Derided as a pariah state, Burma is once again in the Western spotlight after Cyclone Nargis and must struggle with disaster capitalism, writes Gamal Nkrumah "Only a crisis -- actual or perceived -- produces real change," wrote Milton Friedman in his celebrated Capitalism and Freedom. I hasten to add that I do not ascribe to Friedman's gushing theories. However, he has a point. And the Burmese authorities' insouciance over what was in effect Asia's worst natural disaster since the December 2004 tsunami that devastated vast stretches of the Indian Ocean Rim nations vies with Friedman for heartless chutzpah. It was the international reaction to the 2004 tsunami that prompted Naomi Klein's bombshell The Shock Doctrine. Cyclone Nargis that ravaged southern Burma (Myanmar) is shaping up to be a textbook study of Klein's thesis that global profiteers benefit in times of grave trouble. Two weeks after the cyclone devastated vast stretches of the southern Burmese coastal areas and the Irrawady Delta, eyes are already focussing on the havoc with the intent of opening up Burma's closed society to Western "investment", the intent being to develop this untouched tropical paradise as the latest playground for the rich, brought to you by the powerful corporations which control the world's economy. Such a disaster is, as Klein so devastatingly argues, the perfect pretext for Western capital to move in, under the guise of providing humanitarian relief. What is always lost in the fine print are the favourable conditions which the desperate victim is forced to provide to the ostensibly generous donors. Passing unfavourable legislation in the aftermath of natural disasters has become de regueur. Step one in the process is driving prices of basic foodstuffs out of the reach of the hungry, the profiteers make a killing out of poor people's misery. They prey on the disadvantaged and the deprived. In the current worldwide food shortage crisis, the world's richest food companies are making record profits. World food stocks are at record lows. And, giant agro-businesses are enjoying skyrocketing earnings and are profiting out of the world's food crisis as never before. That said, the Burmese are right to be disappointed in their ruling junta. However, the world must not overlook the fact that the powers that be would like to see Burma become another Cambodia. Neighbouring Cambodia, a new darling of the West, has become an exemplary role-model for fellow impoverished Asian countries who are eschewing a socialist command economy for what they consider a more promising capitalist path to economic development. The Cambodian authorities are selling prime agricultural land to foreign companies and foreign entrepreneurs at discounted rates and are forcibly evicting hapless Cambodian peasants. Western powers are impatient to see Burma follow suit. The reason why the Burmese authorities are so maligned in the West is not so much because of their human rights record, but rather because of their reluctance to kowtow to Western dictates. "A natural disaster is turning into a humanitarian catastrophe of genuinely epic proportions in significant part because of the malign effect of the regime," warned British Foreign Secretary David Miliband this week. His reaction reflects the attitude of most Western leaders. United States President George W Bush was highly critical of the Burmese authorities' handling of the disaster. "We are prepared to move US naval assets to help find those who lost their lives, to help find the missing, to help stabilise the situation," Bush assured. His magnanimous offer was rightly taken with a pinch of salt by the Burmese authorities. So far, they have only allowed a single C-130 US cargo plane in to provide humanitarian assistance. US First Lady Laura Bush, apparently a keen Burma observer, sagely accused the Burmese authorities of failing to give a "timely warning" before Cyclone Nargis wreaked havoc on southern Burma, and especially the Irrawady Delta. The entire Bay of Bengal region is prone to devastating cyclones and hurricanes. Burma will no doubt crop up at the Hokkaido summit in Japan scheduled to take place in July when leaders of the G8 (the exclusive club of the world's wealthiest nations) are expected to discuss the food crisis. Western powers have complained that valuable time is squandered just when epidemics are taking a heavy death toll on the population. Some humanitarian agencies estimate that Cyclone Nargis claimed over 100,000 lives and that the figure might escalate if relief assistance is not forthcoming. In keeping with Klein's ascorbic insight into Western political dynamics, French President Nicolas Sarkozy lamented that it is outrageous that "in the 21st century, the international community cannot freely help women and men." The notion that Myanmar might become a "normal" nation, like the expectation that the Burmese ruling junta might metamorphose into democrats, has been discredited in the West. Still, the