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Continued
detention of Aung San Suu Kyi: Failure of International diplomacy
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There is a reasonable
presence of Sikhs in Burma, especially Rangoon...It is a crying
shame that India, which is euphemistically called, the world’s
largest democracy has failed you. It will not be wrong to say that
it has failed itself...Instead of respecting the rights of
self-determination of the people of the north-east, India chooses to
arm the Burmese leaders to either kill them or force them back into
Indian territory |
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 Hon’ble Sister:
May the Almighty God shower His choicest
blessings on you, your family and the people of Burma.
I
write this letter in admiration of your courage, determination and
commitment to uphold the letter and spirit of democracy in Burma. I
write with the hope and prayer that your “second struggle for
national independence” will be won by you and the people of Burma,
notwithstanding the effective failure of the collective will and
might of world leadership and the international community.
There is no doubt that today Burma is
one of the many rogue states in the world, whose leadership has
chosen to foist a form of governance, which does not deliver the
basic needs and freedoms necessary for honourable living, progress
and development. With 60 percent of the people living below the
poverty line and more than 50 percent of the budgetary expense on
military needs, the system is perpetuating itself, allowing people
to either die, hide in the jungles or go in exile.
Nothing describes better the Burma of
today more than what the prospective Prime Minister of Britain,
Gordon Brown says about it in his new book, Courage: Eight
Portraits. He calls Burma as a state "with one of the worst human
rights records in the world, with 1,000 political prisoners and
500,000 political refugees" where "children as young as four are in
prison" and "poets and journalists tortured just for speaking out".
I am deeply concerned that the military
leadership uses rape as a weapon of war and has forcibly recruited
thousands of child soldiers. It is shocking that it has destroyed
more than 2000 villages since it assumed power in 1962.
The martyrdom of your father, Mr.
Bogyoke Aung San, for the cause of liberation of Burma from British
domination in 1948, the last years of Tibetan scholar and your dying
husband Michael Aris spent without meeting you and your continuous
disassociation from your children, Alexander and Kim, is a tribute
to your family’s commitment and contribution for the cause of
liberty of the people of Burma.
Francis Sejersted, the chairperson of the Norwegian
Nobel Committee, while presenting the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize to you
was unmistakably clear when he said that you were fighting the good
fight. Humankind’s faith in itself and its future is dwindling.
Doomsday theorists abound. UN mechanisms seem far stronger than
what they were decades ago. The ground reality is totally different
and that is why it was crucial for the Nobel Committee to say that,
“Aung San Suu Kyi brings out
something of the best in us. We feel we need precisely her sort of
person in order to retain our faith in the future.” Your son,
Alexander Aris, in his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech, on your
behalf, put it even more aptly when he said, “The lessons of the
past will not be forgotten, but it is our hope for the future that
we celebrate today.”
In the same speech, your son,
Alexander Aris, says that, “Although
my mother is often described as a political dissident who strives by
peaceful means for democratic change, we should remember that her
quest is basically spiritual. As she has said, "The quintessential
revolution is that of the spirit". I believe that in your magnum
opus, Freedom From Fear, you travel the full path of Lord
Buddha when you say, "The quest for democracy in Burma is the
struggle of a people to live whole, meaningful lives as free and
equal members of the world community. It is part of the unceasing
human endeavour to prove that the spirit of man can transcend the
flaws of his nature."
I do not know whether you know anything
about the Sikhs, though as much as I know, there is a reasonable
presence of Sikhs in Burma, especially Rangoon. The ninth Master of
the Sikhs, Guru Tegh Bahadur conquered fear. He said, “Neither do I
deliver fear nor do I accept fear.” Guru Tegh Bahadur attained
martyrdom to uphold the cause of right to religion. I believe that
you are blessed with a similar spirit. There is no other worldly
explanation. Your fearlessness is divine. How else does one
explain your bravery of facing alone a battery of soldiers awaiting
orders to shoot in 1988, when you returned to Burma to assist your
convalescing mother, Daw Khin Kyi.
 As
a staunch protagonist of democracy and freedom, I support your
mission. Having lived in prison for some time in solitary
confinement, I can feel the pain and anguish you have undergone and
continue to suffer. I am sure that courtesy Amnesty International
and other world peace and human rights groups you must be receiving
messages of solace and hope. My heart goes out to these
associations who have been torch-bearers of mutual respect and
individual freedoms. When I used to receive such letters, I felt
that God had sent them. They all seemed to me like the Sikh prayer
seeking Sarbat da Bhala...peace, welfare and progress of all
humankind. I am sure that whenever someone holds aloft a banner of
protest, anywhere in the world, your heart must be filled with
gratitude and the Burmese people too would acknowledge, albeit
mutedly for fear of repression, with the hope that a new dawn will
soon be ushered in your homeland.
I am convinced that the priorities of
the present-day world are not peace, democracy and human rights.
Each country, apart from honourable exceptions like the Scandanavian
countries are paying only lip-service to the cause of democracy in
Burma. All countries want trade, dollars, investment and
outsourcing. Respect for the ideals of the United Nations is more a
tool for blackmail than a yardstick to monitor the growth and
development in a country. As many as 27 resolutions by the UN
General Assembly and Human Rights Commission have failed to bring
about change and democracy in Burma.
On 12 January 2006, the UN Security
Council resolution on Burma was defeated with China and Russia
vetoing the move. The move was a repeat of ASEAN’s admission of
Burma in 1997 despite protestations from the world community
especially the European Community.
