31/03/2012 Dateline London


31/03/2012

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and his two colleagues. A fool news bulletin at 1pm. Now it

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Good afternoon. After it apparently taxing grannies, taxing hot snacks,

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wining and dining rich donors, is the Government out of touch?

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Are we on the brink of a function democracy in Burma?

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Should British schools teach the In the past week the British

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Government mac has told us that to fill our cars with petrol in case

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there was a strike has resulted in massive queues at petrol stations.

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They have also raised what has been called up a granny tax. They have

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also been caught out wining and dining which borders, -- wining and

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dining rich donors. Is the Government out of touch with

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ordinary people? They have had at that week. They could do with

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somebody like Alastair Campbell. The presentation is bad. They have

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been sustained by the wars in the Labour Party. That has not had a

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good week either. They had a disastrous performance in the

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Bradford by-election. There are big questions about whether Ed Miliband

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can survive through to the next election as Labour leader. Not a

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good week for either party. In the whole list of things, there is one

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important element which is not funny. That is money for access. We

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all know that Richard donors like to meet the rich and powerful. But

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the problem is if they have more influence than others, then the

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system needs reform. The question is how to go about that. It is not

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a Tory issue. It is for Labour as well. It is an entire political

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donation system that needs reform. To link all these things together -

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George Galloway's victory, he said that was a vote of no confidence in

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it been major parties. That is the implication is it not? Somehow

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politics has become a game of four people who do nothing else. There

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is the impression that you have to be rich to get into it. From my

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point of view it was a good week for the Tories. They are not like

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previous Tory cabinets. Previously you had Amex's of people. I would

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include Margaret Thatcher in that. This lot have no connection even

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with the rest of their party. They are born into a certain class. I

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thought that was quite a good week. I thought Ed Miliband did well. The

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public were revolted by the fact that they had no connection in

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their own heads with some of the policies. The George Galloway thing

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shows what should happen in an election. I do not like the man,

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but he had no public relations machinery, he did not have

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television. This man went on to the streets and arouse people as he

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does. That was an interesting lesson for all of them. Why do they

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need so much money? We should all support democracy. We support the

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royal family. We should support democracy. The argument against

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that is that at a time when the NHS and schools are being squeezed...

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Why do we not stop paying for the Royal Family? If we do not pay for

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democracy in our country, are we will not get a better system.

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this government back into power, every week has been at bad week.

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There was the phone hacking scandal. There was the Liam Fox scandal.

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There was the cash for honours scandal. I cannot remember all the

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scandals such as Government has been involved in. The latest one is

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the fat cats dining with the Prime Minister after the tax has been

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reduced. Meanwhile others have to pay more for their pension and

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their fast food. Their Government is advising people to fill petrol -

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- to fill a jerry cans with petrol. Imagine if the Argentinians said

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they were going to the Falklands next week. The entire British Army

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would leave Afghanistan and go to the South Atlantic. This is what is

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happening. The Government is becoming a laughing stock? Clearly

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the people of Bradford felt there should be a plague on the houses of

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all the major parties. Ed Miliband issued a list of people he had

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wined and dined. That included the leader of one of the major unions

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which has contributed to the Labour Party. Somebody commented that his

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union had given a �5 million to the Labour Party. That would buy a lot

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of fast food. But you have a spread with Labour. You have trade

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unionists. With David Cameron, he says this is his friends. He has no

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friends that are not part of the elite. The root and branch reform

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is needed. Party financing needs to be changed. I do not want to defend

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what they do. But you have to be even-handed. You have to be

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rational to some degree. The George Galloway phenomenon represents the

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wonderful things that can happen within democracy. It also

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demonstrates the power of personality. That can be

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problematic. Let us not forget we elect a government not for them to

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be close to the common man, or to have a huge personality, but to run

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the country well. I wonder the question about where is the Andes -

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- the Alastair Cameron figure is significant. Anybody would know

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that your tax fast food at your peril. The political antennae seems

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to have slipped off. Everybody could have seen it. They did not.

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The Government is so out of touch with the people. It is elementary.

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It is not to do with how it is presented. By saying that you fall

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into the trap is is all about presentation. The policies are

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wrong. I am suggesting that somebody like Alastair Campbell

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would have pointed out that if you leak all the good news before the

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Budget, the only thing the press can rhetoric on the day at the

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budget is the bad news. policies are wrong. It does not

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matter how it is presented. That is what has happened since the days of

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Tony Blair. All the focus is on tricking the public. Actually it is

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the policies we should be looking up. The policies were wrong.

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people do not accept the slogan that we are all in this together.

