Revelations In The Absurd

by Christopher Smith

Friday, 21 March 2008 00:00

The recent comments of Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej on Burma have been the source of much amusement and ridicule, as should be expected given the absurd nature of his comments. Yet, focusing on the absurdity blinds us to reality. One school of thought on the Prime Minister's remarks, including such gems as referring to Than Shwe as a good Buddhist and stating that peace and order reign supreme in Burma, might be to consider Samak a highly complex and cunning politician. Abraham Lincoln once quipped that "Tact is the ability to describe others as they see themselves." Thus, albeit highly unlikely, maybe the Prime Minister was merely demonstrating remarkable diplomatic tact to gain the upper hand in dealing with Burma's generals – who undoubtedly like to think of themselves as devout Buddhists ensuring a peaceful and orderly Burma. More likely, given ASEAN Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan stern rebuke to Samak that the Burmese political situation requires "in-depth understanding and respect for its sensitivity," Thailand's Head of State was simply expressing the truth with regard to Thai policy vis-à-vis Burma. It is easy to point out the Prime Minister's gross denial of the ground reality inside Burma, but such a focus entirely misses the substantive issue. Samak, cognizant of the Burmese situation, depicted Burma and its generals as he did because such claims best coalesce with the perceived interests of Thailand. It is not that Samak missed the point when speaking of Burma or is oblivious to the other side of the coin, in reference to his remark on their being two sides to every coin, but that Thailand has flipped the coin, and Burma's generals have won. Representing the perceived interests of his government, Samak was right on point. Whether one agrees with the position of the current Thai government and their assessment of the country's interests is whole other question entirely. As American author Garrison Keillor remarked, "I believe in looking reality straight in the eye and denying it." Samak's retorts are not evidence of being blind to the reality of Burma but rather indicative of a purposeful, political and economic decision to choose to ignore reality. His remarks are in fact a revealing look at the actual position of Thailand. And just as absurd as his comments were, belief in the prospect of Thailand playing a leading and constructive role in addressing Burma's ills is also indulging in the denial of reality. While Burma's junta most assuredly did not take kindly to U.N. Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Burma Paolo Sergio Pinheiro's revelation that belief in the junta's democratic reforms is synonymous with certitude in the likes of trolls and gnomes, the junta had other reasons to renege on its reported previous approval of a visa for the Special Rapporteur. In the debate following Pinheiro's presentation on the situation in Burma to the U.N. Human Rights Council last week, Burma's generals could take great comfort in the subtle, but distinct, support for their exclusive and unilateral imposition of a road-map to democracy. And those who spoke of the need for a special understanding of Burma's position and recognition of the steps taken by the junta to deliver democracy to the country were not merely the usual scapegoats of China and Russia, but also included fellow ASEAN countries such as Indonesia. For the Thai government the problem was not with what Samak stated, but rather how the views were expressed. What he should have done, diplomatically, was to speak in words similar to those of representatives in Geneva present for the debate on Pinheiro's presentation. Samak would have been wise to toe the familiar rejoinder of numerous governments to the dilemma, stating Thailand's desire to see democracy and national reconciliation in Burma while also making the point that it is important to appreciate the unique problems confronting the state and correspondingly assess them in their proper context. The fear of course, to paraphrase Voltaire, is that belief in the absurd will only pave the way for future atrocities. And this is a distinct possibility; one that it would be hoped Thailand and Prime Minister Samak would wish to see avoided. It is beyond doubt that in his remarks Samak demonstrated a considerable lack of political acumen, but by refusing to acknowledge reality in the way he did, he succeeded in more openly exposing the world to another reality, that of Thailand's official position toward Burma and its military clique. < Prev   Next >