The Australian National University (ANU) and the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS) recently held their biannual Burma Update conference in Canberra.

The conferences tend to attract heated debate with a good mix of academics, practitioners, Burmese nationals and activists. Nevertheless it is an insular gathering really geared towards how the western international community can respond to Burma’s predicament. Representation of ethnic issues was seriously lacking. The only input from locals working on the ground was Mahn Mahn’s paper on the Back Pack Health Worker Teams.

One of the key outcomes of the conference was the need to address poverty, in particular to use the economy as leverage for dialogue with the Burmese military and subsequently assistance that can bring about change. Those familiar with Burma will know that poverty underpins almost every aspect of the lives of those living in Burma. Charles Petrie, who until recently was the resident UN Coordinator in Burma, called the uprising in August/September an “articulation of suffering”. He used his presentation to point out that the Burmese military’s economic policy encourages dependency and is therefore a disincentive for a functioning economy. And that while investment in infrastructure has increased, investment in social services hasn’t and this is creating major problems both now and for Burma’s future.

Some interesting points raised across the presentations:

• A recent UN survey found that 90% of Burma’s population spend less than US$240 a year, of that 75% is spent on food
• The Burmese military do not respond kindly to criticism of their ability to manage the economy
• Order 596 makes it illegal to talk about the constitution, yet delegates were charged with going into their communities and letting the population know what the constitution was about
  
• 80% of Burma’s import trade happens cross-border and 60% of export trade happens cross-border (this type of trade is not affected by the trade sanctions imposed by the US and EU)
• Private education in Burma is proliferating at an alarming rate
• Displacement causes a 2.4 increase in child death; 3.1 increase in child malnutrition; 4.5 increase in landmine injury
• 2% of the Burmese population has HIV/AIDS, however it is currently controlled and not the epidemic it is often talked of
  
• Commercial sex workers have followed the HIV/AIDS trend rather than led it; injecting drug users are a significant contributor

Summings up by Ashley South and Morten Pedersen really tried to focus on the idea of practical and durable action. I paraphrase but these are some of the suggestions:

• Greater focus needs to go towards the process rather than the outcomes
• There needs to be a durable negotiation process – inclusive of the opposition and the ethnic nationality groups
• Build capacities – both at the community and individual level
• Encourage the development of a more inclusive opposition
• Maintain diplomatic pressure including incentives for the Burmese military to adopt change
• More assistance is needed – both humanitarian and beyond
• Pressure at the governmental level needs to be complimented by development of the grassroots level
• Identify entry points for further dialogue, for eg health, poverty reduction or global issues such as drugs and trafficking

Most of these suggestions are not necessarily new, however they do emphasize the need to address Burma’s devastating decline from a multi-approach level. The overall message from the conference was the need to conduct a unified approach - that means those working inside Burma, those in the border regions and the international and exiled communities. A strong, unified message will be Burma’s greatest ally. The conference’s silence on ethnic issues is a worrying weakness in attaining this unity.

As usual there should be a book of the various papers, published some time in the new year. Keep an eye out on the website for publication dates.

This is far from conclusive but gives you an idea of the breadth of response

Burmese living inside Burma

• Monks take to the streets to protest the rise in fuel prices
• The military regime reacts violently, beating a number of monks
• The monks set a deadline for an apology from the military, none is forthcoming
• A line of protesting monks goes by Aung San Suu Kyi’s house. She emerges and spends 10 minutes with the monks
• Monks are joined by civilians as the protesting crowds gather momentum
• Protests are reported in other centres throughout the country, including Mandalay and Sittwe
• Tens of thousands of protesters take to the streets around Sule Pagoda and Shwedagon Pagoda in Rangoon. They are dispersed around Sule Pagoda by military personnel firing into the crowd and beating protestors – 9 are reported killed
• Bloggers and internet savvy civilians feed a constant stream of information and images to the outside world documenting the violent crack down
• A number of pro-democracy activists, including student leaders from 1988 are arrested
• A number of prominent artists, comedians and writers are arrested for supporting the monks

The SPDC

• The SPDC reacts violently to peaceful protesters, firing shots into unarmed crowds and beating protestors
• The SPDC begins raiding monasteries and locking up monks
• The SPDC begin hunting down pro-democracy activists in the dead of the night
• The SPDC reportedly begins forcible removal of civilians in outlying areas to be trucked to major cities to participate in pro-government demonstrations
• Burma’s FM addresses the UNs General Assembly and says his country is subject to acts of neo-colonialism and that the country has now returned to normalcy
• Reports suggest that 13 have been killed and over 1000 arrested in the crackdown
• Military trucks trawl Rangoon blaring out messages warning people to stay inside or risk arrest

