Harvard Burma Action Group, Harvard University
May 5, 2005
Burma: Non-Violence Movement for Democracy and the Role of International Community
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Thank you very much for inviting me to speak here today.
A few months ago, I flew from Washington, DC to Charlotte, North Carolina. On the plane, an American gentleman, who was sitting beside me, asked my country of origin. I answered, “I come from Burma”. He said, “What? Bahamas!” So, I tried to describe my country to him. I said “O.K do you know Thailand?" “Yes. I know”, he answered. “Thailand is a beautiful country with colorful beaches, wonderful mountains, virgin islands and famous culture.” Obviously, he knew Thailand very well. I told him, “Well, Burma is a neighboring country of Thailand. We share a border”. He still didn’t get it. So, I gave another description, “Do you know the golden triangle, which is notorious for production of heroine and illicit stimulants." Well, successfully, it rang a bell. “Oh! I see, Khun Sa, Khun Sa? I remember now. A drug lord; a narcotic kingpin. You are from his country, right?" Reluctantly, I said “Yes.” At least, now he knew my country.
This is a reality that we have to accept painfully and sadly. While our neighbor Thailand is famous for its beauty, culture and hospitality, my country Burma is notorious for narcotic production, human rights abuses, and poverty and as a heaven for drug lords, who are wanted by the US Government and International Law Enforcement agencies.
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Let me tell you a brief history of Burma. Burma is one of the Southeast Asian Countries and surrounded by China, India, Bangladesh, Thailand, Andaman Sea and Indian Ocean. Burma has a population of 52 millions people, comprised of eight major ethnic nationalities and several minority groups. Actually, the last census conducted in Burma was in 1981.Therefore, the population is estimated based on the rate of population growth. The majority of population is ethnic Burman and the major religion is Buddhism.
Today Burma united under a monarchy early in the 11th century. In 1885, Burma was invaded and colonized by the British. Japanese Fascists also ruled Burma for three years, from 1945 to 1947. Burma's independence movement started in 1920 and achieved success in 1948.
When independent, Burma exercised a parliament democracy system. Democracy and Human Rights were guaranteed by the government, which was elected by the people. But this did not last very long. On March 2, 1962, General Ne Win and the military staged a coup. Since then, political parties, student unions, trade unions and independent organizations have not been allowed to exist. From that time onward, Burma had lost Democracy and Human Rights. However, this also marched the beginning of the democracy movement in Burma.
From 1962 onward, students and workers held the various strikes peacefully in University campuses and in the factories against the military regime, demanding the Democracy and Human Right for the people of Burma. All strikes ended with bloody oppression by the military government. Hundreds of students and workers were killed, detained and forced to flee Burma. It is true that ending tyranny is the work of generations.
When I was young, I saw my father disappear from home many times. Sometimes, he disappeared for a week, sometimes two weeks; once he was away from home for nearly two years. When he came back home, he was weak and unhealthy and needed many months to recover. He was taken by the authorities for interrogation. He was tortured by his interrogators and kept in solitary confinement. Before I realized what was happening, I cried together with my mother every time my father was taken. When I realized that my father was taken by the authorities for his link to underground anti-dictatorship activities, I stopped crying and I was very proud of him. I consoled my mother and waited quietly for the day when my father would be back. I always wished that nobody would come and take my father again. I also prayed that my father and his colleagues would topple the military dictator. Since 1962, the people of Burma has been tried hard to remove the military dictatorship by peaceful means. There are plenty of mass protests in 1962, 1969, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1996 and 1998. The people of Burma have never passed these days quietly and silently without showing their resistance to the regime. Tens of thousands of people sacrificed their lives during these struggles for free Burma.
The movement for democracy in Burma reached its peak in 1988. Burmese students successfully organized a nationwide popular demonstration, calling for freedom, democracy and an end of single party rule. We joined together with millions of people from all walks of life and challenged the authorities peacefully. Under strong pressure of mass protests, General Ne Win resigned and agreed to hold a multi-party general election. We ended the single party rule in Burma in 1988 and paved the way for a multi-party democracy. But, before we were able to establish a civilian government, the current military regime came to power, brutally killing thousands of peaceful demonstrators in the streets. This military regime, led by dictator Than Shwe runs the country by using guns and creating a climate of fear through arbitrary arrest, extrajudicial killing, using rape as weapon of war, and other forms of abuses. Since 1988, as many as ten thousand peaceful demonstrators were killed by the brutal military; thousands of Burmese people were forced to flee the country and became the refugees in the neighboring countries; hundreds of ethnic women and girls were raped by soldiers; between 600,000 and one million people became internal displaced persons and the target of soldier in free fire zones; I can not count the number of broken families and the lives being destroyed by the military dictators. Currently, more than one thousand and three hundred activists are being incarcerated. I was one of them between 1989 and 1993.