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This fuel crisis was not the finest hour of the British people are

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either. I am surprised they did not queue up for fast food! On the

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petrol question, that is a powerful argument that the Tories can use

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against Labour. It makes Ed Miliband position difficult. They

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are in a difficult position on this. Ministerial remarks about jerry

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cans were mistaken. But we cannot blame them for the one serious

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incident occurred. Pouring petrol in your kitchen into a glass jar

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when you have Albert stove is an unwise thing to do. The Government

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faced the possibility of a strike before Easter for which they would

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have been severely criticised. They wanted to try and blunt the

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possibility of that. To an extent they were effective in doing that.

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Once again the presentation of it was faulty. This weekend the people

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of Burma who have suffered so much will get the chance to vote in what

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they hope will be fair elections. How significant is this moment for

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Aung San Suu Kyi, and also for the people of Burma? The fact that they

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are having this election is in itself a triumph. It has come about

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after such a long and repression. It is wonderful. China now has its

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own that leadership handover to worry about. If it were not for

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that it would have been bigger news in China. Let us wait and see what

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happens tomorrow. In China because of their political handover, that

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is the biggest story in China. is the biggest political story. It

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is also an economic story. Most state-owned businesses have stopped

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taking orders. They are waiting to see who will be in power before

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they make the next move. It is a big deal for China. That is

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dominating the news. Burma being a rich -- Burma is resource which.

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Burma is important for China. Whatever happens tomorrow will be

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significant. You recently returned from Burma. We're getting reports

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that the process will not be fair. Aung San Suu Kyi has a difficult

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task. What is your judgement? are posters of Aung San Suu Kyi

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everywhere. There are T-shirts being sold in the streets. There is

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a movie about Aung San Suu Kyi which is being sold everywhere. All

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this was not possible up until last October. The old currency bore the

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picture of her father. This was illegal in the markets until a

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couple of months ago. There is an atmosphere of change. But there is

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something lurking under the surface. There is more than meets the eye.

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People are not sure that the elections will be genuine.

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Ironically the regime it wants Aung San Suu Kyi to be elected. They

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wanted as a fig leaf. They may even ask her to join the Government. She

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would not harm them. This is being done in addition to releasing

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political prisoners. This is being done as well as reducing censorship.

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They would give the political parties the possibility of

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participating in something similar to a by-election. Nothing more than

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that. Only seven % of seats in the Parliament are on offer. Short of a

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landslide, anything will be a She is the figure that we know and

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the West, but we know very little about Burma and the difficulties of

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staging an election. Yes, and in a way that might be the problem.

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House arrest, although she was very connected and she had a lot of

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world support, the country must have changed. I remember when she

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had never seen some of the technology we take for granted. She

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had to learn about it. The country changed show much in those years.

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An inner self -- the country changed so much in those years and

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in some ways, she has not. After the election, the popularity is

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still there, but I think that the world she is entering now as a

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politician will need a very different kind of person from the

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person that she is. I agree. One big question hangs over all this

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and that is her health. She does not look well. She is 66 years old

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and she has had an extraordinarily difficult life. She was treated,

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she had major surgery a few years ago. And she will obviously do well

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in the elections, but then she moves into a new era in her life

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where lamenting all that is wrong will no longer be enough. She will

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have to begin to propose solutions for a country which is

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astonishingly poor. I have not been there but I read that the per

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Capita income of 50 million people is $1,800. $1 a day. The Tass that

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lie ahead are enormous. -- of the tasks. This process is probably

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irreversible, and the military junta as probably realise that they

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have to change and that she has gone from being a liability to a

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potential asset. Many people are saying it is reversible but I am

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not sure. They were saying that about the Arab world. I see quite a

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lot of similarities between Egypt and Burma. Whatever happens, there

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is his background of power in the hands of the army. The search for

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democracy started before the Arab Spring. We have to emphasise that

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this exercise tomorrow is for one goal, two more lift the sanctions

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against the regime. -- Two Left. the sanctions serve any purpose?

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There is the possibility that the EU sanctions will be removed. How

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important is it for Burma, given that their biggest trading partner

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is China? Hugely, hugely important. The poverty level in Burma is so

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dramatic, they need economic engagement, which as I remember, 30

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years ago that was what saves the Chinese people. Sanctions, as we

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know, harm the people the most. Now we see movement in the political

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reform. I would very much like the section to be listed. -- the

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sanctions to be lifted. With economic engagement, there will be

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further opening up. Not to say that the process is irreversible, there

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will be ups and downs, but the direction that this country is

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moving towards is encouraging. power of the army not looming?

