One Day In The Life Of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi

I once read a book called "Chernobyl" by Frederick Pohl. I think it's technically fiction, but it's well-researched fiction. Anyway. In that, there is a joke. Not a very good joke, but a tired, over-told joke: "Why wouldn't a two-party system workin Poland? Because if there was an opposition, they'd be so popular it'd be a one-party system again." Poland isn't like that any more, but apprently Burma is.

I've just been to an Amnesty speaker event about Burma. You know what, it was great. Any of you reading this in Oxford, think about going along to one of these events. There's another one in two weeks, concerning the arms trade. I'm about ready to go on home, but I'll leave you with this: there was an election in Burma 16 years ago: the single biggest opposition party won 80% of the parliamentary seats. These MPs-elect are mostly under arrest now, as is the leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. The military were in power before, and are now. There have been no elections since. It's a pretty dire picture we're getting: Soviet Russia at it's worst minus the rockets, missiles, ample food and luxuries and party atmosphere.

Here's the funny bit though, funny in the same way the joke about Poland is funny- or maybe darker:

The Burman military dictatorship goes by the name of the State Peace and Development Council.

Song in my head: "Sweet Adeline" by Elliot Smith

I was going to talk about Kitchen Stories, but it seemed out of place: maybe tomorrow.