Oh the Humanity...

In recent days, the death toll in Myanmar/Burma's unsuccessful Saffron Revolution has risen from a mere handful to thousands. The Daily Mail reports, based on interviews with the highest junta officer to have defected, that thousands of protesters and hundreds of monks have been killed
while perhaps two thousand more are being held prisoner.

Meanwhile the UN's envoy continues "seeking meetings with the ruling military junta." Ace thoughtfully explores the hand-wringing of the Left with regard to Burma in comparison to their adoration of Ahmadinejad at Columbia last week, and underlines the fact that "for the left the proper way -- the only way -- to deal with brutal murderers and tyrants is to caterwaul about it and peacock-preen their pretty feathers of righteous indignation."

Thankfully, there is also beginning to be chatter about making China pay for their unwavering support of Burma's blood-stained generals. Perhaps the most effective, and public means of doing so would be a boycott of next summer's Olympic Games in Beijing, which is now being advocated by activists.


What I find ironic is that while the death toll has continued to rise in Darfur in spite of public outrage in the West, it takes a courageous protest and the resultant bloodletting to bring Burma into focus. There has been little chatter about the fact that both the Sudanese and Myanmarese regimes are Chinese clients, that Beijing is willing to support these murderous regimes in a quid pro quo. In the case of the Sudan, this is in exchange for access to the country's natural resources; in Myanmar, for access to ports on the Indian Ocean.

I think the West, by doing little more than wringing our hands and expressing our outrage without doing anything concrete to support the pro-democracy protesters (sorry, wearing red in solidarity doesn't count) has lost some of the moral high ground we claim to hold. Yes, we lose it through inaction - through sitting idly by and allowing dictatorial regimes to butcher their people, not through intervening in dictatorial regimes to prevent such butchery. But the left will never admit that.