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Burma Digest Current Issue

Editorial: Victory Comes from Within

Since cold war ended, everybody is doing realpolitiks all over the world.

The days are gone when we could hope to get generous no-ties-attached supports from world's powers for our pro-democracy movements. We have to carry out our movement by ourselves. We can hope for international sympathy on our struggle for democracy and human rights. And of course we are getting moral support from our international friends. But to make things really happen, we must rely mainly on ourselves.

We will get true democracy and human rights only when people inside Burma rise up against military rulers. We did the same in 1988 and brought down the much loathed dictatorship regime of General Ne Win at that time. So why not we do the same again?

We need people's power to bring down SPDC military regime and restore democracy in our country. We cannot achieve it without our people's involvement.

Never in the history of the world, was a revolution in a country carried out by outsiders from outside of the country. Never in history had a country achieved successful social and political changes without participation by its people.

So in any and every revolution, people power is the most essential requirement for its success.

So in Ukraine, when the famous Orange Revolution for Democracy was successfully carried out, it was done by people power.

So in Georgia, when the much praised Velvet Revolution for Democracy achieved success, it was done by people power.

And even in our neighbourhood, the same thing has been happening recently. Those daily protests by angry people on the streets in Bangkok have brought down the once almighty Thaksin and his corrupt cronies to their knees.

And if we go back a little bit further in history, we can see a huge and massive wave of people power movement sweeping across the Philippines forcing Dictator Marcos and his family to flee.

Soon after Philippines’ people power movement we saw German people literally with their own hands broke down Berlin wall and let the tide of Democracy flood through East Germany and effectively ended a communist era.

Having said that, to be fair, we have to point out that there are a few rare occasions when a political change in a country was made by outside forces. The best example is Kosovo where NATO’s continuous air-raids for more than a hundred days drove out ultra nationalist Serbs from Kosovo and saved countless number of lives of Kosovo Albanians who otherwise would have been ex-terminated by radical nationalists from Serbia.

But even when a political change in a country is brought about by external forces, the presence of people power inside the country can make a huge difference. Look at Afghanistan and Iraq. Three CHEERS for victory of pro-democracy forces in both countries. But, while international community can boast of Afghanistan as a shining example of the success of their efforts for democratization, Iraq is just a mess. The compassion, commitment and efforts done by international community in both countries are more or less the same. But the difference is that although a huge power vacuum was left behind in Iraq after Saddam’s down-fall, in Afghanistan internal forces of Afghan people could fill up the vacuum left behind by Taliban regime and so stability was maintained and democratic reforms successfully took place.

So we need people power inside Burma to bring about any significant democratic changes. Until and unless we can ourselves organize a people power movement inside Burma we will have to be satisfied with just those informal UN Security Council discussions which take us to nowhere. Of course we are grateful to the international community for all moral support and humanitarian assistance they have been providing to us all those years. But we cannot neglect the truth that we still need to do more by ourselves to get practical results.

Having said that, there’s a big problem for us. The main problem is we are all human beings and do not want to be tortured to death. Nobody wants to be arrested and interrogated under torture by Burmese secret police. Just thinking about such interrogations give us goose bumps on the skin and a cold fear running down our spines. One can know the real fear only when one has a personal experience of it. And that FEAR is preventing our people from standing up against their military oppressors.

For any body who dares to oppose Burmese military regime, he can expect only one of the two fates waiting for him. Arrest, torture and probable death, or flee the country to survive his life as an asylum seeker or refugee overseas.

Nevertheless we, activists in exile, must find ways and means to infiltrate into Burma. At first we have to form small cells of underground activists who are determined enough to risk their lives for democracy. Then through these so called UG cells (underground cells) we can try to spread civil defiance ideas to the general public as a whole. We have to motivate people to be able to overcome their FEAR. Once we achieve this, there will come ultimate revolution by people power for democracy in our country.

But during our journey on the road to democracy we will have to make sacrifices unavoidably. In fact, we have been making sacrifices since 1962 July 7, soon after the first military regime came to power in Burma.

On that fateful day, students were peacefully demonstrating on the streets to protest the lawless seizure of power by General Ne Win and his deputies. Once the news of student demonstrations were reported to Ne Win, he ordered his deputies to wipe out all student oppositions totally once and for all. He was widely reported to be totally drunk on that day and when the news of student demonstrations reached to him he became completely mad with rage and gave the green light to massacre all the students who dared to oppose him.

As soon as they got green light from their evil leader, soldiers opened fire on students on the streets, in the University campus and everywhere. After all the students on the streets and in the campus had been killed, some still-blood-thirsty soldiers went to the Student Union Building and destroyed it with dynamites killing all the students hiding inside the building.

Once they were satisfied that they had killed all student protestors, the soldiers took dead-bodies of students to the crematorium to destroy the evidence of their brutality. But unfortunately, not all the students lying on the streets with gun shot wounds were dead. Some were just unconscious from bleeding from their wounds. Such unconscious students were reported to be cremated alive along with their dead comrades.

And this massacre on 1962 July 7 was not the only occasion when innocent and peaceful student protestors were gunned down by brutal soldiers. The killings in 1974 after U Thant’s death, the brutalities in 1988 when current military regime first came to power and the massacre in 2003 in Depayin are just a few other well-known examples.

Our brothers have given up their lives, again and again, for the sake of democracy for our people. So it is our turn now to find ways and means to successfully bring about a revolution by people power for democracy in our country. We cannot hope for miracles to come from outside. We must try to organize a people power movement from within our country. There is no other way. Revolution must come from within.

Dr. Tayza 

[Request: If you can kindly volunteer to translate BURMA DIGEST English articles into Burmese, please let us know BDeditors@tayzathuria.org.uk]

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Comments

Lwin Aung Soe said _

Thanks for good work made up of historical evidences of nonviolent struggle for democracy.
The role of power from outside activists, if any, should be highlighted in your next editorial if you continue it. At least media as well as moral and logistic support can be provided.

Neill Staurland said _

Dear Dr.Tayza, your editorial explains the true situation for the Burmese people.
I can strongly support and assist the democracy movement but I can't "win the war" for the people of Burma.

Anonymous commenter said _

Dr. Tayza, you have a very interesting article here.
Calling for power within. Look into the world history and the Burmese history until today.
How much bloods and tears have flooded the ground and who wins???
No one!!!!!!!
The poor is still poor everywhere around the world.

Burma is the place of the Great Buddha. Have peace in the mind and heart.
Do not kill anymore. Do not have blood flood the ground anymore.
Those who plant good seed will have good fruits.
Those who plant bad seed will have bad fruits.
Look at Khin Nyunt (former PM and Spy Chief). And who will be next. Wait and see........

If you really love Burma, love the people, love the air, love the water.....
Then flight to improve the living standard of the people.
Fight to have sufficient food for the poor.
Fight to have better living environment for the poor.
Fight to have better health facility for the poor.
The poor people in Burma need your attention.

The most important for the people is to have enough food to eat and have a good shelter to sleep.
It has been 44 years since military regimes first came to power.
But the living standard of the poor is getting worse and worse each year.

Anonymous one said _

This SPDC (current military regime) is worse than BSPP (previous regime led by Gen. Ne Win).  Your campaign need to be changed the strategy, especially, the young generation should be sharper than old ones, who couldn't complete their responsibilities.

Your Comments here_

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