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I was arrested on April 23, 1989. I was on the way back to one of my hiding places, when a group of soldiers stopped the bus. Then, I was removed from the passenger bus by force. My hands were cuffed behind my back and my head was covered with a dirty hood. I was thrown into an army trunk and brought to an interrogation center. I was there with no food, no drink, no toilet, and no sleep for one week. One group came into the room. They used no words but began kicking, beating, punching and hitting me. Because I was blindfolded and handcuffed, I didn’t know where these attacks came from and who the attackers were. I was like a ball in a soccer field, a ball being kicked by twenty-two players, sometimes in the air, sometimes on the ground. Once they were satisfied with the torture, they left and another group came in for interrogation. And interrogations and torture went on all days and nights. I requested many times for a drink of water. But it was never granted. I lost consciousness many times, but they only took off the hood, poured cold water on my face and put the hood back. They didn’t even allow me to pass out. I was only allowed to have food, drink and the rest after seven days of interrogation. Then interrogations and torture still continued, but not frequently.
One month later, I was sent to the notorious Insein prison, where thousand of dissidents were being held. I was in solitary confinement for 13 months without trial. There was no family contact either. Only on May 23, 1990, I was sent before the military court. I was sentenced to four years imprisonment with hard labor. My trial only took 15 minutes. I had no defense lawyer.
Most of the political prisoners are put in the cellblock. In the cellblock, up to five prisoners shared a tiny cell, eight foot by twelve foot. We had to sleep on the concrete floor with a bamboo mat. The cell was constructed with four concrete walls and ceiling that was too high. There was one iron-gate at front and a small window covered with wire-mesh high on the back wall. And there were only two small chamber pots for excrement.
When we were in the cellblock, there were many rules to follow. We had to wake up at six am and sit in front of the door for about two hours for a head count. We had to sit again at five pm for about two hours for another head-count. We only had fifteen minutes per day to leave the cell to throw out our excrement and bathe. At nine pm, we had to lie down in our place and nobody was allowed to sit or stand or walk in the cell. We were not allowed to talk to other political prisoners in the adjacent cells. We couldn’t even say a courtesy word, such as, hello or Good morning or Good night.
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Once, I was in a solitary confinement. I drew a calendar on the wall with a piece of brick. From day 1 to day 30, from Sunday to Saturday and I marked a cross on every day I passed. And one month ended. I drew another month and marked again. One day, a prison officer noticed these calendars and I was given a punishment for violation of the prison rules. They said that as a first time offender, I had to be put in the pitch-black cell as a minimum punishment for three days. Then I was brought into the pitch-black cell. When I looked at that cell, I didn’t see any difference. But I found the difference when I was in there.
It was similar to the other cell, 8 foot by 12 foot. But the window at the back wall and the iron-gate at the front were covered with metal plate. When they closed the door, there was no light in the cell. That’s why it was called pitch-black cell. Furthermore, there was no bamboo mat, no blanket and no chamber pot. And I was naked. They took off my prisoner uniform before they put me into there. A few hours later, I was scared and shaking. Coldness, darkness and loneliness attacked me in the cell. I cried. I shouted. I sang songs. But this made echo in the cell and made me more scared. I tried to sleep on the floor. It was too cold. I couldn’t lie down for more than 15 minutes. I cursed the military junta with dirty words. I ran in the cell. I jumped. I did everything that made me feel alive and still sane. It was the first time I started to look for a religion to worship under this huge amount of fear. I have to admit that I may have become crazy if they had put me in that cell for more than three days. I even decided that I would try to avoid punishment in the prison in the future. But it was very difficult to do so. Firstly, we could not always obey those dirty regulations. Secondly, there are many rules that cannot be remembered all the time. Thirdly, prison authorities are always trying to find mistakes of the political prisoners purposely. Therefore, almost all political prisoners have to go through the experiences of punishment in jail. And I received punishment again and again.
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Once, our leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said "In a country like ours, which is totally crushed by a military regime, justice is a dream. But it is a dream that we are determined to realize." Yes, we are determined to realize the dream, which is freedom, justice and democracy in Burma. We are working to realize the dream by peaceful means.
Martin Luther King had a dream to make his people have equal rights in the United States. Bogyoke Aung San had a dream to make Burma free from the British Colonial rule. Nelson Mandela had a dream to abolish Apartheid and White minority rule in South Africa. And they were not just dreaming, they made their dreams come true.
Our dream is simple, reasonable and appropriate. We want to live in peace. We want to live in a safe and secure environment. We want to be free from fear. We want to have the freedom of speech, freedom of press, freedom of association, freedom to choose the government we want. We want to have justice which is above everybody. Of course, realizing this kind of dream is not a simple job. It comes with enormous difficulties and requires a huge amount of sacrifices.
As we are trying to realize the dream by peaceful mean against 400,000 strong, well-equipped and brutal military forces, we need the kind assistance of the international community.
