{"id":1755,"date":"2021-04-16T08:03:55","date_gmt":"2021-04-16T09:03:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/malvinartley.com\/blog.malvinartley.com\/?p=1755"},"modified":"2021-04-16T08:03:55","modified_gmt":"2021-04-16T09:03:55","slug":"update-on-myanmars-color-revolution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/malvinartley.com\/blog.malvinartley.com\/2021\/04\/16\/update-on-myanmars-color-revolution\/","title":{"rendered":"Update on Myanmar\u2019s color revolution"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino; font-size: 14pt;\">Not even two weeks after Biden\u2019s inauguration in the US, there was what was widely called a coup in Myanmar. In the first post on this blog regarding events there, I put forward the scenario that what was taking place was not your standard coup, but a \u2018readjustment\u2019 of sorts. Now there is little doubt as to what is happening in Myanmar: We are watching yet another attempt at a color revolution in that troubled land. Conspiracy? Chinese interference? Another military takeover? The Russians are behind it? Read on. But the violence taking place in Myanmar has an old familiar smell and the true colors of the belligerents are starting to show.<\/span><!--more--><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino; font-size: 14pt;\">As the Western press is pitching this story, the troubles in Myanmar which started in February this year were simply an action by a disgruntled military, seeking to keep its muscle in government and subsequently going about its usual brutal suppression of Myanmar\u2019s people. There is some truth in that. But there are other factors about which we neither recognize nor see reported.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino; font-size: 14pt;\">Protests against the military takeover of the government at the 1<sup>st<\/sup> of February this year began soon thereafter. They were relatively peaceful compared to today until March. The Western press portrays Myanmar\u2019s military as being fully supported by the Chinese and that Myanmar is under China\u2019s hegemony. In fact, a spokesman for the Tatmadaw had <span style=\"color: #993300;\"><a style=\"color: #993300;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/us-myanmar-politics-lobbyist\/lobbyist-says-myanmar-junta-wants-to-improve-relations-with-the-west-spurn-china-idUSKBN2AY0K0\">said the military wanted to distance itself from China<\/a><\/span> and move more toward the West, which would appear to put to rest the notion China was behind the military takeover. We don\u2019t know if such a statement is a ruse to try to get sanctions on the military lifted, or if the statement is factual. The motive for the military takeover remains unclear. What <em>is<\/em> clear is that the situation in Myanmar will not become clarified any time soon. A government may take shape soon, but that hardly means Myanmar\u2019s troubles would be over.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino; font-size: 14pt;\">From <span style=\"color: #993300;\"><a style=\"color: #993300;\" href=\"https:\/\/malvinartley.com\/blog.malvinartley.com\/2021\/02\/04\/the-2021-myanmar-coup\/\">the previous post on Myanmar<\/a><\/span>, there was this:<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino; font-size: 14pt;\">\u201cThe situation in Myanmar will drag on, shown by the approaching direction of the Mars\/Neptune midpoint to the nation\u2019s Ascendant, Mar\/Nep=Asc: \u201c<strong>A weak and unstable person, a lack of vigour necessary for advancement in life<\/strong>. \u2013 The\u00a0<strong>sharing of grief<\/strong>\u00a0and sorrow with others, the\u00a0<strong>termination of associations or unions<\/strong>.\u201d So, stability and internal security is very likely to deteriorate in Myanmar in the coming months.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino; font-size: 14pt;\">That directed midpoint has only just come into orb and will be exact in a year-and-a-half. With the first post on Myanmar being written only days after the military takeover, and given there is a major Belt and Road project running through Myanmar, plus the timing of events, there were suspicions that all was not as it seemed on the surface regarding the parties involved or their motive. Time has proven those suspicions correct \u2013 hence the title of this post.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino; font-size: 14pt;\">Violence has risen significantly in Myanmar since Mars went out-of-bounds in the last week of March. It will remain so for the remainder of April and the first part of May. We can expect violence to peak during that period and then to somewhat settle out. Since the violence started, over 700 Myanma have been killed on the civilian side, and 12 security forces. That is what is reported via the mainstream, anyway. But there is more to it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino; font-size: 14pt;\">The protests have been dubbed the \u2018Spring Revolution\u2019 by the local population. The Western press outlets are busy harping the usual line that China is behind the military crackdown. But that is where problems come into the narrative, that this is a simple military putsch. In fact, it is Aung San Suu Kyi and her government who had been drawing closer to China in recent months, inviting Chinese investment in Myanmar\u2019s infrastructure. They actually have little choice, given geography. That is the cover story for why Aung San Suu Kyi was arrested and ousted from government. And now liberals across the world are clamouring for her release. This is where the story gets very interesting, convoluted and with any counter-narrative being branded as conspiracy theory in one way or another.