Son. They have cancelled flights from Thailand to Myanmar and refused to recognize the ASEAN right of passage that previously allowed Thais to enter Myanmar without a visa.
The United Nations secretary-general has called for “calm and peaceful negotiations.” He has been quoted as saying, sotto voce and off the record: “Those guys are fighting over a bunch of big pale mammals. What nonsense.”
Undeterred, the Burmese and Thais have called for “white elephant justice.” Both sides have vowed to escalate their military activities until “white elephant superiority” is achieved.
***
(Read the previous chapters of this story under our “Discovery” rubric.)
www.fotavgeia.blogspot.com
A Buddhist monk protests against a decision by a Thai court, Yangon, Myanmar, 4 March 2017 (AP Photo/Thein Zaw)
Part 5
White Elephants Bring “Peace, Stability, Prosperity”… and War
Note from the Author
As we follow up our fourth installment with a final chapter, I invite you to try this at home.
Expand your world. Go beyond a slavish obligation to “tell the truth” and “get your facts right.”
Emulate a politician. Lie.
But unlike a politician, as you gather by the campfire, tell whoppers that illustrate elusive truths.
Fabulate. Imaginate. Explore enhanced reality.
By Paul Sochaczewski
White elephants have long played a jumbo-sized role in Burma’s geopolitical ambitions.
As the late U Toke Gale, Myanmar’s leading elephant expert, explained: “The white elephant has always been a symbol of Buddhism, of prestige, prosperity and political power, and has, at the same time, been for centuries one of the chief causes of invasions and plunder among some countries of the East.”
When the most recent of Myanmar’s white elephants was captured in Rakhine province and put on exhibit at the Naw Pyi Taw sanctuary, the official New Light of Myanmar newspaper predicted that the abundance of white elephants in the country heralded a new era of prosperity.
“Throughout history, white elephants emerged during the time of Myanmar kings and governments who ruled the nation discharging the 10 kingly duties,” the government newspaper reported.
“It is said that the white elephant brings peace, stability and prosperity … a good omen when the State is endeavoring to build a peaceful, modern and developed nation.”
***
As I write this, Thai authorities have cordoned off the dozens of refugee camps along the Thailand-Myanmar border that house thousands of ethnic Karen and Karenni people fleeing Myanmar.
The move parallels the incarceration by paranoid U.S. officials of Japanese-Americans during World War Two to prevent them from forming a sixth column of Japanese sympathizers.
The Thai Navy has seized Myanmar fishing vessels allegedly plying Thailand waters and have torpedoed several Myanmar naval vessels for similar “incursions.” They have placed hundreds of thousands of Myanmar laborers under strict controls and enforced stringent “lèse-majesté” laws.
The Burmese, who like the Thais rely on American-supplied weapons, have shelled Thai military bases near the Thailand border towns of Trat, Ranong, Mae Sot and Mae Hong Son. They have cancelled flights from Thailand to Myanmar and refused to recognize the ASEAN right of passage that previously allowed Thais to enter Myanmar without a visa.
The United Nations secretary-general has called for “calm and peaceful negotiations.” He has been quoted as saying, sotto voce and off the record: “Those guys are fighting over a bunch of big pale mammals. What nonsense.”
Undeterred, the Burmese and Thais have called for “white elephant justice.” Both sides have vowed to escalate their military activities until “white elephant superiority” is achieved.
***
(Read the previous chapters of this story under our “Discovery” rubric.)
www.fotavgeia.blogspot.com
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