A birthday amid Burma's cycle of despair
Jeff Greenwald
Sunday, June 19, 2005
In Asian culture, one's 60th birthday is an occasion for special joy. It marks the point an individual has passed through all 12 signs of the zodiac -- Horse, Tiger, Rooster, etc. -- in each of the five elements (wood, air, iron, earth and water). It's a mark of completion, a point of new beginnings and a testimony to the cyclical nature of all existence.
Today, Aung San Suu Kyi -- the spiritual and de facto political leader of Burma -- turns 60. It should be a monumental day for Daw Suu Kyi, or "the Lady," as she is affectionately known. As a wife, mother, author, freedom fighter, Buddhist scholar and Nobel Peace Prize winner, she has lived her life with extraordinary energy and courage. For Suu Kyi and the people of Burma, however, the passing years bring no satisfaction. Time slouches onward, a potholed road moving from bad to worse.
The military seized power in 1962 and brutally rebuffed the results of a democratic election in 1990. Since then, decline and oppression have defined the country's fortunes. Renamed "Myanmar" by the ruling generals, Burma has become a case study in tyranny. The junta holds some 1,400 prisoners of conscience. Rape, relocation and the use of slave labor to build roads, waterworks and the tourist infrastructure are common. Though half of the country lives in poverty, half the nation's budget is spent on weapons and the military.
Still, during an assignment to Burma in 2002, I was continually amazed by the grace and hospitality of the Burmese people, despite ceaseless abuses by their rulers. There was also an aching appetite for freedom, and an unsinkable conviction that the wheel of time will turn, and their situation improve.
Sadly, nothing lends credence to this sentiment. Earthquakes rattle and subside, tsunamis strike and recede, but the plight of Burma has worsened for 15 years. Suu Kyi has spent nearly 10 of those years in prison and under house arrest. Her most recent spate of freedom ended in May of 2003 when, during a speaking tour near Mandalay, her motorcade was attacked by pro-government thugs. Eye witnesses reported that nearly 100 of her friends and allies were beaten to death with clubs and spears. The generals' response was to arrest Suu Kyi again -- a strategy akin to locking up women while men go on a raping and pillaging spree.
Several of the 10 members of ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) have publicly voiced their outrage at the Myanmar junta and demanded sweeping reforms by their rogue state. It's particularly embarrassing that, in 2006, Myanmar is scheduled to assume ASEAN's rotating presidency. Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines have expressed strong objections to this possibility. "At one stroke," wrote a Malaysian analyst in the Asian Wall Street Journal, "ASEAN would see its credibility evaporate in the international arena."
Thailand, on the other hand, seems to be capitulating to the regime. In a baffling display of solidarity with the generals, Thai authorities recently ordered 3,000 Burmese freedom fighters to abandon their homes and relocate to Spartan camps along the Thai/Burmese border. This slap-down of Burmese refugees was appalling and ironic, coming from a Buddhist kingdom that had just received so much compassion for its own displaced tsunami victims.
Thailand isn't the only knave. Some American companies -- notably Unocal -- continue to do business with the junta, well aware that their investments fuel a murderous regime and oppress its citizens. High-end expedition agencies, including several in the Bay Area, still run package tours to "Kipling's Burma" and the "Burmese Land of Gold," even though Suu Kyi has specifically asked freedom-minded people to avoid bolstering the junta's credibility through organized tourism.
In the light of these challenges, one might well wonder what to give Suu Kyi for her 60th birthday. Clearly, the only gift of value in these circumstances is action in support of Suu Kyi and Burmese democracy. Suu Kyi has asked, simply and directly, that citizens of the free world "use your liberty to promote ours."
There are many opportunities for Americans to heed this suggestion. Call, write, or fax your congressional representatives. Ask them to champion the cause of Burmese democracy, and insist that Burma be put on the agenda of the U.N. Security Council. Boycott companies that trade with the junta, and don't patronize travel outfitters that romanticize the country. Visit the Web sites of Ethical Traveler and/or the U.S. Campaign for Burma and express your solidarity online.
For those who seek deeper insight into the situation -- by visiting Burma itself -- preparation is the key. Although Suu Kyi discourages travel to Burma, I and some other Burma activists feel that educated, individual travelers can be a powerful force for advocacy and citizen diplomacy. If you do travel to Burma, don't finance the regime. Inform yourself about the crisis, support local businesses and return home with stories about the indelible spirit of the world's most gracious oppressed people.
For Aung San Suu Kyi and the people of Burma, there can be no better gift than our vigilance. The candles we light to celebrate Suu Kyi's 60th birthday may help initiate a new era of Burmese freedom, dispelling 15 years of darkness.
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