The UN

• UN Secretary General releases a statement cautioning the Burmese military to use utmost restraint against the peaceful protestors and to enter constructive dialogue with pro-democracy supporters
  UN Special envoy, Gambari is dispatched to Burma
• Gamabri meets with Aung San Suu Kyi for 90 minutes
• 2 days later he meets with the militaries top three generals, including Than Shwe
• Gamabri has another meeting with Aung San Suu Kyi following his meeting with Than Shwe
• Gambari leaves the country after a four day mission with as yet no comment on what the mission had achieved
• Gambari will provide a report of his mission to the UN Security Council which will meet later in the week
• The UN High Commissioner for Human Right, Louise Arbour releases a statement saying “The Myanmar [Burmese] authorities should no longer expect that their self-imposed isolation will shield them from accountability”.
• The UN Rights Council condemned the violent crackdown on peaceful protesters and called for an investigation into the situation of the country

The US

• George Bush announces tougher sanctions against the military
• The US State Department condemns the violent crackdown and calls on the military to exercise restraint
• The US State Department calls for Burma’s neighbours to apply greater pressure on the regime, specifically China and India
• The US Senate passes a resolution calling for tripartite dialogue between the military, the NLD and ethnic minority groups

China

• China is silent for the first few days of protest and violent crack-downs.
• It then issues a statement calling on all sides in Burma to exercise restraint.
• China urges citizens to reconsider their travel to Burma

India

• Members of India’s upper parliament express concern that India isn’t doing enough to stop the bloodshed
• India rejects sanctions but calls for an inquiry into the use of force against peaceful protesters

Japan

• Japan embassy reports on the death of a Japanese journalist while documenting the protests
• Japan demands a full explanation of the death of a Japanese photographer
• Japans FM leaves for Burma to protest the killing of a Japanese photographer and call for the Burmese military to take steps towards a democracy
• Japan considers cutting aid to Burma over the death of a Japanese photographer

Other Government responses

• The EU agrees to in principle toughen sanctions against the military regime
• British PM Gordon Brown calls for immediate international action on Burma and for the Burmese military to exercise restraint
• The Australian Government imposes targeted financial sanctions against the military regime and its families

Burmese living overseas

• 1000 march in front of Burmese embassy in New Delhi, India
• 150 monks demonstrate in front of the UN mission in Colombo, Sri Lanka
• Candlelight vigil is held in Melbourne, Australia to support the people of Burma
• Protest held in Sydney, Australia in support of the people of Burma
• Canadian Friends of Burma release a statement calling on the Canadian Government and the international community to respond quickly to the violent crack-downs in Burma
• 2000 hold a demonstration in Kula Lumpur, Malaysia
• A small protest by Thai and Burmese is held under the Thai-Buma friendship bridge near Mae Sot, Thailand
• KNU calls on all ethnic ceasefire groups to rise up against the military regime in solidarity with the people of Rangoon and Mandalay
• 100 demonstrators protest in Cambodia
• 1500 immigrants rally in Malaysia in support of their people back home

Other international organizations

• AHRC release a letter to the Sangha in Thailand, Sri Lanka and Cambodia to support the Sangha in Burma and join with them in boycotting the military regime
• ASEAN expresses dire concerns over the Burmese militaries violent crack-down
• The International Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) release a statement warning that the current military crackdown could worsen the countrys forced displacement crisis

Other international entities

• The Dalai Lama releases a message of solidarity to the peaceful movement in Burma and calls on the military regime to act in accordance with the sacred dharma
• Desmond Tutu appeals to the Burmese Generals to stop the violence and start negotiating for democracy

Information was collated from the following sources

AHRC
Burma Digest
Democratic Voice of Burma
DAGA
IDMC
Irrawaddy
Sydney Morning Herald

There is always the risk in such large scale events that the smaller things go by the wayside.

Last week there were reports that the Burmese military’s 22nd Battallion has been recalled from Karen State to the Rangoon. Indeed a Karen friend along the border has confirmed this is the case.

