ICSS 20210328 What is Going on in Myanmar – KJ

 

Sun, Mar 28, 2021: 10:30 am to 12:30 pm

Pacific What’s going on in Myanmar? On Feb 1st, 2021, the Myanmar military (Tatmadaw) instituted a coup of the civilian government on the eve of the seating of the newly elected parliament,. Since then, the situation has resulted in mass protest while devolving into bloodshed.

Journalist K.J.Noh will join us to discuss the history, geopolitics, and political economy of Myanmar to better understand the situation, what forces–historical, political, material– are at play and what is at stake in this critical moment. K.J. Noh, is a scholar, educator and activist journalist focusing on the geopolitics of the Asia-pacific. He writes for Dissident Voice, Black Agenda Report, Counterpunch, Popular Resistance, Asia Times, and is senior correspondent for KPFA Flashpoints. He also does commentary and analysis on the shows: By Any Means Necessary, Fault Lines, Critical Hour, Political Misfits, Loud & Clear. He is a contributor the banned book “Capitalism on a Ventilator”, now available on Kobo.

Resources:

Text Chat:

01:08:09 Richard Fallenbaum: We need funds for operating expenses and to support the Marxist Library, our physical home. Please send contributions to our treasurer either online via Paypal or by check: PayPal: ICSSSunday@yahoo.com Richard Fallenbaum Checks: Pay to: Richard Fallenbaum Send to: Richard Fallenbaum 1225 Neilson Street Berkeley, California  94706-2435
01:35:56 K.J.: https://teacircleoxford.com
01:37:31 John Walsh’s iPad (2): My mike is not working. What is the impact of this on the limb of the BRI that runs through Myanmar and provides a key outlet to the Indian Ocean – in short term and long term?
01:39:09 John Walsh’s iPad (2): Second question. What should our posture be other than a basic anti-interventionism? (Related: What are the US organizations like NED etc up to now?)
01:43:02 Yusuf Gürsey: Also Cyprus, N Ireland
01:43:34 Yusuf Gürsey: Quebeq
01:49:49 Richard W: The NED seems to focus on youth as agents of US foreign policy – is this true in M as well?
01:52:15 Richard W: I think the NED has stepped back as far as taking credit for their activites. If I recall, last time I was on they’d taken down their country by country bragging.
01:56:35 Richard W: I was wrong: here’s NED Burma 2020: BURMA 2020 – NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR DEMOCRACY
01:57:22 Richard W: https://www.ned.org/region/asia/burma-2020/
02:02:36 Richard W: Taiwan also is conspicuously absent from US foreign policy declarations re: china. In particular, the US continues to send military aid to Taiwan.
02:12:01 John Walsh’s iPad (2): Comment: Kiji makes the point that the coup was not in China’s interest since it had the agreements with the NLD. So the idea that China was behind it does not make sense. BUT that also suggests that the coup is in the interest of the US – causing chaos to disrupt the BRI and also to put a chaotic region on China’s border. That in turn raises the question whether the US is behind the coup – with US declarations of favoring democracy being a cover for what it is doing? Too cynical? As Lily Thomlin said, “No matter how cynical I get, I just cannot keep up.”
02:15:52 Richard W: But the first casualty there would almost certainly be Taiwan.
02:17:44 Keith: If the US started a war with China, how would Russia respond?
02:17:53 John Walsh’s iPad (2): Comment: Not only was this presentation extraordinary in terms of the detail, overall view of Myanmar and history going back to the British Empire; it is also opened up a series of questions and views about the world situation, geostrategic considerations that are all too often lacking in the shriveled view of the world in US opinion and discussion that we see from the MSM all the way to Democracy Now.
02:19:14 Gulden : I agree that this presentation is extraordinary
02:20:15 Richard W: I was reading the other day, that on the ground strategy has changed as well. In Xinjiang province the. US wants to insert small groups of decentralized“special forces” to keep Chinese troops busy in the hinterlands. Trying to find the URL
02:21:36 Keith: Agreed. This is an excellent presentation. I would like a copy of the recording.
02:21:40 K.J.: Good scholar on Ethnic Minorities in Myanmar:David Brenner who coined the term  “ceasefire capitalism”