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino; font-size: 14pt;\"><span style=\"color: #993300;\"><a style=\"color: #993300;\" href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/Hr24DLS16C8\">There is a video, worth watching to the end<\/a><\/span>, that outlines what is really going on in Myanmar. It features <span style=\"color: #993300;\"><a style=\"color: #993300;\" href=\"https:\/\/landdestroyer.blogspot.com\/\">Brian Berletic<\/a><\/span>, an independent geopolitical analyst based in Thailand and ex-US Marine, who has had his finger on the pulse of events in Southeast Asia for years. The succinct synopsis of the video is that the reason the putsch on February 1<sup>st<\/sup> took place was to stop Aung San Suu Kyi\u2019s government from expanding infrastructure and trade relations with China. This has Western backing and funding. And there is one reason in particular the Western powers want to destabilize Myanmar now \u2013 because of the aforementioned already existing BRI projects in Myanmar, with China having an eye toward their expansion.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino; font-size: 14pt;\">There is a secondary reason for the violence we are seeing in Myanmar, and that is to keep the nation and the entire region destabilized in order to stop or curtail the expansion of the BRI and Chinese influence there as well as the possibility of establishing a UN military presence there. This has been an ongoing project for decades, and was one of the primary reasons for the Vietnam War, the latter outlined in the <span style=\"color: #993300;\"><a style=\"color: #993300;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.archives.gov\/research\/pentagon-papers#:~:text=The%20Pentagon%20Papers%2C%20officially%20titled,the%20press%20and%20widely%20distributed.\">Pentagon Papers<\/a><\/span>, <span style=\"color: #993300;\"><a style=\"color: #993300;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mtholyoke.edu\/acad\/intrel\/pentagon3\/doc249.htm\">specifically stated<\/a><\/span> by <span style=\"color: #993300;\"><a style=\"color: #993300;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/John_McNaughton_(government_official)\">J.T. McNaughton<\/a><\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino; font-size: 14pt;\">We won\u2019t go over all the points of what is actually taking place in Myanmar. The cited video explains it all. Our interest here is in the astrology and a look at the timeline involved. Suffice it to say, the people of Myanmar, in all their factions, are being used, as we see in Ukraine against Russia for example, to \u2018push back\u2019 against China. But China is Myanmar\u2019s huge neighbor to the north. If trade is disrupted between the two nations it is the people of Myanmar who will suffer the most.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino; font-size: 14pt;\">It is pointless to side with either the military or the protesters in the ongoing conflict in Myanmar, as they are being played against each other. And when it comes to the protesters and minority ethnic groups in Myanmar, these aren\u2019t exactly what one would call \u2018liberal\u2019 people. There are strong strains of racism and a long history of violence between them, differences which had been gamed by the British when they occupied what was then Burma as a tool to control the country. What is plain to see now is that events in Myanmar have little to do with \u2018democracy\u2019 or human rights. What does the astrology indicate, then?<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino; font-size: 14pt;\">There is one notable direction by a midpoint to Myanmar\u2019s Pluto, the latter ruling Myanmar\u2019s 12<sup>th<\/sup> house (foreign\/secret enemies of the state), Mars\/Saturn=Pluto: \u201cBrutality, <strong>the rage or fury of destruction<\/strong>. &#8211; The <strong>intervening of Higher Power<\/strong>, bodily injury or harm (<strong>murder, the death of a great many people<\/strong>).\u201d That direction will be exact in seven months, and Pluto is in the 9<sup>th<\/sup> house of the chart \u2013 foreign trade and foreign actors. That direction basically tells the story of Myanmar in the present day \u2013 foreign interference in Myanmar\u2019s affairs to the detriment of the nation, with the purpose being to disrupt trade and economic relations with another foreign power.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino; font-size: 14pt;\">There is a hierarchy of aims with events in Myanmar. The primary aim is to stop any further trade with China. Chinese businesses are being attacked and burned in Myanmar now. The Chinese are fully aware of what is taking place. China has consistently called for calm and dialog between the various factions. If that fails, then the next step in escalation would be a violent civil conflict that would render the nation unfit for any investment. That is currently in development.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino; font-size: 14pt;\">Along with the directed midpoint just described, the transits in the first part of July this year look to be particularly violent in Myanmar, with the transit Ura=Mars\/Saturn, all three also activating the aforementioned direction. This combination of factors appears to signal a collapse of the state, at least temporarily, or a foreign intervention. Such an intervention could be by Western powers or by Eastern powers (including Russia), or a combination of both. In other words, the latter would be another proxy conflict. Protesters are calling for the UN to invoke R2P \u2013 \u2018Responsibility to Protect\u2019, as was used in the Balkans and Libya, both of which resulted in failed states. There is clearly foreign influence behind both the protests and the military takeover.