Burma burning

When I entered Burma (Myanmar) last year, a customs officer handed me a little leaflet. On it, in clear black-and-white lettering, was a warning that left little to the imagination.

"Any inteference with the internal politics of the Union of Myanmar will be severely dealt with according to national law".

Not the warm welcome I was expecting, but it was expected. It was the first time in my life I had tread into a country under authoritarian rule, and I could feel the 'hush-hush-ness' among the general public. The mere mention of the democratically elected Noble Peace Prize laureate (and coincidentally SOAS alumna) Aung San Suu Kyi is returned with a frown and worried look. No matter, since my purpose primarily to meditate at a monastery.

In a country where life and the people revolve around Buddhist religion and pacifism, the words and deeds of the monks are almost divine. In their burgundy and orange robes, Theravada monks are so highly regarded because they have undertaken to strive to live the life of the Buddha himself. In so doing, they abandon worldly pleasures, and detach themselves from worldly affairs, in venerable attempts to transcend suffering and pain through constant meditation and the practice of universal love and kindness. When a layperson speaks to a monk, the tradition is to bow three times first, and then press the palms and fingers together before your chest in a show of utmost respect. Even a slight physical touch with a monk is somewhat considered a taboo.

It is in this setting that the recent outbreak of protests, and subsequent oppressive crackdown must be viewed. The military junta that refused to recognise the results of the 1990 popular elections has since maintained an iron grip on Burmese people and politics, censoring news, indoctrinating through propaganda and throwing opposition activists into jail. No wonder Burma is amongst the least free countries in the world today .

With the news blackout, as yet no one is sure how many have been arrested, or killed as the Burmese junta continues to strike back hard at the peaceful demonstrators. After the first bloody crackdown in 1988, what is unique about this one is that it was led by hundreds of the very highly revered monks I have just described. This is an clear indication of the severity of the human rights and political situation in the country. As Amnesty International writes,

The situation in Myanmar has reached critical dimensions as demonstrations occur against the backdrop of persistent and massive violations of human rights. These include the prolonged detention of over 1,160 political prisoners held in deteriorating prison conditions, the continued detention of Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and other senior opposition figures who are prisoners of conscience, extrajudicial executions and the widespread use of torture in detention. There is also endemic suppression of freedom of expression throughout the country, use of forced labour and child soldiers continue as do crimes against humanity committed in counter insurgency operations in eastern Kayin (Karen) state. Access by independent observers and international human rights organizations to many parts of the country continues to be denied.

Ironic that these events come only days after the pompous celebrations of

the International Day of Peace, and just days before the similarly first International Day of Non-Violence. In Burma today, as in many places in the world where dictatorship and tyranny reign free, there is no peace, there is no non-violence.

Suddenly, the big powers and interested states have discarded their normal complacency and resorted to extremely effective talk and rhetoric with the added bonus of head-shaking. With surprising quick wit, the UN has managed to despatch a special envoy to 'talk' to the leaders of the illicit regime. Even the ceremonial Human Rights Council has decided to hold a special session on Burma, after years of politicking and non-discussion due to the vetoes of equally repressive and repulsive regimes. Indeed, what better way to collectively express condemnation of the brutal response of the military junta when
China- Burma’s main supplier of arms and comrade in oppressing people- wields the veto on the Security Council? Such a sorry state of affairs led the vice president McMillan-Scott of the European Parliament to call on the rest of the world to send a clear message to China, "the puppet master of Burma", to put pressure on the Burmese military junta to stop the crackdown, or else face a boycott of the 2008 Olympics so prized by Beijing.

It is too easy to take freedoms and rights for granted, but as demonstrations meet suppression in Burma show, many have to fight and die for them. Worldwide, shows of solidarity with the Burmese people are taking shape in the form of public demonstrations, blog entries and letter-writing campaigns. Maybe you can do your part too.

Because, as is so well put, “when one man is not free, no man is really free”. This applies to every woman, every child, and all the people living under oppression too.

Roses I bought from Amnesty International today

Despite having been labelled by the military junta as spreading "skyful lies, ">BBC News offers a good source of the events surrounding the protests in Burma.