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power of the army is everywhere. We should emphasise the fact that the

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military is also divided on the issue of reforms and democracy as

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well as the opposition. Many opposition parties criticise and

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sang Suchi for not being tough enough or conservatory --

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conciliatory. -- on San Suchi. While we're talking, guerrilla

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warfare against the Burmese army is still going on, despite the fact

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that they have reached a agreement. It seems to me that the key role is

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played by China. The sanctions will be maintained by the United States,

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and perhaps should be, to make sure that the momentum towards a more or

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rut -- a more democratic society continues. There is an internal

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reason for the military to change which is that there is a grave

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discomfort among many Burmese about the over-reliance on China, the

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Irrawaddy, which they have now had to suspend, the dam, that have a

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lot to do with reservations about 90% of the power going to China.

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They want to open up because if they're going to relieve poverty in

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Burma, it is going to have to be done by drawing in foreign

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investment and free-market systems, to break up what has been a system

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overwhelmingly dependent on China. It is. The army is not benevolent

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by allowing this to take place. The country's bankrupt and they know

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that if they do not open up Burma for the outside world, lifting the

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sanctions by the European Union and others, they will not be able to

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survive. Even as an oppressive regime. Back home, or the

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Archbishop of Canterbury, shortly to leave his post, has suggested

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that British schools should teach children the Lord's Prayer after

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many -- a survey showed that many children did not understand a

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prayer. What is the place of religion in schools? None No place?

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I think our state has been so muddled. I think it was Jefferson

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who said, all that time ago, absolutely rightly, that state and

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religion have to be apart. They are important than they can influence

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each other, sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse,

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but they have to be into next fears. We have been in such a muddle about

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it here. This archbishop, and I like him as a person, but he does

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have the most of mottled head. -- the most muddled head. First of all,

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all the other faiths will rise up in revolt, of course. I have no

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problems if they want to teach my child Christian prayers, but we

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should not be doing this in schools. I wonder why he waited so long,

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minutes before the end of this term. I am against teaching prayer at

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school. I am definitely in favour of teaching religion, but as a

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cultural thing. As a theology, to teach about Christianity and

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Buddhism and Judaism, definitely. However, we are witnessing a growth

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in faith schools and this will create segregation. If you want to

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teach her son a prayer, centre to Sunday school. -- teach you some.

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do not understand why religion should play such a big part in

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education. I agreed, if there is religious studies as a subject, yes,

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children can be taught not only of Christianity but other faiths as

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well. As a prospective, for looking at the world. I have her teachers

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saying that this is not to do with Christian belief but they have said

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that if you do not understand, you cannot read English literature.

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said? Teachers? I did eight years of English literature but I had

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never prayed the Lord's Prayer. That is not what I said. He said if

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you do not understand the tenants of Christianity, you cannot

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understand Shakespeare. But you can teach them about Christianity. Why

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do they have to pray that Lord's Prayer? I think first of all, that

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is unfair to the Archbishop of Canterbury, who has probably had

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the 10 most difficult years of any Archbishop, to deal with. It is a

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tough job. He said it requires the hide of a rhinoceros. He has had a

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tough week. He has struggled manfully to hold the Anglican

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Communion together. He is such an understanding man. He has not

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exceeded but he has not failed, which maybe his greatest

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achievement. They have not broken apart but on the question of

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schools, it is not so complicated. If you have a denominational school,

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it Church of England school or a Jewish school Lorimer's own school,

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surely teaching the elements of the Christian faith, the Muslim faith,

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the Jewish face, is respectable. -- the Jewish faith. If they have no

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denomination, if they're going to teach any religion, they should

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teach all religions as a matter of English -- matter of study. They

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said that all children should know the Lord's Prayer. And he is a very

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gentle and nice man and he was much buffeted. I completely agree with

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you but he has said some really barking things. Barking mad things.

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UN di can agree on that. To have all schools teaching children of

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the Lord's Prayer, if they are not going to teach the elements of the

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Koran and the Taarabt, and other religions, is unsupportable. -- you

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and I can agree on that. This increasingly multi- religious

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country will not support it. that the general consensus? Maybe

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he raised it now because he is relieved that finally he does not

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have to talk about whether women should be bishops or what the

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position of gay people should be within the Church? It is a very

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complicated intellect. Sometimes, like when he supported Sharia law,

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he supported Sharia law and in a very intellectual way he said that

:25:27.:25:34.

we must allow this in family law. I went berserk, as you can imagine.

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In the nicest possible way, with all the best intentions, he has

:25:38.:25:42.

said utterly the wrong this things. The maybe he meant that Sharia law

:25:42.:25:48.

should be studied in Christian schools. -- maybe he meant. He can

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