The recent protests in Burma vividly demonstrate that even in the darkest, most repressive of circumstances, the human spirit is resilient.
On Monday, Sept. 24, tens of thousands of Buddhist monks and other protesters marched through the streets of Rangoon against the ruling military junta, the self-styled State Law and Order Restoration Council, demanding democracy. The protest was the first mass movement in Burma since 1988, when a student uprising, though non-violent, provoked a brutal armed response from the junta and resulted in the deaths of thousands. The recent protests in Burma have inspired dozens of rallies across the world, from Canada to Italy to New Zealand, all aimed at bringing an end to this brutal military regime.
The monks marched together, bonded by common beliefs: their ammunition was not guns, but prayer. The protest, fueled by desperation, was so necessary to the people of Burma that they were willing to lay their lives on the line—and many of them were indeed killed.
It is not difficult to understand why so many Burmese are willing to sacrifice so much for the cause of liberty. Years of colonization under British-Indian rule were hard on Burma. Citizens fought for independence and eventually won it in 1948. But freedom was short-lived. The junta seized power in 1962, renamed the country Myanmar, and has ruled harshly ever since.
Although the National League for Democracy was elected to power by a majority of the population in 1990, the junta refused to step down. Instead it tightened its control over public institutions, took members of the opposition party as political prisoners—including its leader Aung San Suu Kyi—and stifled dissent. Now after years of repression, the junta has reaffirmed its willingness to use deadly violence to silence its people.
A recent article in the New York Times reports that in the days following the initial protest, attendance at temples declined until some were eventually empty. Burma’s rulers have admitted to the death of some protesters but have yet to accept responsibility, owning up to only 10 deaths and inexplicably blaming the disruption in the country on a “neo-liberal conspiracy.” Foreign correspondents and Burmese citizens themselves suggest that the death tolls are much higher and the situation much bleaker than the junta will admit. Many monks remain missing, and the worst is feared.
Coverage of these horrible events was widespread as they unfolded, but where will the Burmese go from here? How ought the international community respond? And are the economic sanctions that the United States proposes to impose on Burma going to have their desired effect?
The junta now claims to have “normalized” the country again. Will protesters’ voices be stifled? Trivialized?
The international community must ensure that they are not. We can do this by continuing to pay attention to the situation in Burma even as the initial excitement of the protest wears off. Cases such as the ongoing atrocities in Sudan have proven that Western countries quickly descend into apathy when progress is not quickly made against oppression.
The international community should also engage directly with Burma and come to the aid of the pro-democracy movement there, or work with NGOs to strengthen the hearts and bodies of Burmese civilians so that they can continue to fight for their own liberation.
Pressure can also be put on China to reign in the Myanmar junta, which depends greatly on political and logistical support from the Asian superpower.
The U.S.-led sanctions currently in place against Burma are likely not enough to bring down this regime, and moreover they run the risk of harming civilians. Past U.S.- led sanctions, such as the ones imposed upon Iraq, have had devastating consequences. As Noam Chomsky argues in his book Failed States, sanctions have had little positive effects in recent decades and have instead “devastated civilian society, strengthened the tyrant, and compelled the population to rely on him for survival.” The international community should think carefully about restricting aid to Burma, even if its intentions are in the interest of civilians.
