Why should the Philippines join the international community to condemn the coup d’etat that ousted the “democratic” government of Myanmar and established military rule there? Leading the condemnation, after all, is none other than the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) which, need we remind ourselves, itself has been unfair in its treatment of the government of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte.
Back in 2019, the UNHRC approved a resolution directing UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet to prepare a “comprehensive written report on the situation of human rights in the Philippines” within a year. This was nothing short of an insult to Filipino voters. The fact is, the Philippines remains a fully-functional democracy with a completely free (even rambunctious) press, fully independent co-equal branches of government that keep one another in check, and a dynamic free market economy. Seeing the way the UNHRC seems to arbitrarily judge how democratic — or undemocratic — a state is and get it wrong half the time highlights the presumptuosness in the manner with which it invites the international community to intervene in the internal affairs of a sovereign state.
More importantly, it is evident that this whole Myanmar thing is, yet again, being used by the Philippine Opposition as another opportunity to undermine the government of their own country. Unfortunately for them, the way they go about it only further reveals their camp’s profound intellectual dishonesty. Case in point is this tweet issued by Inquirer columnist Gideon Lasco.
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That depends on what you mean by “we”, Mr Lasco. If by “we” you mean your lot, perhaps you should look no further than one of the leading politicians in your camp, the convicted putschist and former “senator” Antonio Trillanes, for a reality check. Trillanes remains a revered “thought leader” of the Philippine Opposition despite having led a mutiny in the mid 2000s that sought to do exactly what the Myanmar Army had succeeded at today. Trillanes was one of a number of Filipino ex-military personnel who mounted a rebellion against the government of then President Gloria Arroyo in 2003 and again in 2006. When Benigno Simeon ‘BS’ Aquino III came to power in 2010, he issued Proclamation 50 granting amnesty to Trillanes allowing him to escape accountability for these crimes.
‘Senator’ Antonio Trillanes IV led a rebellion against the Republic in 2007 that could have resulted in thousands of civilian deaths.
What exactly does Lasco mean when he asserts that the indifference with which the Philippine Government would regard the events transpiring in Myanmar is “not who we are”?
Convicted mutineer and former ‘senator’ Antonio Trillanes and his legal team led by Opposition leader former Solicitor General Florin Hilbay
For that matter, what’s the big deal to begin with? The Philippines lacks any capability to project diplomatic, political, cultural, or military power beyond its shores. For all the shrill posturing of Opposition “thought” leaders like Gideon Lasco, there really is not much Filipinos can influence in Myanmar no matter how much he and his pals “stand in solidarity” with Myanmarians (is that what you call them?) protesting the demise of their “democracy”. There is much the Opposition need to focus on that is far more important than stuff happening in a little Indochinese country. Winning the 2022 elections comes to mind. Does the average Filipino voter really give a shit about Myanmar? The answer to that question may be the wake-up call the Philippine Opposition badly need to get their priorities right.
benign0 is the Webmaster of GetRealPhilippines.com.
Predictable. Utterly predictable.
I look forward to the volumetric apologia when word of another mass carnage leaks to the wider world from Myanmar. Actually, I don’t — one would expect the author to at least not want Duts to wash his hands off something he can at least rail against — he’s very good at verbally attacking people — but it seems that leadership means killing people, as always.
Is it just me, or am I unable to find any semblance of a counterargument in the above comment? Oh its you, Pallacertus. That explains it.
When you’re this dedicated to be Mary Mary so contrary, the obvious — hell, the expected, A going on to B and on towards Z — suddenly seems so revolutionary, or at least needing pages of explanations, doesn’t it?
And yet this is where you and (and Amir and zaxx: so far, so bad) have gone, in your zeal to stick anything to your (or Duts’, who the hell knows — you guys seem to be enjoying yourselves thoroughly these past few years, from what little I’ve seen of this site since 2016) perceived enemies: from denying the past and present mass-murdering capability of the Burmese military; the outright coddling of that very same group of bloodthirsty powermongering thugs, these same thugs who were in power for five decades and did nothing with that power but lay waste to its people and its wealth; and of course approval of one of the few other democracies within the ASEAN using the limited diplomatic power it does have in its disposal not to condemn but to condone the military takeover.
Again: utterly predictable. Deny the obvious, uphold the inane, so it goes with you eagerly contrary lot.
Limited diplomatic power!!! Yup, you got that one right.
The bedridden Palliative Care patient told the Hospice Director: better relieve me of my pain OR ELSE…
Latter snaps back: Or else WHAT ?…
Can you just imagine what the diplomatic reply will be if we have the Philippines threatening and demanding those junta generals to bring democracy back to Myanmar?
Hurt people hurt people… it’s a fact of life on this planet. If you happen to belong to the hopelessly helpless lot in the ASEAN bucket, either suck it up or get your one-way ticket to Mars on Elon’s Space program.
Sorry Mr Pallacertus. I still don’t see any part in your above comment that addresses the key points of the article. Keep trying though. Given enough time, a chimp banging on a keyboard is bound to come up with War and Peace.
Take it from me, I’d rather bang on straight-up gibberish than apologia that gets worse and worse with time.
Yep, utterly predictable alright.
The holier-than-thou, we-know-better-than-everyone-else squad has bared its judgmental whiny tantrums YET AGAIN!!!
Leave people outside the Western/liberal/”democratic” sphere of influence alone to settle their problems. Don’t meddle or unnaturally steer the process. How hard is that to understand?
Still butthurt from Duterte still being around, I see. Well, at least the guys you support successfully blocked Trump – maybe because he makes you guys SHRINK. Hahaha.
you can mask your realpolitik as “nuance” all you like but if you had any moral courage right is right and wrong is wrong. and a constitutional republic’s army arresting elected officials and taking power for itself is wrong. also genocide of rohingya is wrong.
In fact it is our position that is holier than thou and we know better because against the entire world we are siding with bolivia, venezuela, and totalitarian china.
Pop quiz: What name is the portmanteau of “appalling assertions”? Just pulling your leg Pal.
Whatever mass carnage you’re thinking would, could, will or might happen only resides in the realm of your hyperactive imagination – just like the grand delusion Trilliling had of a “thrilling coup”, which in reality was just a super-dud that succeeded only to indelibly immortalize his name on the lofty walls of the hall of heroic infamy.
I didn’t know “Planning to lose” was taught in the PMA. The Myanmar junta chief is simply out of his league.
Flash forward ten months, and oh look! My apparently hyperactive imagination pales compared to the atrocities the Tatmadaw are now dead set on inflicting on the people they’re supposed to serve!