Banya Hongsar, Canberra
The Burmese military men exercise their power over Burma, and the new constitution was drafted with their vision in mind. Our new constitution was written by those who strongly believe that this method of rule is best. The constitution lacks both a rule of law and any political vision. This is based on my personal experiences as a Burmese citizen, and as an advocate for further struggles to promote civil and political rights for the Burmese people in the 21st century. This essay will place an emphasis on civil rights and discourse as a foundation for the future democratization in Burma. This is a new angle, that Burmese citizens will be looking for during such a transition, either sooner or later.
Burma is to hold another “election” yet again in 2010. This election is about power of the military authorities to rule us, the Burmese people, under the new constitution. Yet, this very constitution was approved without public debate in 2008. We have been ruled by military authorities for more than sixty years, living in fear and frustration. It is time to change our political system with progressive thinking. Our generation will be making our own history in this 21st century. We have the right to elect the best leader from our own country, and also we have the right to not elect individuals who have demonstrated little morality and compassion. The military leaders should not rule us again, as they strongly subscribe to the idea of military intervention in parliamentary affairs, once the new government is instated.
The 17-plus individuals who were appointed for the Electoral Commission have no legal authority to impose regulations on the processes of the elections, but they have to obey any orders given by Senior General Than Shwe, the head of Burmese military. Our national democratic leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, is barred from voting, from entering the elections, and running for high office. Her party was told they must expel her if it is to run for this election. This is an assault on the essence of democracy. The National League for Democracy, led by Suu Kyi, resolved at its special general meeting that the party would not run in the the upcoming elections; they deemed that the elections lack democratic principles, and are unconvinced that the elections will be fair unless all political activists are freed from prison. The world leaders have condemned junta’s strict rulings, and the laws that ban former political activists from running in the upcoming election. After the party’s meeting was held, on the 5th of April the National League for Democracy resolved that the party would not register for these unfair elections, and declared to the public that the party would stand with the people for a genuine democratic process and political movements. Are we, post and current students from all over Burma, united behind the true leaders and the parties of those who hold courage and principles?
We have been waiting for change and dialogue, between the military leaders and leaders from National League for Democracy along with ethnic minority leaders’ representatives, for political settlement for over twenty years. However, we are only mocked by the military authorities as we are assaulted by unfair election laws once again. Our youth and students have been calling for a peaceful transition and urged a peaceful end to cease the nation’s civil war for over six decades. We support a federal system, not the unitary system in modern Burma. We are against a fragmented state, but we support a federal union with equal and fair representation and power for all states and ethnicities.
This election is one of the worse models of such a process in Southeast Asia. Under the 2008 constitution, The military men must control 25% of parliamentary seats and hold all departments’ ministries. The new constitution and the electoral laws ignore the fundamental principles of citizens’ civil and political rights. We (students and workers) will be campaigning for a boycott of the elections. We cannot allow the military men to continue to run the country with guns, unless they change the laws and allow new and former political leaders, from all ethnicities, to form lawful parties that safe-guarded under a new federal constitution. This new federal constitution must be drafted with equal representation from all Burmese political parties, including ethnic minority nationalities.
Our generation cannot wait long for just the helping hands of other nations. We have been waiting for over twenty years. We must know our own strengths and weaknesses. We must address our fragmented political divisions. These are the core battles among us. We should not ask praise for blaming neighboring countries, but instead we must be aware that each country has its own political problems. We have to find resources around us and within us. We must never underestimate the power of unity in a political movement. If we don’t follow the leaders who guide us to victory, we will be under the darkness of bad rulers forever. Our leaders, like Aung San Suu Kyi and U Tin Oo, have paid a heavy price for us. They were close to being assassinated in 2003 and they have suffered for long years under house arrest. They don’t bow down, but resist for us. We have a political duty to support them and make them strong. Our fate can be the change we believe in, as the slogan of President Barack Obama who won the US elections in 2008, stated.
