freedom from fear

[acchikocchi]

It is not power the corrupts but fear. Fear of losing power corrupts those who wield it and fear of the scourge of power corrupts those who are subject to it.

The country of Burma, also known as Myanmar, was first invaded by the British in 1824. After sixty-two years and three wars, it came under complete colonial control; although insurrections continued for four to ten years afterward, according to different accounts. The colonization process was particularly brutal: violent riots and protests continued until the 1930s, led in many cases by Buddhist monks who were often imprisoned or killed as a result. In late 1941, the Burma Independence Army was formed by a group called the Thirty Comrades, who had received military training in Japan, led by Aung San. In 1942, the capital of Burma, Yangon (Rangoon), fell to the Japanese, and on August 1, 1943, the Japanese administration declared Burma to be an independent nation. However, promises of true independence did not materialize and Japanese treatment of the Burmese people was hardly better than the British. Aung San and the Burma Independence Army, now known as the Burma National Army, revolted against Japanese occupation and helped the Allies retake Burma. In the period following the war, a transitional government, with Aung San at its head, was established and on January 27, 1947 Prime Minister Clement Attlee signed a treaty guaranteeing Burma's independence within a year. On July 19, 1947, Aung San and six of his cabinet members were assassinated.

Burma officially became the independent Union of Burma on January 4, 1948. Fourteen years of democratic followed, producing among others U Thant, Secretary-General of the United Nations, and first non-Western leader of any international organization. However, in 1962 a military coup toppled the government and General Ne Win led the country for the next 26 years, until his resignation in 1988. In this year, economic conditions coupled with continuing political oppression sparked pro-democracy demonstrations throughout the country. The resulting military crackdown resulted in the deaths of hundreds of demonstrators. A coup by General Saw Maung followed, leading to the formation of the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) and the declaration of martial law in 1989. (Although officially retired, Ne Win is widely believed to have been heavily involved with the coup and its aftermath behind the scenes.) It was at this time that SLORC adopted the name "Myanmar"; although this is recognized by the United Nations, it is not by the NLD, the US, or the UK, as they do not recognize the junta's right to power, and so I will continue to use the name "Burma" in this post.

Meanwhile, Aung San Suu Kyi, daughter of Aung San, had returned to Burma from Britain (where she had been educated, married, and begun to raise a family) to care for her mother. Witnessing the protests and their violent suppression firsthand, Suu Kyi became actively involved in Burmese politics and in 1988 helped found the National League for Democracy. Heavily influenced by Gandhi, she insisted that the movement remain at all times and under all circumstances non-violent. Suu Kyi toured the country for the next ten months, consolidating her party's strength and popularity, as well as winning a massive individual following, all while she and her supporters underwent harrassment, attack, and arrest by SLORC. It was during this time that the famous Irrawaddy Delta incident occured: on April 5, as Suu Kyi spoke at a public rally for democracy, she was confronted by an army unit waiting for orders to fire. She approached the unit in spite of the rifles aimed at her and spoke with them until eventually an army major called them off. On July 19th, a day of commemoration for Aung San and his fellow cabinet members known as Martyr's Day, Suu Kyi planned to lead a march in tribute. The authorities immediately called in the army, and the march was called off. The following day, Suu Kyi was placed under house arrest.

Nevertheless, she stood for election in the 1990 elections, the first open elections in Burma in almost 30 years. On May 27, the NLD won 82% of the parliamentary seats - 392 of the 485 - with 60% of the vote. Suu Kyi, as leader of the party, would have assumed the post of Prime Minister. SLORC, however, nullified the election results and refused to hand over power. The military junta, now led by General Than Shwe, remains in power to this day.

Suu Kyi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991. Previously offered freedom on the condition she leave the country, which she refused, she was not able to accept the award in person because if she left the country she would not be able to return. In 1995 she was released from house arrest for the first time in six years; again, it was understood that if she left the country it would be for good. After her husband was diagnosed with cancer in 1997, he was denied a Burmese entry visa, and he died in 1999 without being able to meet with her again. She was again placed under host arrest in 2000 and subsequently freed in 2002. In 2003, as she again toured the country, her convoy was attacked by a government-sponsored mob; although she escaped safely, many of her supporters were wounded or killed. She was re-arrested and sent to the notorious Insein Prison, before returning to house arrest several months later.