Our leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and her party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), call on the international community to pressure the Burmese military junta politically, economically and diplomatically. Similar to the international campaigns supporting South African's anti-apartheid movement, we want international governments to punish the Burmese regime with strong and collective economic sanctions. We want international corporations not to invest in Burma. We want foreign tourists not to visit Burma. We want the United Nations Security Council to be involved in Burma. These are the roles we want international community to play to support Burma's non-violence democracy movement. We are not asking for military intervention. We are just asking the international community to help Burma's democracy movement by putting concrete, collective and concerted pressure against Burma's military junta.
These demands are very reasonable. Refusal to recognize this regime as a legitimate government by the international community will highlight the illegitimate and illegal rule of Burma's junta. Cutting the economic lifeline of the regime by economic sanctions will weaken the stronghold of the regime's abusive mechanism. Denunciation by international community of this regime's human rights abuses on its own people will make the regime responsible and accountable for these crimes against humanity. This helps the democracy movement to be much stronger and to have more leverage. We expected to challenge the brutal military with the help of democracy loving people from all over the world.
But the world we live in today is very diverse and polarized. When the United States and European Union, whose priority is to respect human rights and democracy, impose economic sanctions and pressure against Burma's junta, China, India, Thailand and many other countries, whose priority is just business interest, continue doing business with Burma's regime and profiting. While thousands of foreign tourists listen to the request of Burma's democrat and avoid visiting Burma, hundreds of other foreigners are heading to Burma and helping to fill the pockets of the generals. Even in the United States, while the US Congress, the US Administration and the people strongly support Burma's democracy movement by imposing comprehensive economic sanctions and banning new investment in Burma, some US corporations like UNOCAL are still doing business in Burma, making a handsome profit and helping Burma's military regime to be richer and stronger. While responsible citizens of the US listen to Aung San Suu Kyi and stay away from Burma, New York-based Orient-Express Hotels Ltd. is running a five-star hotel and a luxury cruise ship in Burma and promoting expensive travel to Burma by University Alumni Associations and Museums.
Actually, we have no time to waste with disappointment and depression. We believe in the power of grassroots activists and students. We request your solidarity. And we believe that your solidarity and action will lead to world leaders responding to our request fairly and consistently. That's why; I am here today, meeting with you.
First, please continue your campaign asking Harvard University to divest from the UNOCAL. By investing in UNOCAL, Harvard University will be a partner in crime with UNOCAL. Bare in mind that the profits Harvard University is receiving from the UNOCAL, are being stained with the blood, sweat and tears of the innocent citizens of Burma, who have been forced to relocate from their native land, whose lands were forcibly confiscated for a gas pipe-line project, who were forced to work without compensation in the gas pipe-line area, who were killed brutally and who were raped by the regime's soldiers funded by the UNOCAL. Harvard should divest from UNOCAL as quickly as possible to save its dignity.
Second, we would like to urge you to help us boycott tourism to Burma. As I mentioned earlier, some travel agencies are promoting lucrative tours to Burma among the University Student Alumni Associations and the Museums. Two years ago, the Harvard Museum took this offer and made a visit to Burma. Please tell your friends that making a luxury tour to Burma at this time while the people of Burma are suffering enormous human rights abuses by the regime, is very unethical and undermining our non-violence movement.
Third, it is important for Burma's democracy movement that the US maintains its current level of pressure against the regime. The Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act, which was adopted in 2003 unanimously in the US Congress, is going to be resubmitted to the Congress in mid May, this month for an extension of another year. Senators McConnell and Feinstein in the Senate, Congressmen Tom Lantos and Peter King in the House are preparing to reintroduce in both chambers. Please call your members of Congress, urging them to co-sponsor and support this legislation when it comes to the floor.
Let me also explain one of the campaigns we are undertaking worldwide. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi will be sixty years old on June 19, 2005. She is an icon of democracy, a unique leader in Burma's democracy movement and the only imprisoned Nobel Peace Laureate in the world. Like people did seventeen years ago in 1988 on Nelson Mandela's seventieth birthday, we are planning to hold worldwide events on June 19th to honor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, all political prisoners and the courageous people of Burma.
Here is some progress so far. City and County of San Francisco decided to name June 19th, as Aung San Suu Kyi Day. The City of Berkeley will be next soon. A famous singer has already written a song dedicated to Aung San Suu Kyi to be released in the first week of June. Over 60 people in the US will arrest themselves at home for one day on June 19th to show their solidarity with Aung San Suu Kyi. There will be mass protests on June 17, Friday, in front of the Burmese regime's embassies in at least 12 countries. Hundreds of people are sending birthday cards to our office for Aung San Suu Kyi. We hope that you will be part of these activities.
Well, like I said, we are not dreaming. We are working to realize the dream. The journey to the dream might be very long; it might be full of dangers; it might be an ocean of fire. But, we will never ever give up. We will not make our friends in prison disappointed. We will not make the souls of our friends who sacrificed their lives for this dream disappointed. We are working to realize the dream and we will reach the dream that we want soon, by working together with you all. Let's make our dream come true together.
Thank you.
Aung Din
