Burma: The Junta Responds

The eyes of the world are watching events in Burma right now - people are finally seeing the nature of a government incapable of acting in good faith. The Burmese government simply cannot bring itself to choose the road of dialogue, instead preferring to take the road of violence and harrassment. An idiotic group of greedy, devious and privileged generals prefer to be despised by the majority of an entire nation of their own people. In 1988 the only footage captured of the crackdown of the uprising was filmed by a Japanese television crew who by coincidence worked for the same company which had a profitable contract to run the Burma state television media. The Japanese television company turned a blind eye and the footage was suppressed. The digital era has its benefits. The world is watching this time around.

I don't think anybody truly knows the figures of fatalities, casualties and arrests of monks and civilians so far. What we do know is that last night monasteries were raided across Burma, monks were beaten in their sleep and reportedly dragged away in trucks. Certainly they have been taken to prison and very probably are being tortured as we speak. Today civilians were given ten minutes to quit marching and clear the streets before soldiers opened fire. Shots were fired into the air, but we know that nine people were shot dead including a foreign cameraman. Our sister of peace and justice Aung San Suu Kyi is said to be in her home at Rangoon where she is detained and not, as reported, transferred to the notorious Insein Prison.

What has been the reaction of Burma's neighbours? China has asked for the authorities in Burma to "maintain restraint" (China with its compassionate nature towards dissent and human rights seemingly considers the junta's behaviour right now as restrained) yet stopped short of criticizing the Burmese government while ASEAN (the Association of South East Asian Nations) - currently meeting in the States - are condemning the actions of the army expressing "revulsion". An unusually harsh bit of criticism from Burma's neighbours who are clearly embarrassed. Their condemnations of this murderous government are welcomed.

India, ironically the birthplace of the Buddha, are too tied up in business deals with Burma to be making harsh criticisms of the junta's violent response to a people's will for democratic change. While Aung San Suu Kyi and the pro-democracy movement of Burma are continually inspired by Gandhian priniciples of non-violent civil disobedience, India prefers to let money speak for itself. Sonia Gandhi and her Congress Party, the governing party in Indian parliament, are quite happy to parade the image of the Mahatma at election time, to remind Indian voters of the heritage of her family and of the nation. Yet Gandhi himself would have deplored the actions of the Burmese government. India has urged Burma to work for "peaceful reform" but added that they were "not interested in exporting ideology." Should be be surprised? India signed a £75 million deal with the regime to explore for gas off the coast of Burma just a few days ago.

If you stand in solidarity with the people of Burma, terrorized and repressed for far too long, please try to keep awareness of the current situation prominent in our minds and try to support those organizations which support the movement for dignified and peaceful democratic change in Burma. The right time is now.

Burma: Is History Repeating Itself?

And so the monks march on. The events of the past few days have been astounding. It's the biggest collective protest in Burma since the mass uprising of 8-8-88. Today is the eighth consecutive day of the monk's challenge to the military government. They have vowed to continue until the dictatorship has collapsed.

In Rangoon on Sunday something entirely unprecedented took place. The monks managed to get through the roadblocks on University Avenue and to the gate of the home of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. "Metta Sutta!" they chanted (it literally means "loving-kindness") in their hundreds. Then suddenly and unexpectedly she stepped out of the house where she's been detained for most of the past 17 years and onto the pavement to greet the monks. According to onlookers she was unable to hold back her tears. After fifteen minutes of prayers and calls of "Long Live Aung San Suu Kyi!" the march was moved on by security officials.

The protest gathers pace each day. In towns and cities right across Burma, the nuns have now joined the monks. The people, in their thousands, have joined their loved and respected spiritual leaders, forming a protective human ring around them. It's electrifying and reassuring.

How could we question the will of the people now?