August 18, 2007, marked the resurgence of mass public demonstrations in response to a 500% hike in the price of diesel oil to cover a budget deficit. These protests were led by well-known dissidents who, after a military crackdown, are now in hiding or reportedly imprisoned at Insein. On September 19, several hundred Buddhist monks held a protest march in the city of Sittwe, and on September 22 2,000 monks marched through Yangon to Aung San Suu Kyi's house, where she came to the gates to accept their blessing. Over the next few days similar protests swept the country, culminating in a march through Yangon of up to 100,000 monks, nuns, and laypeople. Again, military crackdowns followed, resulting in several deaths (the official government count is 13, but eyewitness accounts report over a hundred). The casualties include Kenji Nagai, a Japanese photojournalist. Internet access was cut off by September 28 and journalists warned not to report on the situation; army units have also been raiding Buddhist temples. A BBC report states that 10,000 individuals, mainly monks, have been rounded up for interrogation; US diplomats have found 15 monasteries empty.

Yet protests continue.



For more information:
Wikipedia page - day by day breakdown of the protests
Ko Htike - a Burmese blogger based in London
Support the monk's protest in Burma - yes, this is a Facebook group, but one with incredibly up to the minute information, as well as international event listings
US Campaign for Burma (includeds links to other international organizations - I would list them all if I could)

U.N. envoy Ibrahim Gambari met with both Aung San Suu Kyi and Than Shwe; he is expected to report to the U.N. Security Council sometime this week.

***





Fearlessness may be a gift but perhaps more precious is the courage acquired through endeavour, courage that comes from cultivating the habit of refusing to let fear dictate one's actions, courage that could be described as 'grace under pressure' - grace which is renewed repeatedly in the face of harsh, unremitting pressure.

I first hear of Aung San Suu Kyi in eighth grade. At my tiny Socratic seminar style 6-12 school, my social studies class was one day herded into one of the higher grade classes to watch a portion of Beyond Rangoon, where we watched Adele Lutz as Aung San Suu Kyi walk up to the Burmese army, gently hold up a hand, and stop them where they stood. This was my first encounter with the concept of nonviolent protest as more than a hazy word tossed around the classroom in reference to Martin Luther King and Henry David Thoreau, and I couldn't believe this had actually happened. When I learned that despite her nonviolent leadership, despite her party's sweep of the 1990 democratic elections with 80% of the popular vote, despite her 1991 Nobel Peace Prize, Suu Kyi had been placed under house arrest where she remained to that day, I was heartbroken. How could something so hideous happen to such a tremendous, inspiring, good person? The more I read, the more I was affected. Not only had she demonstrated nonviolent protest firsthand and become a voice and a leader for her country, she had faced her imprisonment with dignity, grace, and iron conviction. She has been, with all sincerity, my hero ever since that day.

I remember very clearly waking up one day in eleventh grade to hear that she had been released from house arrest, and the unbelievable joy I felt. I remember just as clearly waking up a year later to find that her convoy had been attacked and Suu Kyi herself was missing. I have followed the news from Burma consistently for the past eight years, and obsessively for the past two weeks - no matter what new causes or injustices come to my attention, I have never forgotten the gross oppression in that country and my admiration for this woman has never, ever lessened.

The only real prison is fear, and the only real fear is freedom from fear.

