Quest for democracy in Myanmar
Thursday, 18 October 2007
Ripan Kumar Biswas
A number of precious lives were lost in Myanmar following the recent crackdown on the anti-government protests against 45 years of military rule and growing economic hardship. The ruling military junta there clamped down on the protestors and soldiers raided monasteries, rounding up hundreds of the monks who had been leading protests--a ominous reminders of the crushing of a 1988 uprising in which more than 3,000 people were killed.
The government disconnected the Internet, adding to the country's isolation. However, the leading ISP, an offshoot of the ministry of technologies, tried to blame it on a technical problem with a submarine cable.
Military are hounding the foreign journalists still working on the ground while several publications, including those owned by the Eleven Media and Pyi Myanmar press groups, have been following their refusal to publish propaganda articles as the public would not be interested in buying their publications if they could not read about the demonstrations.
In a sudden overthrow of a democratic rule in March 2, 1962, Burma entered an uncertain phase of military rule. Revolutionary Government, led by Ne Win, abolished all political parties by a decree of the Revolutionary Council after March 23, 1964 and formed Burma Socialist Programme Party (BSPP) which became the sole political party in Burma under Ne Win.
Following independence on January 4, 1948, there were uprisings in the army and amongst ethnic minority groups in Burma and even before independence, the country was riven by political division and Aung San (father of Aung San Suu Kyi) was assassinated together with six of his cabinet members on July 19, 1947.
After the 1988 Uprising, General Saw Maung formed State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) and declared martial law after widespread protests in 1989. SLORC renamed Burma "Myanmar" in the English language and government held free elections in May, 1990 for the first time in almost 30 years in where "the National League for Democracy (NLD)," the party of Aung San Suu Kyi, won 392 out of a total 489 seats, but the election results were annulled by SLORC, which is refusing to step down to date.
The latest protests started on August 19, 2007 by former student protesters and other activists in response to sharp and unannounced fuel price increases that raised the prices of goods and transport in a country that is already one of the poorest in Asia, but most of these leaders had been arrested or were in hiding when the monks began their own protests on September 18, 2007.
The monks, who are the highest moral authority in the Burmese culture, were apparently motivated by an attack on a small demonstration near a temple, during which security officers fired shots in the air and beat a number of monks. Since then the monks' protests have spread quickly and have become more overtly political in order to free the country of the common enemy -- the evil regime from Burmese soil forever.
The link between the clergy and the leader of Myanmar's pro-democracy movement, as well as calls by some monks for a wider protest, raised the stakes for the government, which has mostly kept its hands off the monks for fear of a public backlash.
There was no sign about the government having any intention of backing down, and monks said the violence would not deter them from pressing on with what has become the most sustained anti-junta protest since a failed 1988 democratic uprising.
The corralling of monks was a serious blow, but they were besieged in their monasteries, penned in by locked gates and barbed wire surrounding the compounds in the two biggest cities, Yangon and Mandalay. Troops stood guard outside and blocked nearby roads to keep the clergymen isolated and took control of the streets on September 28, 2007.
Although monks have been spearheading the demonstrations and filling most of the ranks in protest marches, but they are not likely to emerge in a leadership role and the protests have yet failed to produce a visible challenge against the junta forces.
Monks and other protesters, however, have expressed their loyalty to the iconic leadership of democracy activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner, Aung San Suu Kyi, 62. She remains a rallying symbol for the 56 million people of Myanmar.
In 2002, the military government miscalculated her appeal and released her from house arrest and allowed her to tour the country, visiting party offices, but it drew increasingly large and enthusiastic crowds until a band of pro-government thugs attacked a convoy in which she was travelling, killing several people. Then government arrested her again and placed under even stricter house arrest, cutting off her telephone and barring most visitors.
Warning against Burma's ruling generals by the G8 -- the world's eight most industrialised countries -- and sanctions announced against them by the United States have so far proved ineffective due to support from China -- and, to a lesser extent, from other Asian nations notably India, South Korea and Singapore having investments in Myanmar.
"Every civilised nation has a responsibility to stand up for people suffering under a brutal military regime like the one that has ruled Burma for so long," said the US President George W. Bush. He called upon all countries with influence over Myanmar to tell the junta to stop using force.
Myanmar's fellow members in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) expressed "revulsion" over the crackdown and told the junta "to exercise utmost restraint and seek a political solution." Officials in neighbouring Thailand said planes were on standby to evacuate ASEAN citizens in case the situation deteriorated. But the ASEAN countries have been reluctant to push Burma towards political reform out of deference to its doctrine of non-interference.
As because Myanmar has been under military rule for so long, few people today appreciate the role that the international civil society can play in promoting the cause of democracy in Myanmar. But as the situation there continues to worsen, there is now a greater international recognition about the imperatives for concerted actions for ending human rights abuses and the installation of a democratically elected government in Myanmar. The people of Myanmar have demonstrated it amply well that they would like to have the same opportunity, as with many others around the world, to freely express their views and to be represented by leaders of their choosing.