The military body of 50,000 men who rule Burma with the might of arms and terror have never questioned the use of force before. It is likely to happen again. As I write, on the eighth day of protest, military vehicles are roaming the streets, issuing warnings of dispersion by force and threatening civilians with legal action "even for just watching the protests". Burmese state media is brimming with threatening propaganda, warning of "destructive internal elements" and of "a communist plot". Forgive me if I'm mistaken, but who has ever heard of a communist monk?

China, the main trading partner and political ally of the military junta of Burma, is silent. China holds the key to change. If the People's Republic of China is attempting to present a better face to the international community right now (lets not forget the Olympics in Beijing next summer) it would do itself a major disfavour to allow the military to open fire on the protests in Burma. The 1988 uprising there saw a bloodbath which far surpassed the Tiananmen Square massacre a year later. One cannot question the stupidity of the deranged and paranoid generals who rule Burma, but China would be fools to let them massacre the impoverished people of Burma once again.

Support the people of Burma

Freedom From Fear: Changes in Burma

Trailer for the documentary film Freedom From Fear due for general release later this year.

In recent weeks there has been an unprecedented and symbolic change in the movement for democracy in Burma. On the 15th August the people of Burma awoke to discover that the military government had taken a decision to raise the cost of fuel by up to five times. The people have protested (and what courage people have in a country where such actions see people imprisoned and tortured for criticizing the government) on the streets of the major towns and cities.

In the town of Pakkoku even Buddhist monks began to protest. The junta responded to such moves by using - as always - brute force. Monks are respected in Burma and as such are expected to perform religious rituals for the generals who rule the country. The force with which the monks were treated following the protests has ignited a confrontation between the military and the monasteries. The monks have now issued an ultimatum to the government: apologize for the beatings and free pro-democracy activists from imprisonment by 17 September, or we will not perform religious rites for you. To be snubbed by a monk is the highest form of punishment in Buddhist Burma.

The reports which are coming out of Burma these days are significant. The people are protesting on a scale unseen since the uprising of 1988, which saw non-violent civil unrest to a response of mass killing from the military government. The monks could well hold the key to the next level of public dissent in a country where human dignity is denied and where the army - at one time a loved and respected force - continues to perpetrate mass human rights abuses on an unimaginable scale.

Excerpted from a statement by the Assistance Association of Political Prisoners of Burma:

The People of Burma continue to suffer desperately under the consequences of the sudden increase in fuel and commodity prices, enforced by the SPDC military regime from mid-August.

To draw attention to the hardships faced by ordinary people, the 1988 pro-democracy “88 Generation” student leaders, initiated peaceful demonstrations from 19 August, 2007. These non-violent protests spread from Rangoon to various towns around the country, and have drawn the involvement of monks, members of the National League for Democracy, Members of Parliament and ordinary people. The SPDC response has been to crackdown harshly. Approximately 150 people have been arrested and detained, including the 88 Generation student leaders, whose homes were raided on 21 August. Since these arrests, there has been no official information on their whereabouts and how they have been treated.

We, of the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma) are nervous for the fate of our brothers and sisters, based on our own experiences of torture and ill-treatment by the military authorities, and the SPDC’s adeptness for propaganda and misinformation in the media.

Where Is Brian? A Little Trip to Tunisia

The beginning of my trip to Tunisia did not begin well. At Heathrow the top string on my guitar broke as I was tuning it down for the flight, my Tibetan mala beads broke in my hand luggage. In the queue for check-in I got a text from my mate Marwan (who was meeting me at the other end) which read: bring smart clothes for clubs and weddings. it's not a joke. I glanced down at my luggage - which contained Indian fisherman pants, t-shirts, a pair of ripped jeans and a pair of brown cordoroy flared pants,and thought: Fuck.

