Originally published on the CGS blog on April 26, 2011.
Yesterday, I attended a fascinating presentation and film screening at the State Department. The film, Burma Soldier, tells the story of Myo Myint, whose journey included fighting as a soldier for the Burmese government; witnessing atrocities committed against civilians; becoming an advocate for Democracy in Burma (officially Myanmar); being detained, held in captivity, and tortured; and finally, joining his brother in America. The film is difficult to watch with graphic footage and disturbing recollections, but it is also stirring as one can’t help but be inspired by Mr. Myint in his struggle for his people.
The humanitarian and political issues in Burma are particularly interesting to me. During my travels this year, I became close friends with a very amiable Burmese man. I met Ko (Mr.) Myo while we were both picking avocados for hours each day in Israel. He was there with thirty other Burmese men taking part in some sort of worker exchange program. A few weeks ago, I sent Ko Myo an email and received a delightful message in response. This excerpt from his email gives you an idea of how congenial a person he is:
“Oh my dear best friend ko jake, you remember me? You sure?This is very wonderful for me.I am very very happy because of your remenberance. I ever always miss and remember you.This is universal true…”
As you can see, Ko Myo’s English is not excellent, and we communicated in facial expressions and hand gestures more than anything else. During our time working together I did try to ask Ko Myo what he thinks of the Burmese government. He was able to tell me that he was scared of the government and did not want to say anything bad about it. When I brought up Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the pro-democracy opposition leader in Burma, Ko Myo beamed, uttered a confident “Yes, yes!”, and began chatting animatedly with the two of his Burmese friends sitting with us.
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has been a leader of the pro-democracy movement in Burma since 1988. She led pro-democracy protests in the late 80’s, which were met with violent suppression by the Burmese military-controlled government. Thousands of protestors were killed and the government imposed martial law. In the 1990 presidential election, Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi won in a landslide victory. However, the military regime dismissed the election results and kept Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest. She has been under house arrest in Burma multiple times since joining the pro-democracy movement and for 15 of the past 21 years. She was released on Nov. 13, 2010, six days after the Nov. 7 “elections”.
The military regime in Burma has shown a complete lack of care for basic human rights, especially when it comes to the ethnic minorities living on Burma’s borders. The government is currently detaining 2100 political prisoners, and according to Human Rights Watch, Burma prisons do not meet international standards. Extrajudicial executions, sexual violence against women and girls, forced displacement, forced labor, and torture are all common in the fringe ethnic minority areas of Burma.
The U.S. has limited dialogue with the Burmese government and downgraded its level of representation in Burma from Ambassador to Chargé d’Affaires. After the screening of Burma Soldier at the State Department, a panel addressed questions from the audience. Joseph Yun, Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, declared, “We want to see all political prisoners released immediately and unconditionally…I believe it is my job to engage them” and try to make progress. He remains optimistic, believing “the Burmese government needs to join the international community” at some point.
Diane Orentlicher, Deputy for the Office of War Crimes Issues, said that combating sexual violence is “a priority for Secretary Clinton,” who is “working to establish and international coalition of inquiry” for Burma.
Speaking on the responsibility to protect, Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, Eric Schwartz, made a strong statement:
“We are well past the point of time in world history where the way a government treats the people in its territory is solely the concern of that government. It is the legitimate concern of the international community and it will remain so.”
It’s encouraging that important U.S. officials are making statements such as these, championing the responsibility to protect in a public forum.
The producer of the film was also on the panel, and to conclude, she said that Burma Soldier has been “a blockbuster in Burma”, being smuggled around under the nose of the government and garnering a positive reaction from the Burmese people.
My friend Ko Myo concluded his email by taunting me for my favorite soccer team, Chelsea’s loss and his favorite team, Manchester United’s victory in the European Champions League. His teasing remarks reminded me that even under an oppressive military regime, all people have inherent similarities, and our common humanity will always unite us.
