Tensions were high at the “Night Falls in Burma” forum Saturday, as speakers pleaded for democracy to prevail in the repressed country of Burma (also known as Myanmar).
The forum, held at OISE, was an attempt to draw attention to one of the world’s oldest military dictatorships in a region that has long been ignored by the international community.
Burma, a southeast Asian country sharing borders with India, Bangladesh, Laos, China and Thailand, has suffered under the rule of a military junta since 1962. After a student uprising in 1988, democratic rights have increasingly been violated and today are almost non-existent. Ironically, pre-1962 Burma was one of the wealthier Asian countries due to its abundance of natural resources and rich cultural heritage, yet today it is ranked among the poorest in the world. Despite the continuing gross human rights violations, the absence of a free media, and the notorious record with regards to political prisoners-most notably 1991 Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi-participants in the forum held hope that “even though [they] are suffering, [they] know [they] are right and are on the winning side.”
Sponsored by the Asian Solidarity Network (A.S.A), which emerged from a workshop held last March, the forum was an example of the network’s attempt to reach out to Asian communities in Toronto and Canada, and to provide for them a voice within the larger Canadian society.
With growing frustration and disenchantment over the oppression in Burma, the A.S.A has made it their motto to “show [their] struggle whenever [they] get the chance.” Indeed, participants used this forum to passionately express their concerns and ideas, some even sharing personal experiences of life under the military regime.
Anger over the continuing atrocities of murder, rape and denials of free speech made for an animated and sometimes heated discussion. As one attendee noted, there were “divergent views expressed at the forum which demonstrate the difficulty in cooperating for a practical solution.” One reason behind the various views lies simply in the fact that there are at least eight major ethnic groups in Burma which historically have had their own agendas, but now must seek common ground in order for any progress to be made.
The many different opinions regarding how to solidify resistance and move towards democratization proved just how hard uniting behind a common solution will be. Nevertheless, all forum participants were in agreement that the support of Canada and the international community are pivotal to working toward a solution.
Many pleaded for the Canadian government to take a heightened interest over the situation in Burma. One panellist suggested audience members “go home and phone your MP [because] we must stand up and speak for those who can’t.” A representative from Amnesty International said “it is hard for us in Canada to understand how extremely repressive the regime and generals are in Burma.”
The Burmese military is very restrictive towards the activity of foreign journalists, thus many accounts of oppression go untold and Burma has become largely isolated from the international community.
Despite the lack of effort by foreign governments to solve this problem, participants were optimistic that grassroots organizations such as A.S.A can make a difference. Even within such a diverse audience-U of T students, Burmese democracy activists and representatives of human rights N.G.O’s-attendees could all be said to share what audience member Jeffery Trapp noted as “a general interest in human rights and equity issues.”
