It is a translation of 미얀마 사태에 대한 입장

On the situation in Myanmar

Let the working class stand at the front to overthrow Myanmar’s military, a tool of capitalism and imperialism!

 

Shortly after the February 1 coup in Myanmar, the Bolshevik Group launched a study. It was confusing at first because it was an issue with insufficient basic understanding, and it took a while to collect, read, and analyze the data.

Throughout the research, we were able to understand the situation in Myanmar quite clearly, and we have recently reached a position of considerable confidence. However, it seems that it takes more than a week to submit the completed article through concrete evidence and argument.

But it’s already quite late, and at this moment, Myanmar’s working class is fighting for their lives. Therefore, we decided to submit the basic position first that is the framework of the full document which we will publish later.

 

1. The modern history of Myanmar/Burma (hereinafter referred to as Myanmar) is the history of the people’s uprising in Myanmar including ethnic minorities against the British, Japanese, and American imperialist invasions.

2. The people’s demand for “the right to self-determination of minorities, the nationalization of imperial possessions, and the redistribution of land” erupted as the pressure on Myanmar’s upper structure weakened by the imperialist rivalry war. (as in most colonies since the end of World War II, including the Korean Peninsula)

3. After World War II, U.S. imperialism, which won global hegemony, had to hold Myanmar as a capitalist region under imperialist influence. To do so, Myanmar had to 1) not be transferred to communism, 2) not be divided into various territories of minorities, and this understanding was shared with British and Japanese imperialism, which had a certain stake in the Myanmar region.

4. Imperialism and Myanmar’s indigenous exploitation class needed to subdue the “communist and minority independence movements” that threatened their interests fatally.

5. To achieve this goal, direct invasion, as before World War II, was accompanied by a considerable risk. This is because of since the end of World War II, the explosion of anti-imperialist national liberation struggles in colonial areas around the world, the expansion of so-called “real socialism countries” such as North Korea, Eastern Europe, China, Cuba, and Vietnam, and war fatigue from imperialist war.

6. For the global capitalist system with imperialism on its peak, it is the best choice to achieve its purpose by supporting local indigenous forces.

7. For that reason, Myanmar’s military has been formed and has played a role in the actions of imperialist finance capital.

8. The existence of communist forces and minorities, who are unyielding and resistant despite brutal oppression, has strengthened the utility of Myanmar’s military.

9. Shortly after the end of the war, Myanmar’s military was rooted in the struggle for the liberation from the British/Japanese imperialists. Thus, in the early days of the formation of the army, Myanmar’s military had a mixed political spectrum, ranging from the right nationalist to the communists. However, after the end of the war, pressure from imperialism and capitalism prompted class and ideological differentiation between Myanmar’s military and political forces. Throughout the violent taming of imperialism, the stubborn left-wing and nationalist tendencies were eliminated. The removed part became an anti-government armed struggle forces along with ethnic minority rebels. The remainder became local agents of the imperialist interests. (cf. The formation of South Korean troops and the Yeosu Rebellion incident immediately after the liberation)

10. Although an agent, Myanmar’s military also has a certain say in its owners due to strong resistance from the local communist and ethnic minority movements. It is a kind of the right-wing Bonapartist regime in a capitalist country on the verge of a tight balance between forces. To paraphrase, the hounds are not boiled as long as the prey exist. The more fierce the hunted is, the more triumphant the hunting dog is.

11. In the early days of the war, almost all of Myanmar’s political forces were rooted in anti-imperialist movements, consistent with the interests of the people. Therefore, it was politically disadvantageous to go against the demand for “land distribution, nationalization of means of production and socialism.” The “socialist” rhetoric was needed to deceive the working people who experienced the communist during the civil war. This is the “Burma Socialism,” which was advocated by the Newin military regime after the 1962 coup.

12. The rhetoric of “socialism and nationalization” was not for the welfare of the people of Myanmar but for the welfare of the bloated Myanmar military. Myanmar’s military maintains up to 40 percent of its state-owned assets, enjoying substantial wealth, accumulating wealth and maintaining a heavy military. The Myanmar military, like the mafia, is a deformed form of the being transformed of the violent tools to a capitalist group.

13. The previous regime of U Nu before the 1962 coup and Myanmar’s Aung San Suu kyi since a popular uprising in 1988 are similar to the Korean Democratic party just after World War II, the Democratic regime before the 1961 coup, Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun. It is just another card to deceive and bind the people of Myanmar within the capitalist framework, paired with the very unpopular Myanmar military for its brutal violence and blatant anti-ethnic behavior.

14. When this so-called “democratic force” is an serious breach to the interest of the Myanmar military or the obstacle to the “active suppression of communist and minority resistance,” which is the goal of the military and imperialists, the military has staged a coup. The same is true of the February coup.

15. The Communist Party of China is a representative for the Stalinist bureaucracy. It has long forgotten the unity of workers of the world and the global victory of communism. The Communist Party of China’s policy toward Myanmar is a short-sighted pragmatism. The interests of the world’s working class or communist causes are put on the back burner, and policies are determined according to their own interests. They have been reluctant to support Myanmar’s Communist Party, which lost its power and fled to the Chinese border. On the other hand, whoever it is, they would like to be as close as possible with the chief of the Myanmar government.

The Demands of the Working Class of the Myanmar and World

―Overthrow Myanmar’s military, a tool of capitalism and imperialism!

―Take the lead in a general strike and armed struggle!

―Win political rights such as rally, expression, thought, freedom of association!

―Release all imprisoned political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi!

―Destroy political fantasies about so-called democratic forces, such as Aung San Suu Kyi, which is just another card of Myanmar’s tyranny!

―Win communism and minority political freedom!

―Support the independence of the minority!

―Only the establishment of worker’s power can break the imperialist chain. Long live the socialist revolution!

―Build a revolutionary party based on Lenin and Trotsky’s program of the Permanent Revolution!

 

10 March 2021

Bolshevik EA