By her own words. Aung San Suu Kyi is free. The junta cannot intimidate or humiliate her and thus cannot imprison her, no matter what lengths they go to. What is more, they cannot imprison her words, the writings that have spread throughout the world for the past fifteen years and inspired countless numbers. No matter how many times this has been said before, it bears repeating: no tyrant can stop the flow of ideas, nor limit the human mind. I have no doubt that one day this will be demonstrated with the deposition of the Burmese military junta. When? Ultimately, of course, it is up to the Burmese people to decide when the weight and indignity of oppression outweigh the risks of revolution. The current protests are an indication of just that breaking point. The monks, nuns, and ordinary citizens who continue to peacefully protest despite the junta's retribution are no longer afraid. The rest of the country can only follow.

The quintessential revolution is that of the spirit, born of an intellectual conviction of the need for change in those mental attitudes and vales which shape the course of a nation's development.

But that doesn't mean that we have to stand by helplessly, or that we can afford to sit back and watch. The rest of the world - the "free" citizens with the basic human compassion to care about those who aren't - must show their support. Maybe this means activism, maybe this means donating time or money or skills to an organization, maybe this means spreading the word to your family or your friends or your local news station. Maybe this means positive thinking. Because perhaps the knowledge that they are not alone and that they have not been dismissed might help the Burmese people shake off the remnants of their fear. Every bit of help and every demonstration of support, every small defiance in the face of oppression, every denial of fear - every step, no matter how small, brings us that much closer to the spiritual revolution that will lead - that is leading - inevitably to political revolution. The Burmese people are leaving their fear behind to achive freedom of spirit; let them also have freedom of body, of action, and of expression.

The only real prison is fear, and the only real freedom is freedom from fear.


October 4, 2007




all quotes from Freedom From Fear, by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi

Comments

[winterspel.livejournal.com]

What a beautiful tribute! This is such a wonderful, thoughtful post: thank you for sharing this with us, and especially for sharing what this means to you.

♥

[acchikocchi.livejournal.com]

Thank you! As soon as I saw the first "Blog for Burma" post on my flist I knew I had to write something up. Even though I don't talk about it much, it's often on my mind and I have a very strong emotional reaction, obviously. :)

♥!

[pixisticks.livejournal.com]

It's so inspiring to hear about things like this. There's so much violence today, people don't understand that civil disobedience can be just as effective, and in my opinion, much more meaningful.

You mentioned that she went missing. Has she been found yet?

[acchikocchi.livejournal.com]

Oh yes! Ah, I can see that wasn't quite clear - she went missing in the first days after she and her supporters were attacked in 2003; she was found after about six days, I think? and then imprisoned.

But yes, I think it is quite an inspiration. ♥

[akathesia.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much for sharing this, Suu Kyi is such an inspiring person. The on-going situation is very distressing.

[acchikocchi.livejournal.com]

You are welcome! I think so, too. ♥

[matchynishi.livejournal.com]

Thanks so much for sharing this - it's really so admirable of her to not budge from her convictions even after so much happened... I'll definitely look for more news on this now.

[acchikocchi.livejournal.com]

I'm always glad to spread the word on an issue this important. Thank you for taking the time to read. ♥

[thunder]

She's quite the awe inspiring person for holding on to her beliefs so firmly even though she's had to suffer so much for them. Thanks for sharing!

[acchikocchi.livejournal.com]

I have always thought so. Thank you for reading! ♥

[snowqueenofhoth.livejournal.com]

Thank you for sharing this.

When I was in college, a student did a dramatic monologue powerpoint thing about Burma. It was really amazing, and what shocked me the most was that I had never heard about it. I was appalled with myself.

Now I am more appalled to realize that I never connected "Burma" and "Myanmar" as the same place.
I have a student to travels to "Myanmar" regularly, as she says. She's a professor and researcher for children's welfare and goes to help out with setting up healthy, sanitary facilities for schools there.

And I never knew where "there" was. I am ashamed.

[acchikocchi.livejournal.com]

Oh wow, that sounds like some pretty amazing work your student does. Yes, the two names can be confusing. Foreigners who call it Burma are often chided by other (often less-informed) foreigners as being insensitive/imperialist, not realizing that the name Myanmar is associated with the illegitimage military government, and so the opposition themselves choose to keep the name Burma. It's a sticky issue.

Thank you for reading. ♥