Burma; A Country Forgotten

"The value systems of those with access to power and of those far removed from such access cannot be the same. The viewpoint of the privileged is unlike that of the underprivileged"- Aung San Suu Kyi

            When one is asked 'what are the worst dictatorships in the world currently?', most would give the usual answers; North Korea, Iran, Zimbabwe and others alike. Rarely do we hear about the country of Burma. Burma is a country roughly the size of California and holds about 55 million people. It's people have lived under the harsh and oppressive rule of the military junta since 1962 when General Ne Win led a military coup against the Democratic government under U Thant. The goal of the military was to lead Burma onto a path of socialism, leading to the nationalization of almost all industries from business, to media, to production. This ushered in an era of untold pain, as millions were left in poverty, political rights were suppressed, and more suffered from terrifying living conditions.

Auun San Suu Kyi addressing a large crowd in 1988

              It wasn't until 1988 that a large scale protest shook the country, led by the charismatic and widely popular leader of the National League of Democracy, Aung San Suu Kyi, that many of the authoritarian government's crimes came to light. Thousands were reported to have been killed, as government thugs and security forces fired tear gas, bullets and applied other forms of deadly force to subdue the protesters. For the first time this country was thrown into the international spotlight, as people around the world denounced the government under the military junta, and much needed international aid was cut off to Burma, only worsening the quality of life for the citizens of Burma.

             Shortly after this protest, Aung San Suu Kyi was placed under house arrest, and has remained there ever since. Her party, the National League of Democracy had won the election held in 1990, but never received the right to govern from the military junta. International election monitors objected to the results, but little to no action was taken against the government. This has disenfranchised those who aspire to dispose of the military junta, as the government has shown that it has no plans of relinquishing power anytime soon.

             While millions in Burma starve, lack adequate shelter, and are stripped of their rights, the military junta under the current leader Than Shwe live in luxury, with huge palaces and mansions, making the life of a common person in Burma seem like the life of a common rodent. The military is so disconnected from it's people, that when a huge cyclone devastated the country a few years ago, Than Shwe actually halted aid to regions that were known to be anti government, leaving countless numbers of people to be left for dead.

Than Shwe being honored by the military junta

           The most recent attempt by the people to stage a revolution came 20 years after the 1988 revolution, which led millions of people into the streets. It all started when the highly admired class of monks in the country began to look at the conditions of their country and began to speak out. Burma is a country that has a high number of devout Buddhists. The monks are seen in an almost god like way, as they are the most highly respected members of Burmese society. What makes the monks speaking out against the government so important is the fact that monks typically are forbidden by their religion to be politically active in anyway. A virtue of monks around the world is to not get into the politics of their country, so when they started speaking out, it was evident that there were clear abuses of human rights and widespread humanitarian problems that the monks could no longer ignore. As one monk says in the documentary "Burma VJ", "It is not in our interest to get involved in the affairs of the government, but once injustices such as widespread disease, poverty, starvation and direct violence are pressed upon our people, it is our job as virtuous and moral members to speak out against such tragedy. We have vowed to follow this path of righteousness, and it is our duty to aid our common man as monks".

Monks flood the streets, inciting mass protests across Burma

              It is estimated that within the first week of the protests, over 2 million people joined the monks, and almost 400,000 of them were the monks themselves. Quickly the government came into suppress the riots, sending out the army to detain, injure and kill protesters marching through the streets. The monks sought to protect the people, using themselves as human shields to ensure the army wouldn't fire. Because monks are so widely respected, if the army were to injure or kill one of the monks, the country's reaction would be one of utter shock and disgust, making matters only worse. On top of this, even though the soldiers themselves are sworn to uphold the government (and are paid quite lavishly to do so, and if not they are intimidated through threats of death to them or their families), many of them themselves are buddhists, and see shooting or hurting a monk as blasphemous.

Security forces approaching protesters in the 2008 uprising

              The country went into lock down, as strict martial law was enacted, and groups of more than 3 people on the streets was deemed illegal. A curfew was set, and people could not be out on the streets past 7 pm. Despite all these threats and the mounting violence, people still protested and the numbers grew to millions. Three weeks into the protests, the military junta had finally had enough. At the end of a long day of protests, the government, which has posted large megaphones and speakers on each street corner, ominously sent out threats of violence against the protesters if they were to come out the next day and protest. 
              In defiance the protesters still came out in just as large of numbers and this was when it all fell apart. The army led a full assault on protesters, and it is said over 2000 people died in that single day. With the relentless assault, people were forced to flee for cover, and the military seemed to have won the battle, but the war was not over. The military wanted to send a message to the protesters as to the extremes it would go to ensure their grip on power, and to portray their complete disregard for the lives of their citizens.

An amateur journalist lies shot as other protesters run from advancing forces

               Earlier during the first week and a half of protests, about 140 monks had gone missing from a monastery said to have housed many of the dissident monks. Surely enough, the bodies of the monks eerily began showing up one by one, day after day along one of the large rivers that run through Burma. This was done by the government to show their viciousness and their contempt, as even the most highly respected members of society, the holiest and most virtuous of men would not receive mercy from the brutal rule of Than Shwe and the military.      

                While this event was covered, it is not seen with the amount of importance as an uprising in let's say Iran or Egypt has been seen. Burma, a country that has long been isolated from the international community, is not viewed as being a country of strategic importance to the west and other nations. It's lack of resources, unappealing geographic position, and inability to offer anything worth of value to the modern world, leaves the dilemma of Burma's harsh military rule ignored. It's a tragic story of the inability for us in the west to see the importance of protecting human dignity, fighting against tyranny, and upholding a sense of humility, even if there is no profit for us in the end. 

                 Why is it that everything we do must be profitable? Is it not profitable enough to say that we fought the good fight and that we freed a country of impoverished people from a brutal dictator? Or is it that it's value can't be measured on some company's spreadsheet that hinders us from intervening? These are all moral questions we should ask ourselves as we look to fight against the injustices of the world. What needs to be happen for us to see Burma as a country that is in need of not dire assistance, but dire intervention? Maybe the Burmese should find some oil somewhere.

Signing out- John Thomas