November 15, 2009
Freeing Aung San Suu Kyi?
In December 2008, the HPA participated in STAND Fast, where raised enough money from all of you, to protect families in Eastern Burma by giving their villages the capacity to communicate via radio (we also raised money at that time to protect Darfuri civilians).
A few months before that, during the 2008 Olympics, we discussed the military junta that controls Buram and how they continue to commit ethnic cleansing against minorities in Eastern Burma. We used the parallel of Voldemort’s regime rounding up all of the Muggleborns. The parallel goes further. Like the Order of the Phoenix and Dumbledore’s Army fighting Voldemort’s regime, Burma has a strong pro-democracy movement nonviolently fighting the military junta. Many of them are students who in 1988 fled to the jungle the way Harry, Hermione, and Ron fled to the English countryside in order to destroy horcruxes.
And like Voldemort’s regime framed Harry Potter as “public enemy number one,” the military junta in Burma has done the same to Aung San Suu Kyi. The story of Aung San Suu Kyi is one of the most inspiring stories of endurance, patience, and wisdom in the face of horrific oppression that I have ever heard. To this day, she remains the only winner of the Nobel Peace Prize to be imprisoned within her own country. Further, she is Burma’s democratically elected leader. The military junta fears her and keeps her imprisoned in order to bring down the morale of those who wish to fight back against their takeover of the government.
The anti-genocide movement has begun to incorporate Burma as one of it’s leading causes alongside Darfur, Northern Uganda, and Congo. It is truly of profound importance that the military junta in Burma end and that the Burmese people are able to realize a sense of dignity that has been denied them for too long.
Today President Obama has asked Burma to free Aung San Suu Kyi. Please stay tuned with the HPA, not only on this blog, but through our Twitter, Ning, email list, and Facebook for important updates on what happens with Obama’s request and how we can be involved.
Max C.
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I learned only today why it is that most people don’t call it “Myanmar.” Although Myanmar is technically the correct name, it was changed from “Burma” during a military overthrow of the government. The humanitarian community (and most countries) have rejected the new name in an attempt to reject the new government.