Burma does not solely live by one ethnicity. It is a multi-ethnic nation. The majority should not oppress the minorities in the 21st century, under the principles of human rights and democracy. We are not fighting for the land alone, but rather we are fighting for the survival of our languages, cultures, identities and ultimately self-determination. We respect the rights of others, while we uphold our own rights to live and rule our own people under the Union of Burma. We do not advocate for war, but for peace. We compromise for equality, but will not compromise for inequality. It is time for all Burmese people to build a common purpose to change the nation’s political system. We are not fighting person by person like a dog fight, but we are rather fighting for the social cohesion and political stability of our nation. Our father of independence General Aung San and his cabinet ministers were killed by a Burmese faction, not by an ethnic armed group. This lesson must be learnt by all Burmese citizens, so that we must not repeat this piece of history again during our transition. Can we afford to lose his beloved daughter, Suu Kyi? She is the best candidate and a person with good human qualities and dignity, who can allow us to live better in our own country. She could save Burma from a state of collapse, and from further exploitation by China.
Burma will not be saved either by China, India or other Asian nations, but by the people of Burma and by the country’s best leaders, like Aung San Suu Kyi. We have over fifty million people in our land and we cannot maintain our country’s standards of education, health and employment in any kind of good shape unless we address the overall political system in our own country. Foreign investors will not lend money and resources unless they have a good chance of a return for their balance sheets. Thailand and other Southeast Asian countries have their own social and political crises both small and large, like the crisis in Bangkok that lasted from March until the end of May this year; theThai army killed over sixty people during the clash. Therefore, we simply cannot rely upon other countries to make our nation peaceful and prosperous. Our young people have to strike for better education, as well as advancements in new technology and the world’s political affairs. The military authorities are foolish to waste our young peoples’ skills and talents by placing us under military rule, with strict control over everything from the freedom of association to the freedom of the press. Our universities are shut and our classrooms are destroyed.
Our people are low-skilled in all sectors. Our children are not fully cared for with food and shelter, particularly those who were born and live in remote areas and in border camps. Our people work long hours in Thailand for extra money to feed their families at home in Burma. Our young women miss schooling and have little skills for raising families. We are not provided sufficient welfare by our government, we only survive through the hard work of our parents in the paddy fields. We should not live like animals, just eating and sleeping, with no rights to say what is “right and wrong” within our own communities. We have not had a good government in our lifetimes, but we must hope to elect good people to rule us with dignity under the rule of law, not under the threat of a gun. It is our commitment to uphold a constitution that guarantees the rule of law and a fair society. The 2008 constitution does not assure us that we have these rights as Burmese citizens. Therefore, we must reject it and oppose the upcoming elections.
We, Burma’s youth, were born in the early 1990s, during the post-socialist government reign over the country. We have experienced the emergence of a new military government. Our daily activities are monitored by military informants. We cannot make any complaints of any wrong doing committed by local, regional and national government officials. The soldiers have the guns and they can order enforce any laws at any times. Our parents cannot even go to their paddy fields and farms as they are supposed to work in seasonal plantations. These laws are not made by the rule of law but from the rule of power. This is the ugly side of our country. We gained independence from the British just a few decades ago, but we are not free in our political lives. How can we continue to live in ‘hell’ in our own country? We are behind all other small countries in Asia. Korea and Japan, small countries, have beat the rest of Asia economically in recent years.
We value our land and all of our cultural heritages in Mon State. We have been living with other ethnicities, including Chinese and Indian minorities, in Mon State for a long time. We ask the world’s leaders to see our domestic affairs as global affairs. We cannot vote to impose on ourselves yet another century of oppression and brutality.
The military men are not our true leaders. They do not deserve to be the heads of the state. It is on our consciences that we must be against this unlawful election. We will be working with other local, national and international groups to make this change happen. If we vote for the military men in the next election, factionalism will also be created among politicians. The country wants a transparent and accountable government, people who will lead the nation with moral principles and a political vision for all the people of Burma.
Indeed, we have no gun, but we have a vision, commitment and unity. We have the desire to change our nation. The military men and the nationalist Burmese elites cannot destroy our spirits; they can only shoot us. It is time for our new generation, around the country and around the world, to show adherence to our core objective of promoting civil and political rights for each individual in Burma.
A fresh political vision is required if we commit to this challenge. Our country is not sustainable if we rely on China’s or India’s exploitations of our resources. We will win if we are united and we will fail if we are not. This is our message to all supporters for democracy in Burma. This is our opportunity to show that the rule of the Burmese army, and its constitution, are over.
