October 01, 2007 ... The golden apple.

On Mount Olympus the Gods were enjoying a festive party but had not invited the goddess of discord, Eris. Disgruntled at this slight, Eris had Hephaestus the blacksmith, fashion a golden apple on which was written: ‘To the fairest.’ Then, opening the door a crack, she rolled the golden apple into the festive hall. Without delay, the gods were fighting over who should have it.

As the liberation from tyranny of the world’s newest democracies has clearly demonstrated, simply shoehorning a central government into a country with almost no concept of property rights and whose society is founded on kinship, clan loyalty and tribalism is the best way to promote deadly civil conflicts in order to determine which clan or tribe will become top dog. And there will also be a huge surge of refugees into neighbouring countries.

Whilst Burma’s Junta is an abysmal abomination, simply overthrowing it and expecting the diversity of Burmese society to adhere to a peaceful coexistence within a central government is dangerous thinking. At best it may result in job opportunities for international aid agencies and peace negotiators, but it will absolutely not help Burma beyond a brief honeymoon period, possibly presided over by Aung San Su Khi, whose leadership is uncertain beyond international celebrity status.

Nevertheless, it would probably be most beneficial to begin degrading the Junta’s support by undermining its ability to pay its army, since it is primarily with the army’s support and consent that the Junta can maintain its rule.

China is unlikely to be of any use to motivate Burma’s Junta towards a path of better behaviour, after all, the Chinese administration is busy intimidating and killing its own peasant farmers in order to speed up economic development and clear land for the 2008 Olympic Games. Thus, Burma should be listed as an Enemy State to cut off its access to money. The Junta should be issued with international arrest warrants as per Liberia’s President Charles Taylor, for example. Criminal elements known to Europol and other law enforcement agencies acting as a means of raising and supplying money, should be arrested and detained. And the extended families of the Burmese leadership should be denied sanctuary in countries beyond Burma's borders in their attempts to evade the fallout from the leadership's actions: Singapore and Dubai being favourite destinations.

This action would rapidly motivate the Junta into thinking about how to run Burma in a better fashion. And it would also motivate those who would make a better leadership to think about not considering a central government as Eris’ golden apple.