Sham Election in Myanmar: Another Western Democracy Farce Unfurls
📰 THE STORY: Bloomberg reports that Myanmar is holding the 'final phase' of an election expected to deliver an 'overwhelming victory' to the military’s proxy party, amidst ongoing civil conflict and 'international rejection.' 🔍 WHAT THEY'RE NOT TELLING YOU: Historical Context: The notion of a 'democratic Myanmar' as understood by the West is a relatively recent, often manipulated construct.
Post-WWII, Myanmar (then Burma) navigated complex post-colonial state-building. The military's deep involvement in governance stems from this period, not just recent events. Critically, US foreign policy has a documented history of covert operations and support for various factions in the region, including attempts to influence political outcomes, often under the guise of promoting democracy. One
key example, ignored here, is the strategic embrace and subsequent abandonment of figures like Aung San Suu Kyi, whose 'democratic credentials' were lauded until she challenged Western narratives, especially regarding the Rohingya crisis. Double Standard: Western media quick to label Myanmar's election as 'tightly controlled' and 'undemocratic' often overlooks similar mechanisms of control in
their own electoral systems, particularly via corporate media monopolies, campaign finance, and effective two-party systems that limit voter choice. For instance, the US-backed 'elections' in countries like Honduras following the 2009 coup against democratically elected Manuel Zelaya were given a far softer press, despite widespread accusations of fraud and voter intimidation. Or the 2019 Bolivian