By Yee Htun, The Ottawa CitizenApril 8, 2012 7:46 AM
The people of Burma have had great hope before, in 1990, only to be bitterly disappointed, writes Yee Htun
A Burmese monk and his son feed the seagulls on a jetty along the Yangon river ahead of the parliamentary elections March 29. Aung San Suu Kyi and her party, the National League for Democracy, won a landslide victory, gaining 43 seats out of the 44 vacant seats in parliament.
Photograph by: Paula Bronstein, Getty Images , Ottawa Citizen
Last Sunday, the people of Burma - the country of my birth - voted in byelections. The outcome: Aung San Suu Kyi and her party, the National League for Democracy, won a landslide victory, gaining 43 seats out of the 44 vacant seats in parliament. Coverage of the Burmese elections has heralded it as a landmark election, an indication of democratic reforms sweeping across the country. Asian leaders have applauded the military regime in Burma and have issued a formal call for sanctions against Burma to be lifted immediately. The United States and European Union leaders have announced that they would ease sanctions.
But even as images of jubilant celebrations across Burma stream in, I, a Burmese prodemocratic human rights activist living in exile in Canada, am not quick to believe the hype. For you see, during my lifetime, this is the second election in which Aung San Suu Kyi and her party the NLD, have run, with starkly different results.
The first elections took place in 1990, when I was a little girl living on the Thai-Burma border. My family and I spent the day transfixed next to the radio listening to the news as the election results trickled in. The day was memorable because it was my ninth birthday and our national hero, Aung San Suu Kyi, was poised to become the leader of our country. I will never forget the happiness we all felt as we heard about the NLD's landmark victory, winning 83 per cent of the seats in Parliament. Having lived under restrictive military rule since 1962, we had all hoped and prayed for true democracy to come to our country. And on that May day in 1990, it seemed possible.
Unfortunately, we were bitterly disappointed. The Burmese military regime never honoured the 1990 election results. Aung San Suu Kyi was placed under house arrest, and a majority of the NLD party members were incarcerated. Other pro-democratic activists, fearing persecution, fled the country.
Since that time, those of us in the Burmese exile community have looked to our country of birth, waiting for a sign. Any sign that indicated things inside Burma were improving or that we can finally go home and be united with relatives. I have spent most of my life waiting in exile. I have dedicated my adult life to advocating internationally for democracy in Burma. Sadly, I am certain that even with the by-elections results, true democratic reform has yet to arrive.
While it is empowering to see our moral leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, become a member of parliament, and to see my fellow Burmese vote her and her party in, the NLD holds only 43 seats out of 656 seats in parliament. The military regime's Union Solidarity and Development Party remains very much in control of the Parliament. And with 6.4 per cent of the seats, the NLD is not even the official opposition. That right belongs to the military Defence Services Personnel in parliament.
For those who are beguiled by the supposed changes in Burma following the by-elections results, the reality is that very little has changed. The military remains very much in control of the country. Even as it espoused peace and democratic reform internationally, the regime has not ceased its military offensive against ethnic minorities of Burma.
The military continues to use rape to humiliate women and their communities. Indeed, high incidents of rape and the systemic use of it as a weapon of war is one of the reasons why there is an international movement to refer Burma to the International Criminal Court for war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity.
The regime vowed to release all political prisoners in August 2011 but, in fact, has not. Only 302 were released while 900 remain behind bars, including over 170 women. An extremely oppressive constitution enacted by the regime to entrench military rule and suppress civil liberties remains in place. The constitution ensures that Aung San Suu Kyi will never become its head of state as that position requires military experience. In fact, most women of Burma are effectively denied from ever holding any cabinet position for this same reason. Furthermore, the constitution contains an amnesty clause that protects military personnel from being held accountable for past and present human rights abuses.
I believe that true democratic reform will arrive in Burma only when:
? ? there is a genuine and nation-wide ceasefire in Burma;
? ? ethnic women of Burma are no longer being systemically raped by the military;
? ? all political prisoners of Burma are freed;
? ? rule of law is restored and a constitution that promotes freedom and civil liberties is enacted;
? ? and there is justice for past and present human rights abuses.
Only then can Burma heal and move from its bleak past towards a new dawn. The regime and the international community both have a crucial role to play in ensuring that democracy arrives in Burma. The people of Burma have done what they can under the restrictive circumstances by voting for Aung San Suu Kyi and her party. I urge Canadians to demand true democratic reform on behalf of the people of Burma and ensure that the international community maintains pressure on the regime. Any easing of sanctions must be conditional upon the regime enacting real reforms.
