The military coup that took place in Myanmar on February 1, 2021 irritated both the U.S imperialism and the European one. President Joe Biden warned of re-imposing sanctions on the country, while the European Commission condemned the coup. The Chinese capitalist regime responded with composure announcing that “China hopes that the “friend” parties in Myanmar will reach a solution to their differences in accordance with the constitution”.
By Tamer Khorma
International trade in south Asia, based on the neoliberal policies backed by the U.S. Democratic Party was the main concern of the Yankees as well as their partners in the E.U. Some analysis claim that it will be affected except for China, which is considered by many as an economic war opponent of the U.S. imperialism.
Few days later, Biden approved an executive order to impose sanctions on the leaders of the military coup in Myanmar. However, Min Aung Hlaing, the coup leader, assured that foreign policy of the country will remain without any changes, and shall continue encouraging foreign investments, as a direct reassuring message for world imperialism.
Hlaings’ announcement reflects the fact that the military bureaucracy have no intentions to affect foreign investments of the country. Moreover, the multi international enterprises functioning in China may ally with any social class that could guarantee the flow of their production.
Yet, for the western imperialism it is essential to associate the economic policy of the country with the so called “democratic rights”, as a whole package of the desired policy imposed on almost the entire globe. The bureaucracy has very little chance of being considered as acceptable actors, especially in south Asia, which could be dominated by China.
This fact could be considered as a main reason behind Hlaings’ announcement when he declared that the army will hand over the power when “fair and free” elections are held. Yet, the coup leader background (regarding to the brutal Rohingya massacres) is a serious obstacle that could prevent him from being taken seriously as a partner in the eyes of the western capital, which always seeks stability and “human rights” decorations.
For this particle reason, the military is aiming to reuse a puppet political party (such as Union, Solidarity and Development party), under the pretext of electoral fraud, in order to delegitimize the National League for Democracy that won the last elections of the country, and whose leaders were arrested by the coup generals.
The military bureaucracy (who had had absolute authority since the independence of the country in 1948 until 2011), couldn’t accept, apparently, sharing power with the new liberal actors represented by the NLD. Therefore, they had carried out the coup before the first session of the parliament was held, with fears of amending the constitution, which may threaten the power of the army, despite the fact that they control 25% of the parliament members.
For the masses of Myanmar the concentration of power in the hands of the army is simply a nightmare, especially that the coup leader is considered as a main obstacle of healthcare and education developments. Therefore, protests took place in the country with tens of thousands participants motivated by the goal of maintaining the acquired democratic rights.
However, a compromise may be achieved with the “international partners” if the army accept less than the absolute power. But this is unlikely to be achieved in the near future. This situation make China the only possible ally for the coup leaders, unless they succeed in managing a balance, in which they can practice power behind a so-called “democratic” political party.
Are the Military Bureaucracy Partners of the Western Imperialism?