(The writer is freelancer and can be reached at e-mail: [email protected])
A number of precious lives were lost in Myanmar following the recent crackdown on the anti-government protests against 45 years of military rule and growing economic hardship. The ruling military junta there clamped down on the protestors and soldiers raided monasteries, rounding up hundreds of the monks who had been leading protests--a ominous reminders of the crushing of a 1988 uprising in which more than 3,000 people were killed.
The government disconnected the Internet, adding to the country's isolation. However, the leading ISP, an offshoot of the ministry of technologies, tried to blame it on a technical problem with a submarine cable.
Military are hounding the foreign journalists still working on the ground while several publications, including those owned by the Eleven Media and Pyi Myanmar press groups, have been following their refusal to publish propaganda articles as the public would not be interested in buying their publications if they could not read about the demonstrations.
In a sudden overthrow of a democratic rule in March 2, 1962, Burma entered an uncertain phase of military rule. Revolutionary Government, led by Ne Win, abolished all political parties by a decree of the Revolutionary Council after March 23, 1964 and formed Burma Socialist Programme Party (BSPP) which became the sole political party in Burma under Ne Win.
Following independence on January 4, 1948, there were uprisings in the army and amongst ethnic minority groups in Burma and even before independence, the country was riven by political division and Aung San (father of Aung San Suu Kyi) was assassinated together with six of his cabinet members on July 19, 1947.
After the 1988 Uprising, General Saw Maung formed State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) and declared martial law after widespread protests in 1989. SLORC renamed Burma "Myanmar" in the English language and government held free elections in May, 1990 for the first time in almost 30 years in where "the National League for Democracy (NLD)," the party of Aung San Suu Kyi, won 392 out of a total 489 seats, but the election results were annulled by SLORC, which is refusing to step down to date.
The latest protests started on August 19, 2007 by former student protesters and other activists in response to sharp and unannounced fuel price increases that raised the prices of goods and transport in a country that is already one of the poorest in Asia, but most of these leaders had been arrested or were in hiding when the monks began their own protests on September 18, 2007.
The monks, who are the highest moral authority in the Burmese culture, were apparently motivated by an attack on a small demonstration near a temple, during which security officers fired shots in the air and beat a number of monks. Since then the monks' protests have spread quickly and have become more overtly political in order to free the country of the common enemy -- the evil regime from Burmese soil forever.
The link between the clergy and the leader of Myanmar's pro-democracy movement, as well as calls by some monks for a wider protest, raised the stakes for the government, which has mostly kept its hands off the monks for fear of a public backlash.
There was no sign about the government having any intention of backing down, and monks said the violence would not deter them from pressing on with what has become the most sustained anti-junta protest since a failed 1988 democratic uprising.
The corralling of monks was a serious blow, but they were besieged in their monasteries, penned in by locked gates and barbed wire surrounding the compounds in the two biggest cities, Yangon and Mandalay. Troops stood guard outside and blocked nearby roads to keep the clergymen isolated and took control of the streets on September 28, 2007.
Although monks have been spearheading the demonstrations and filling most of the ranks in protest marches, but they are not likely to emerge in a leadership role and the protests have yet failed to produce a visible challenge against the junta forces.
Monks and other protesters, however, have expressed their loyalty to the iconic leadership of democracy activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner, Aung San Suu Kyi, 62. She remains a rallying symbol for the 56 million people of Myanmar.
In 2002, the military government miscalculated her appeal and released her from house arrest and allowed her to tour the country, visiting party offices, but it drew increasingly large and enthusiastic crowds until a band of pro-government thugs attacked a convoy in which she was travelling, killing several people. Then government arrested her again and placed under even stricter house arrest, cutting off her telephone and barring most visitors.
Warning against Burma's ruling generals by the G8 -- the world's eight most industrialised countries -- and sanctions announced against them by the United States have so far proved ineffective due to support from China -- and, to a lesser extent, from other Asian nations notably India, South Korea and Singapore having investments in Myanmar.
"Every civilised nation has a responsibility to stand up for people suffering under a brutal military regime like the one that has ruled Burma for so long," said the US President George W. Bush. He called upon all countries with influence over Myanmar to tell the junta to stop using force.
Myanmar's fellow members in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) expressed "revulsion" over the crackdown and told the junta "to exercise utmost restraint and seek a political solution." Officials in neighbouring Thailand said planes were on standby to evacuate ASEAN citizens in case the situation deteriorated. But the ASEAN countries have been reluctant to push Burma towards political reform out of deference to its doctrine of non-interference.
As because Myanmar has been under military rule for so long, few people today appreciate the role that the international civil society can play in promoting the cause of democracy in Myanmar. But as the situation there continues to worsen, there is now a greater international recognition about the imperatives for concerted actions for ending human rights abuses and the installation of a democratically elected government in Myanmar. The people of Myanmar have demonstrated it amply well that they would like to have the same opportunity, as with many others around the world, to freely express their views and to be represented by leaders of their choosing.
(The writer is freelancer and can be reached at e-mail: [email protected])