It is a crying shame that India, which
is euphemistically called, the world’s largest democracy has failed
you. It will not be wrong to say that it has failed itself.
Leafing through your biography, I came across startling facts about
your family’s association with India. What has pained me further is
that all of this association has not prompted the Indian state or a
cross-section of its citizens, barring just a handful, to raise
voice in your favour or the freedom of the Burmese people.
I wonder whether the alumni association
of the Lady Shriram College of Commerce in Delhi has ever held a
function in your honour, as you have done graduation studies from
there. I will be surprised if the Indian Institute of Advanced
Study, Simla of which you and your husband were a fellow has ever
instituted a research into India-Burma ties since your detention.
To the best of my knowledge, even the Indian Institute of Advanced
Studies, New Delhi has also never bothered to pass a resolution
praising your work nor petitioned the government of India to take up
your release through appropriate diplomatic channels.
To be honest, I am not surprised that
India has chosen to ignore you. India has never supported respect
for human rights, peace and democracy anywhere in the world, because
India does not support human rights and humanitarian rights at
home. You had specially asked nations of the world not to visit
Burma and to stop trade links with Burma, so as to single out the
military regime, but India has chosen to increase business
investment in Burma and military trade with the Burmese
dictatorship.
There are glaring similarities between
the Indian political leadership and the military junta of Burma, led
by dictator Senior General Than Shwe. Burma and India both have a
huge population living below the poverty-line. Instead of respecting
the rights of self-determination of the people of the north-east,
Manipuris, Nagas and others, India chooses to arm the Burmese
leaders to either kill them or force them back into Indian
territory, where they will either be killed extrajudicially or
interned under draconian legislations like the Armed Forces Special
Powers Act. The Indian government has been denying access to Amnesty
International and the Special Rapporteur on Torture to visit Panjab,
Kashmir and the north-east for the last two decades just as the
Burmese regime has banned the entry of the UN special envoy and the
human rights special rapporteur.
India also resorts to gimmicks like that
of the military dictators of your country. To lend credibility to
their work, the Burmese junta changed the name of the State Law and
Order Restoration Council (SLORC) to the State Peace and Development
Council (SPDC). Torture and extrajudicial killings (called fake
encounters) occur in all parts of India, especially where there is
insurgency or major dissidence, but while reporting the same to the
international community, either in human rights fora or at the UN,
India categorically denies the existence of such violations.
It does not touch the conscience of the
Indian people that you are the world’s only imprisoned Nobel Peace
Prize Laureate and a prisoner of conscience under the tutelage of
Burmese tyrants for the last 12 years during separate periods
starting in the year 1989. Inspite of all the protests and
concerns, to me the world seems a mute spectator to the tyrants who
have forcibly occupied Burma. I sometimes wonder whether such a
non-violent approach is justified.
I was somewhat contented to note that
there were protests in 16 countries including, Australia,
Bangladesh, Canada, France, Germany, India, Japan, Malaysia, Norway,
Netherlands, Philippine, South Korea, Sweden, Thailand, UK, USA
against India’s continued support to the Burmese leadership.
As India is not a signatory to the 1951
UN Refugee Convention, it does not recognise nor lend humanitarian
support to the more than 70,000 Burmese refugees residing in the
north-east of India. Not just that, like denial to Amnesty
International, free access to UNHCR is also denied. As recently as
May 23, 2007, India refused permission to internationally reknowned
Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs to hold a meet on
Kashmir in Mumbai. Such is the openness of the “world’s largest
democracy.”
What lies in store for you? How long
will the military regime force you under house arrest? Inspite of
sanctions by various countries and a UN General Assembly resolution
seeking your release, you are yet to taste liberty and freedom of
conscience. The misery of the people in the jungles of Burma and
mayhem let loose on the poor by the military, has prodded me to
repeat the words of the first Sikh Master, Guru Nanak, which he said
when he witnessed the massacre of people by the dictator, Babur,
“...eti mar payi kurlanne tehnki dard na aaya.”.... “Oh Lord!
People are dying and crying, can’t You not feel the pain and agony.”
I am a strong believer in the will of
God Almighty. What is happening is the will of God, but I shall
supplicate to God to listen to us. May God give you strength to
withstand the tyranny of the present-day rulers and the privilege to
see your people free. Though 27th May 2007 has come and
gone and your detention has been enhanced, I take this opportunity
to beseech my fellow-Sikhs to pray for your release and other
political prisoners across Burma.
In a few days, on June 19, your friends
and admirers will celebrate your 62nd birthday. I will
especially go to the Gurdwara to pray for your health and
wellbeing. I will exhort God to intervene for the release of
yourself, your NLD colleague U Tin Oo and other political
prisoners. I will appeal to Sikh nationalists to organise “Arrest
Yourself” meets to highlight your detention and increase familiarity
with your case amongst the Sikh people. In any case, Sikh
nationalist leader, Simranjit Singh Mann has already been detained
on sedition charges and many more are likely to be imprisoned in the
coming days.
I hope and pray that the world will not
forget you for in remembering you is the hope for freedom. May Aung
San Suu Kyi...Aung San for father, Kyi for mother and
Suu for grandmother, be embedded in the conscience of all
freedom seekers worldwide till you cease to be a prisoner of
conscience!
Yours fraternally
Jagmohan Singh
P.S. Aung San Suu Kyi
is pronounced as Ong San Soo Chee. The WSN encourages
readers to send online birthday cards to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and
also send petitions protesting her detention.
Cartoon Courtesy: Campaigning for Human Rights and Democracy in
Burma.
6 June, 2007
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