Without true democratic reform, my country of birth remains a place I cannot return to, and my fellow Burmese are deprived of all the fundamental rights and freedoms that we here in Canada are privileged to enjoy.
Yee Htun lives in Ottawa and immigrated to Canada as a government-sponsored UN Convention refugee. She has a Juris Doctor (JD) from Dalhousie University Schulich School of Law with a concentration in International Law and is the Coordinator for the International Campaign to Stop Rape & Gender Violence in Conflict.
But even as images of jubilant celebrations across Burma stream in, I, a Burmese prodemocratic human rights activist living in exile in Canada, am not quick to believe the hype. For you see, during my lifetime, this is the second election in which Aung San Suu Kyi and her party the NLD, have run, with starkly different results.
The first elections took place in 1990, when I was a little girl living on the Thai-Burma border. My family and I spent the day transfixed next to the radio listening to the news as the election results trickled in. The day was memorable because it was my ninth birthday and our national hero, Aung San Suu Kyi, was poised to become the leader of our country. I will never forget the happiness we all felt as we heard about the NLD's landmark victory, winning 83 per cent of the seats in Parliament. Having lived under restrictive military rule since 1962, we had all hoped and prayed for true democracy to come to our country. And on that May day in 1990, it seemed possible.
Unfortunately, we were bitterly disappointed. The Burmese military regime never honoured the 1990 election results. Aung San Suu Kyi was placed under house arrest, and a majority of the NLD party members were incarcerated. Other pro-democratic activists, fearing persecution, fled the country.
Since that time, those of us in the Burmese exile community have looked to our country of birth, waiting for a sign. Any sign that indicated things inside Burma were improving or that we can finally go home and be united with relatives. I have spent most of my life waiting in exile. I have dedicated my adult life to advocating internationally for democracy in Burma. Sadly, I am certain that even with the by-elections results, true democratic reform has yet to arrive.
While it is empowering to see our moral leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, become a member of parliament, and to see my fellow Burmese vote her and her party in, the NLD holds only 43 seats out of 656 seats in parliament. The military regime's Union Solidarity and Development Party remains very much in control of the Parliament. And with 6.4 per cent of the seats, the NLD is not even the official opposition. That right belongs to the military Defence Services Personnel in parliament.
For those who are beguiled by the supposed changes in Burma following the by-elections results, the reality is that very little has changed. The military remains very much in control of the country. Even as it espoused peace and democratic reform internationally, the regime has not ceased its military offensive against ethnic minorities of Burma.
The military continues to use rape to humiliate women and their communities. Indeed, high incidents of rape and the systemic use of it as a weapon of war is one of the reasons why there is an international movement to refer Burma to the International Criminal Court for war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity.
The regime vowed to release all political prisoners in August 2011 but, in fact, has not. Only 302 were released while 900 remain behind bars, including over 170 women. An extremely oppressive constitution enacted by the regime to entrench military rule and suppress civil liberties remains in place. The constitution ensures that Aung San Suu Kyi will never become its head of state as that position requires military experience. In fact, most women of Burma are effectively denied from ever holding any cabinet position for this same reason. Furthermore, the constitution contains an amnesty clause that protects military personnel from being held accountable for past and present human rights abuses.
I believe that true democratic reform will arrive in Burma only when:
? ? there is a genuine and nation-wide ceasefire in Burma;
? ? ethnic women of Burma are no longer being systemically raped by the military;
? ? all political prisoners of Burma are freed;
? ? rule of law is restored and a constitution that promotes freedom and civil liberties is enacted;
? ? and there is justice for past and present human rights abuses.
Only then can Burma heal and move from its bleak past towards a new dawn. The regime and the international community both have a crucial role to play in ensuring that democracy arrives in Burma. The people of Burma have done what they can under the restrictive circumstances by voting for Aung San Suu Kyi and her party. I urge Canadians to demand true democratic reform on behalf of the people of Burma and ensure that the international community maintains pressure on the regime. Any easing of sanctions must be conditional upon the regime enacting real reforms.
Without true democratic reform, my country of birth remains a place I cannot return to, and my fellow Burmese are deprived of all the fundamental rights and freedoms that we here in Canada are privileged to enjoy.
Yee Htun lives in Ottawa and immigrated to Canada as a government-sponsored UN Convention refugee. She has a Juris Doctor (JD) from Dalhousie University Schulich School of Law with a concentration in International Law and is the Coordinator for the International Campaign to Stop Rape & Gender Violence in Conflict.
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