Western consensus is that Myanmar is a country that the West must do business with even as its excesses are resisted, and what better opportunity to challenge the Chinese economic stranglehold over the resource-rich southeast Asian country than to pose as the rescuers of the Cyclone Nargis victims? Vulnerable to disease, the poor of Burma are struggling to overcome this unexpected predicament. Water-borne diseases are ravaging the land. However, diverting precious resources from state coffers, the Burmese authorities are determined to resist Western pressure to give them free rein in the disaster zone. That Western relief assistance, the Burmese authorities suspect, might emerge as the conduit through which Western powers exert overt pressure on the country to liberalise and deregulate. Western powers are keen to couple political reform and democratisation with economic deregulation. Naomi Klein's concept of disaster capitalism is most definitely at work now. The only problem is that the Burmese ruling junta is standing in the way. The victims of Cyclone Nargis are vulnerable to disease and the entire southern Irrawady Delta area is in dire need of reconstruction and rehabilitation. Daily food rations have been introduced in the devastated areas. The Burmese authorities have also set up temporary shelters -- but it is clear that Burma, a net food exporter, is in all probability going to important rice and other foodstuffs before the next harvest in October and November. The country's rulers are not banking on a good harvest at any rate. The focus of the Burmese authorities appeared to be Saturday's referendum on a new constitution, a preoccupation that many Myanmar observers thought utterly insensitive and inopportune. The irony of diverting precious resources from the relief assistance process to the referendum was not lost on the populace at large, but most Burmese are too exhausted to launch yet another uprising led by Buddhist monks. And, the military are overseeing the relief operation. Bodies lie strewn in the Irrawady River and its numerous tributaries. Cyclone Nargis washed away thousands of coastal communities; rural backwaters like Bogalay were submerged and there seemed to be no particular preliminary rescue plan by the Burmese authorities. They are, however, determined to run the rescue effort on their own. That much is clear. What is also abundantly obvious is that it was the tidal surge and not the cyclone itself that has created the most damage. The final body count is not yet over, but dead bodies are contaminating the rivers and streams of the Irrawady Delta. The magnitude of the devastation is difficult to contemplate. Relief has been slow and the fate of a quarter of the 53 million Burmese is at stake. About two million people are directly impacted. Diarrhoea, dysentery, malaria and other epidemics are spreading like wildfire. China is the critical player and the Burmese are not coy about being viewed as a Chinese client state. China and Burma's Asian neighbours have rushed in relief supplies. Water purification is a priority. The notion of a common humanitarian appeal is being propounded by the West. John Holmes, the UN humanitarian affairs chief has announced a "flash appeal for Burma". It was against this backdrop that the Burmese government was at first reluctant to process visas for foreign humanitarian relief workers. Western powers, on the other hand, would like to see the Burmese authorities lift restrictions on its international aid. Infrastructural rehabilitation is not dependent of Western largesse. At first the Burmese government decided to go it alone. Then they buckled under intense Western pressure, as they were accused of inaction. Cyclone Nargis is regarded as a golden opportunity for constructive engagement with the Burmese junta. The disaster raised the ugly spectre of neo-colonialism, of Western powers dealing with Myanmar on their own terms. There is, after all, a succession crisis in Burma. The ageing and ailing Burmese ruler Senior General Than Shwe was rushed to Singapore for the treatment of an undisclosed medical condition and there is much speculation that he would not last in power till the end of the year. A younger general is bound to take over, most likely the current number two Maung Aye. The West would like to see the back of Than Shwe and the entire State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), the ruling junta of 12 senior generals. The West has pinned its hopes on opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy. In the venerable tradition of the ancient warrior kings of Burma, the SPDC junta will stick it out -- Nargis or no Nargis. Still, the Burmese government eventually and most reluctantly broke the deadlock on international relief operations. Any misfortune enriches corporate interests and triggers disaster capitalism. Natural disasters work to the advantage of the affluent, and the Burmese authorities are acutely conscious of the consequences.