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino; font-size: 14pt;\">The anti-China component in the violence and general restiveness is shown in the burning of Chinese businesses, calls for \u2018burning the Chinese pipeline\u2019, the one shown <span style=\"color: #993300;\"><a style=\"color: #993300;\" href=\"https:\/\/malvinartley.com\/blog.malvinartley.com\/2021\/02\/04\/the-2021-myanmar-coup\/\">in the post on the Feb 1<sup>st<\/sup> takeover<\/a><\/span>, arming of minority groups on China\u2019s borders and Western reporting of <span style=\"color: #993300;\"><a style=\"color: #993300;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/politics\/2021\/03\/02\/rumors-are-flying-that-china-is-behind-coup-myanmar-thats-almost-certainly-wrong\/\">China\u2019s alleged support for the military<\/a><\/span>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scmp.com\/news\/china\/diplomacy\/article\/3122077\/what-does-china-say-claims-it-played-role-myanmars-military\"><span style=\"color: #993300;\">even that China had helped in the military takeove<\/span>r<\/a>. China has denied any involvement and says it has good relations with both Suu Kyi\u2019s government and the military. And to top off the anti-China element, we have the following picture, below (<span style=\"color: #993300;\"><a style=\"color: #993300;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.scmp.com\/news\/china\/diplomacy\/article\/3122077\/what-does-china-say-claims-it-played-role-myanmars-military\">bigger<\/a><\/span>):<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-1758 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/malvinartley.com\/blog.malvinartley.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/protestors_myanmar_china_signs-1024x683.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"525\" height=\"350\" srcset=\"https:\/\/malvinartley.com\/blog.malvinartley.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/protestors_myanmar_china_signs-1024x683.png 1024w, https:\/\/malvinartley.com\/blog.malvinartley.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/protestors_myanmar_china_signs-300x200.png 300w, https:\/\/malvinartley.com\/blog.malvinartley.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/protestors_myanmar_china_signs-768x512.png 768w, https:\/\/malvinartley.com\/blog.malvinartley.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/protestors_myanmar_china_signs.png 1098w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 525px) 100vw, 525px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino; font-size: 14pt;\">Unless I miss my guess, English is not the mother tongue in Myanmar. Photos like the above are staged for national and international consumption and by all appearances are produced by Western interests. The opposition groups in Myanmar want the West to intervene. That is far less likely to happen these days than would have been the case a decade ago, given the proximity to China.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino; font-size: 14pt;\">The United States <span style=\"color: #993300;\"><a style=\"color: #993300;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=lpXbA6yZY-8\">wrote the book of destabilizing nations<\/a> (<a style=\"color: #993300;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Z0xlOeZ8Dr8\">see also this video<\/a><\/span>) and color revolutions, or to be specific, one man wrote the book, which is commonly circulated around opposition groups across the world. That man was <span style=\"color: #993300;\"><a style=\"color: #993300;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-middle-east-12522848\">Gene Sharp<\/a><\/span>, <em>From Dictatorship to Democracy<\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino; font-size: 14pt;\">Myanmar is a divided society and is certainly not monolithic. There are ancient ethnic and racial hatreds that run through various groups. Those groups, mapped out, can be seen below:<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-1757 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/malvinartley.com\/blog.malvinartley.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/myanmar-ethnic-groups-map.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"525\" height=\"744\" srcset=\"https:\/\/malvinartley.com\/blog.malvinartley.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/myanmar-ethnic-groups-map.jpg 525w, https:\/\/malvinartley.com\/blog.malvinartley.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/myanmar-ethnic-groups-map-212x300.jpg 212w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 525px) 100vw, 525px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino; font-size: 14pt;\">There have been several bloody conflicts between some of the ethnic groups and the Myanmar government since 1995, as shown below, noting the economic and energy corridor runs through a few of the areas where conflict has taken place.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-1756 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/malvinartley.com\/blog.malvinartley.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/1200px-Armed_conflict_zones_in_Myanmar.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"525\" height=\"1165\" srcset=\"https:\/\/malvinartley.com\/blog.malvinartley.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/1200px-Armed_conflict_zones_in_Myanmar.png 525w, https:\/\/malvinartley.com\/blog.malvinartley.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/1200px-Armed_conflict_zones_in_Myanmar-135x300.png 135w, https:\/\/malvinartley.com\/blog.malvinartley.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/1200px-Armed_conflict_zones_in_Myanmar-461x1024.png 461w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 525px) 100vw, 525px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino; font-size: 14pt;\">Those ethnic groups comprise just over 30% of the total population, and they have been largely left out of government and have been discriminated against by the ethnic Burma, who rule the country. There is not going to be any easy solution to the present crisis. And the government has no effective media to counter the Western NGOs who are funding and pushing much of the protest, even as those same NGOs more than likely prompted the military to take action in the first place.