I landed in Tunis and was taken straight to the family home of Marwan - a French friend of Tunisian descent - whose family I was to be a guest of for the next two weeks. We went immediately to the seafront where we sipped mint tea, smoked a schicha and caught up. The next day to the resort of Hammamet, where apart from swimming and eating we took a trip to a bizarre nightclub named Oasis where we watched Romanian trapeze artists dangle from the ceiling. Also in Hammamet I found myself bouncing on a giant trampoline where I was strapped into a harness and catapulted into the air beside women doing similar things dressed in full hijab... it was utterly ridiculous.

The first thing I noted about Tunisian society is that what people proudly - and publicly - proclaim not to do, is actually in reality done in abundance. I discovered this the next day, further down the coast, during an impromptu all-male fishing trip. My fellow passengers - among a handful of others - included a respected GP, an ageing dentist, and a gynaecologist who was slightly worse for wear. The only foreigner apart from myself was a Parisian with his two spoiled children. Drinking alcohol in Tunisia, while not illegal, is somewhat frowned upon, and many locals will tell you how much they detest the amber nectar (to fondly borrow that beautiful Australian expression.) No sooner had our little vessal left the shore than a huge cooler full of beers and spirits was opened to an appreciative roar. It was only 11am and in no time at all everyone on board was as pissed as a fart. Fish were caught, as was octopus (promptly used by the two spoiled French kids to play football) and the sun reached its peak in the skies above. As I glanced across at the drunken Tunisian gynaecologist and watched him gut a large fish in a particularly heavy handed way. I suddenly felt a tsunami of sympathy for any woman having to surrender herself to his stirrups.

Wedged between Algeria and Libya, the people of Tunisia enjoy the highest standard of living anywhere in Africa, with the exception of South Africa. In fact women enjoy rights unmatched by any other Arab state. Islamic fundamentalism exists within a tiny minority of society, and Tunisia enjoys a non-aligned political status (but presents itself as Western-friendly.) The education system is of a high standard, the health system is fine, and the economy is in good nick. I was surprised to hear this:

"We are free to discuss anything here in Tunisia" one girl told me. "But if you talk about politics you will find yourself buried somewhere and nobody will ever be able to find you"

Tunisia is simply crawling with secret police. Several times I heard the ration measured at one secret informer per ten civilians. The face of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali is everywhere. His face peers down at you from roadside billboards, from above hotel reception desks, and from walls behind shop counters. It is a face made all the more ghastly when you hear of the treatment of dissidents (and foreign journalists on Tunisian soil) and the fact that the national constitution has been altered twice to allow him continued power. There are frequent reminders of the day of his coup: take a drive down Rue de 7 November 1987 or spot the auspicious date on the banknotes. There's even a University of 7th November. Opposition is crushed and election results show Ben Ali receiving almost one hundred percent of the popular vote. What does the USA - that great moral outpost of freedom of speech and democracy - make of this? Well, in the beautiful, ambient, historical hilltown of Sidi Bou Said I stayed just a street away from - what else? - a CIA training centre. Isn't it strange, how America only speaks out against dictatorships when they're not playing ball the American way?

An eight hour journey across the edge of the Sahara, past mile upon mile of olive groves, took us to Medenine, close to the border with Libya. In fact Tripoli was remarkably near. I lost a lot of energy here. The forty degree heat was oppressive to say the least and I found my inability to communicate in half-decent French quite frustrating. I lost myself in books in shady corners and cursed myself quietly for coming to such hot lands. Mahmoud, a wonderful old coiffeur was a brilliant host, always smiling, nothing was too much trouble (arabic hospitality - need I say this? - is legendary.) The lines on his face told a story of a great life with a lot of laughter.

What did I learn during my two weeks in this tiny country? That the Monty Python film The Life of Brian was filmed in Tunisia. So too was Star Wars. I learned not to eat shwarma on an empty stomach while onboard a boat on rough waters. I learned not to say Ca va? too often (long story.) And not to talk about Israel. I learned to enjoy eating olives. And I learned how to get a nice sound out of a five stringed guitar.

As luck would have it, my presence at any Tunisian wedding was not, after all, required.