March 22, 2021 "Information
Clearing House" - -
"LD"
- As is common with US-backed
color revolutions around the globe, the Western
media will attempt to cover up opposition
violence for as long as possible until shifting
the narrative toward a "reluctant civil war" in
which opposition groups were "given no choice"
but to take up arms.
Of course, in every example - from Libya and
Syria to Yemen and Ukraine - violence was part of
US-backed political subversion from the beginning.
This is no different in the Southeast Asian state
of Myanmar where US-backed protesters are in the
streets fighting with Myanmar's police and
military.
The "Activists Say" School of Journalism
The Western media is once again relying on the
"activists say" method of reporting - absolving
themselves from actual, objective and factual
journalism and instead reporting on the conflict
from the point of view of Western-backed opposition
groups who have every motivation to depict
themselves as victims and Myanmar's new government
as being brutal and repressive.
Reports are based almost entirely on information
from local media funded by the US government through
the
National Endowment for Democracy (NED) - outlets
like The Irrawaddy, Mizzama, DVB (Democratic Voice
of Burma), as well as "monitoring groups" like
the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP).
A glance at any Western media report will include
at least one of these sources.
Far from journalists or actual monitoring groups
- these are components of the opposition who have
every motivation to relay a narrative that serves to
advance their own political agenda rather than
reporting the truth.
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Independent Media
Similar "activists say" reporting was used by
the West for years during the Syrian conflict
with the Western media attempting to cover up
opposition violence up to and including
junctures where militants began operating tanks,
artillery, and anti-tank missiles.
Crumbling Facade
As in Syria and Ukraine - where Western attempts
to cover up violence and brutality among the
opposition eventually gave way to the fact that both
opposition groups were violent extremists - the
truth about violence used by protesters in Myanmar
is also beginning to emerge.
An
article from the Bangkok Post titled, "KNU vows
protection for Karen protesting Myanmar coup," would
admit that the Karen National Union - an armed group
who has waged a bloody insurrection against
Myanmar's central government for decades - has vowed
to "protect" anti-government protesters.
Images of heavily armed militants travelling in
convoys allegedly on their way to protest sites were
circulating in media across Asia - but these reports
are still being deliberately omitted from Western
media coverage.
Similar scenes had played out in Libya and Syria
in 2011 - with the public's confusion and genuine
belief that the Libyan and Syrian governments were
brutalizing "peaceful protesters" owed wholly to the
Western media's deliberately misleading coverage.
US-funded fronts providing misinformation to the
Western media, and the Western media's reports
themselves are being used to pressure the United
Nations and the governments of countries around the
globe to in turn put pressure on Myanmar and
restore the US client regime of Aung San Suu Kyi to
power.
Efforts by Myanmar's new government to tell its
side of the story have been hampered by US-based
social media companies that have shut down official
accounts of Myanmar's military and government, as
well as Myanmar state media services - leaving
literally only opposition media's accounts for the
global public to read.
AFP in its
article, "Facebook shuts down Myanmar army 'True
News' page," would claim:
A Facebook page run by the Myanmar junta's
"True News" information service was kicked off
the platform Sunday after the tech giant accused
it of inciting violence.
Revealing is Facebook's inaction toward
opposition groups, including the KNU, who are
clearly armed and engaging in violence, and using
the US-based social media giant to coordinate their
activities within the country and to spread
misinformation abroad.
Carefully Manipulated Misinformation
Carefully edited videos show only the moment
security forces respond, with no context provided as
to why Myanmar's police and military are using
force. A similar tactic is being used by US-backed
protesters in neighboring Thailand - however the
government and alternative media in Thailand have
done a slightly better job showing the other side of
the story - mainly to the Thai public and is likely
one of several factors behind the protests finally
fading there.
In the days, weeks, and months to come - if
Myanmar's government cannot manage this crisis and
it continues to grow - the Western media will find
it increasingly difficult to ignore the armed,
violent nature of the opposition - an opposition -
supporters of Aung San Suu Kyi - the Western media
itself had noted were violently storming Rohingya
communities in past years, killing locals and
burning homes and businesses to the ground.
It is very unlikely that these same excessively
violent opposition groups suddenly adopted peaceful
protesting tactics since then - and even pictures in
the media show them wearing body armor, holding
shields, and in some cases advancing on the position
of police and soldiers with clubs and metal rods -
an act that would provoke violence from security
forces anywhere in the world.
Evidence has already emerged that the opposition
depicted as "peaceful protesters" by the West are
using violence and further evidence will eventually
emerge of deadly violence that is prompting an
escalation across the country.
With reports of militant groups already
mobilizing amid the protests - armed clashes are
inevitable - and likely are already taking place.
But - just as in Libya and Syria - the Western media
will only report one side of the conflict for as
long as possible - and alternative media, including
state media from non-Western nations appear to have
no presence in Myanmar and are instead -
unfortunately - merely repeating Western reports -
reports these alternative news sources should know
better than to trust.
US-backed regime change succeeding anywhere,
emboldens it everywhere.
If more voices are not raised in regards to
Myanmar, demanding both sides of the story be told -
the nation risks falling victim to the same chaos
that consumed nations targeted by the US elsewhere -
with the possibility of the violence and instability
crossing over the border into Thailand and beyond.
A destabilized Southeast Asia is the ultimate
goal of Washington. A destabilized Southeast Asia
denies China access to stable and prosperous
political, economic, and military partners along its
peripheries. If out of the chaos the US can create
viable client regimes - the region can even be
turned against China.
Brian Berletic is
a Bangkok-based geopolitical researcher and writer,
especially for the online magazine “New
Eastern Outlook”.
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