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino; font-size: 14pt;\">Looking at the total picture, as much as can be surmised, Myanmar looks to be unsettled for some time. And if that turns out to be the case, the Western powers would be quite happy to let it go on, much as they would decry the violence, so long as it runs Chinese business out of Myanmar and at least temporarily disrupts the economic corridor, if not the pipeline, too. And sanctions against the military will only enable the disruption of Myanmar as a functioning state.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino; font-size: 14pt;\">If you want any further support in evidence that the events in Myanmar amount to a color revolution, there are now <span style=\"color: #993300;\"><a style=\"color: #993300;\" href=\"https:\/\/asia.nikkei.com\/Spotlight\/Myanmar-Coup\/Myanmar-parallel-parliament-raises-stakes-in-fight-for-ethnic-support\">mounting calls and support for a parallel parliament<\/a><\/span> and for the constitution to be rewritten. We recall Venezuela and international <span style=\"color: #993300;\"><a style=\"color: #993300;\" href=\"https:\/\/malvinartley.com\/blog.malvinartley.com\/2019\/05\/03\/venezuela-the-art-of-war-and-how-to-flimflam-your-opposition\/\">support in the West for one Juan Guaid\u00f2<\/a><\/span>, which has since fallen into disgrace. Such a new constitution would favor ethnic minorities and remove the military from its current level of say in the government. We might fully expect the Western powers to recognize such a contrived parliament should the violence see matters turn in favor of the Tatmadaw.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino; font-size: 14pt;\">On top of the parallel government we see reporting of a possible \u2018Russian connection\u2019 to the Myanmar military, with <span style=\"color: #993300;\"><a style=\"color: #993300;\" href=\"https:\/\/asia.nikkei.com\/Spotlight\/Myanmar-Coup\/Myanmar-junta-taps-Russian-air-power-to-bomb-ethnic-rebels\">reports of Russian aircraft being used to suppress ethnic violence<\/a><\/span> in support of the protests. Such reporting ignores the fact the Russians have no involvement in the Myanmar crisis. But they do support China. China for its part supports stability and has worked with both the military and Aung San Suu Kyi\u2019s government.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino; font-size: 14pt;\">The mainstream press is not giving us an accurate accounting about events in Myanmar. There is much more to this than \u2018a fight for democracy\u2019. <span style=\"color: #993300;\"><a style=\"color: #993300;\" href=\"https:\/\/asiatimes.com\/2021\/02\/myanmar-coup-surrounded-by-geopolitical-intrigue\/\">India is involved in the fracas there, too<\/a><\/span>, as a member of the Quad. The truth will be more fully known as the months unfold, but there is definitely foreign involvement and encouragement of the violence in Myanmar.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino; font-size: 12pt;\">Featured pic from <span style=\"color: #993300;\"><a style=\"color: #993300;\" href=\"https:\/\/asiatimes.com\/2021\/02\/myanmar-coup-surrounded-by-geopolitical-intrigue\/\">Asia Times<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Not even two weeks after Biden\u2019s inauguration in the US, there was what was widely called a coup in Myanmar. In the first post on this blog regarding events there, I put forward the scenario that what was taking place was not your standard coup, but a \u2018readjustment\u2019 of sorts. Now there is little doubt &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/malvinartley.com\/blog.malvinartley.com\/2021\/04\/16\/update-on-myanmars-color-revolution\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Update on Myanmar\u2019s color revolution&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1759,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[302,192],"tags":[11,26,22,362,409,433],"class_list":["post-1755","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economics","category-military","tag-astrology","tag-belt-and-road","tag-china","tag-color-revolution","tag-myanmar","tag-tatmadaw"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/malvinartley.com\/blog.malvinartley.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1755"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/malvinartley.com\/blog.malvinartley.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/malvinartley.com\/blog.malvinartley.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/malvinartley.com\/blog.malvinartley.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/malvinartley.com\/blog.malvinartley.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1755"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/malvinartley.com\/blog.malvinartley.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1755\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1760,"href":"https:\/\/malvinartley.com\/blog.malvinartley.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1755\/revisions\/1760"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/malvinartley.com\/blog.malvinartley.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1759"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/malvinartley.com\/blog.malvinartley.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1755"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/malvinartley.com\/blog.malvinartley.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1755"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/malvinartley.com\/blog.malvinartley.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1755"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}