Aung San Suu Kyi's Struggle for Democracy in Myanmar - Essay Example

The Year of 1962 brought oppression, depression and atrocities to the people of Burma by their own people. General Ni Wing put a seal on the path of democracy only twenty two year after it had been paved. The struggle which Burmese people had carried against their white foreign rulers to gain freedom seemed to have lost its meaning. The toil of Aung San and his gallant army, for the freedom of their people, was completely forgotten by his successors. The government by military regime got involved in almost all sorts of human rights violation which include child labor, human trafficking and forced labor. The current rule in Myanmar is considered to be one of the most offensive and repressive reign of the world at present. Many laid their lives, properties and careers’ trying to rise against this injustice but the struggle never seemed to meet its political and poetic end. Minorities fled from the country for the fear of being dealt with biasness. People of Burma finally rose against the prevalent violence and economic mismanagement in 1988 but perhaps God had to test them a bit more. The demonstrators were targeted, dealt with brutality and even killed. Hundreds of families lost their men only to witness the ruling military junta further strengthen itself. In the sea of miseries when the sun of a new day had totally been eclipsed, one ray of hope emerged from the darkness- Aung San suu Kyi. Role of Aung San Suu Kyi: The world’s one and only imprisoned noble peace prize winner, Ms. Suu Kyi was perhaps leading a contented life with her family, when she realized her duty to her country and its people. Ambassador of Burma in D.C called her as “ordinary housewife” but she proved herself extraordinary, the way she compromised her family and twenty years of her life for democracy in Myanmar. The walk to democracy might not have been so long, had the military junta accepted the result of 1990 general election and let the winning National League for Democracy and its secretary Suu Kyi assume the office. Instead she was put under house arrest. Fourteen out of the last twenty years of her life has been spent under house arrest where no visitation by the family members or party people has been allowed. Yet, despite being the most popular political leader in Myanmar, she had to put in much more than the required efforts. Problems faced in the way of democracy: It’s difficult to comprehend the reasons of NLD’s constant failure in its efforts to restore democracy after it had nearly cleanly swept its opposition in the general elections. In my opinion a major reason is the peaceful, nonviolent course of actions it has taken up against the tyranny of ruling junta. The other more logical causes would be: Inability to reach judicial system: Justice is not free in Burma and this is the foremost reason behind the public unrest. If people doubt the decisions of the court, how can they respect them? The 1975 State Protection Act permits the government to imprison any person without a trial. This act not only allowed Shawe to hold Suu Kyi but some twenty one hundred political workers as prisoners. Although the determination of the people who are leering for democracy cannot be undermined, yet this act does warn them. It rather acts as a main hurdle in the path as a person has to wait for five years to prove his innocence. One has to be much careful in his conversation with foreigners and tourists as this can lead to suspicion. The autocratic government is leading the country with an iron hand which seldom trembles in crushing the pro-democratic people. Multiple ethnic groups in Burma: If we turn the pages of history, we’ll find this problem deep rooted. Burma is a country with a wide variety of religions and ethnicities. Unfortunate fact is that there has hardly been any blending in them. Since their divide in World War II, when one group was pro Japan and other towards British, till this date the gap remains. In the famous demonstration of Buddhist monks against the military junta, posted army regiment refused to open fire at them. Regiment was swiftly replaced and the other one did the task to perfection. It is believed or rumored that the replaced regiment comprised non-Buddhists which further widened the gap. Role of China: Although, Rangoon has been putting up with much sanctions applied by the Western powers, they haven’t been able to stir a wave. The reason is simple. Main trade ties of Myanmar lie with Russia, India and China. Irony of the situation is that the person who has supposedly been holding up the flag of Gandhi and Marx, suffers the most due to the diplomacy of the world around. China has deeper strategic and economical interests in Burma and its position in United Nations assures that they are safeguarded. With new deals over mining and hydropower projects with China, and the agreement of Russia to sell a nuclear reactor leaves the Burmese military junta unbothered over sanction issues. Role of the world around: Economic sanctions deprive the public not the government. It became clear in the case of Iraq and its becoming crystal in the case of Myanmar. However rude it may sound but when the UN gets serious, it resolves issues like it did in East Timur. Western world should rise above mere rhetoric and act seriously in helping the people who have virtually been living in a police state since 1962. In his interview with John Pilger, James Sherwood admitted that the only effort he carried out before investing $30 million in Burma was to ask a CIA representative, to quote him: “I contacted the senior CIA representative for Burma and had extensive discussions about the truth of all of these allegations and he confirmed to me that they were all untrue” ( Pilger p6). When everyone is serving his own selfish cause, I wonder who will serve the cause of humanity. When Ms. Suu Kyi refused to meet Mr. Gambari, UN special envoy to Burma, her supporters backed this decision by calling it a ‘zoo visit’. This shows the air of mistrust looming in the minds of Burmese against UN due to its inability to do anything worthwhile since last four decades. Conclusion: Burma exemplifies injustice around the world (making sense of history, p 1). It has a long history of violence and freedom struggle. The number of the people living below poverty line is increasing. The illiterate masses, who once considered NLD a communist party, have turned their sympathies towards it. Support of Aung San Suu Kyi is increasing exponentially. Yet, without any economic support and foreign pressure, this non-violent movement can hardly succeed. She is winning the hearts but to win against autocracy she needs more than a mere noble medal. Lets’ not only wait to see her perseverance pay off but should rather put our share for the sake of humanity. Myanmar has faced much mayhem for the restoration of democracy; it’s now high time when the world should put its share in it. Read More