The 22nd Battallion is one of those notorious groups that instills fear just by mentioning its name. It owes its reputation of course to the 1988 uprising, when it was responsible for firing into unarmed crowds, killing thousands of civilians.

There is always a risk in putting a starved, underpaid and known military battallions in front of a group of civilians to fire indiscriminately upon them that they will lay down their weapons and join the protests. In fact there were reports this week that this is exactly why the Battallion was brought in from Karen State, its shown it doesn’t care for such sentiment, that and its reputation for being a hard, ruthless regiment.

So we know the 22nd Battallions reputation. What I find disturbing is that prior to the recent unrest this Battallion has been stationed in Karen State. Karen State, where thousands and thousands of innocent civilians continue to be killed and forced from their homes. The Burmese military obviously find them threatening, why else would it send in its most feared Battallion?

Its one of those random pieces of information that come you’re way, often it just slides on by. But if we are to track where the 22nd Battallion gets stationed then we must also recognise the other conflicts going on inside Burma right now! Its complex Burma. The current unrest is really only the beginning.

You’d be forgiven for thinking history is repeating itself. Only this time there is at least one significant difference. Access to immediate information.

You Tube, blogs, email, video taken from mobile phones - this time its less about the mainstream media on the ground and more about where they are getting their information from. Photos are catapaulted out via email, sometimes shaky footage taken on the run, but an immediate documentation of what is going on right now! Check our here and here to see the footage. Mainstream media is calling for footage and eyewitness accounts of those inside Burma.
Blogs have temporarily discontinued their analytical studies to provide video, photos and information of events as they unfold. Ko Htieke is a newsroom in himself right now. Prior to the more recent events Moezack was posting photos of the marching monks. For a very brief but fruitful one day he was Burma’s most popular blogger. Don’t bother visiting his site now though. You’ll only be greeted with the military’s intolerance of freedom of speech, ie a blank screen.
Mogok Media, a blog out of Kachin State (written in Burmese) has been reporting on political issues under the guise of environment and cultural documentation.

This time the people in Burma are providing us with information and we’re getting it live.

Of course the military are aware of this. There are already reports of the junta cutting off phone lines. Bloggers have been threatened or in the case of Moezack their site shut down.

But others continue on. Providing the rest of the world with records of what the Burmese are trying to achieve and what appalling retaliations the military is handing out. They’ll continue to do so for as long as they physically can.

Will the provision of immediate information and extensive documentation make this time different?

Burma is at a crossroads right now.
I sit here contemplating the biggest mass movement Burma has seen in contemporary times. A mass movement of people standing before the military’s guns…at this time they do so peacefully. It is inevitable that comparisons are drawn with 1988. Only the world is a different place, media coverage for one, and we can only hope that this time the outcome will be different.

The Irrawaddy is providing pretty consistent updating of the situation. You can track it here.

The BBC and Sydney Morning Herald are also following the situation, the BBC in particular gives comprehensive coverage of Burma.

Unlike 1988 pictures and video coverage are keeping the outside world up to date with what is happening on the ground. To view some of this footage look here. The BBC also has eyewitness coverage of what is happening inside Burma. It is a situation the Burmese military will be unfamiliar with. This time they can’t rely on delayed knowledge of what is happening. Their actions are documented, the world is watching. Will it have an affect? Perhaps not on their immediate responses - and this is devastating in itself - but surely for any future retribution.

I read a comment on a blog today that essentially said that the Burmese people were responsible for resolving their own problems. It’s an insular response which hold no weight in today’s world. Where everything we do is intrically linked to global movements we cannot absolve ourselves of responsibility for what is happening in the rest of the world. The Burmese people are amassing peacefully for their right to live in a world that many of us take for granted. The Burmese people have shown where their responsibilities lie, the question is will the rest of the world live up to theirs.

The young Karen boy watches his grandmother pound the husks from the rice. She tells him the story of an old hta.

“We can only dream this,” she says. “But in your time I think it will happen. A centipede will swallow all the human beings on the earth.”

The Karen hta fascinates me. It is a form of oral poetry, only it is much more than this. For many generations it was the way in which the Karen communicated; an educational medium in fact. A way in which the older generation passed on knowledge to the younger generation. Given that contemporary Karen written communication only occurred in the 1800s you can see the importance or oral communication to Karen history.

Hta has a lyrical essence to it when spoken. It is like listening to spoken music, a lilting rhythm that when spoken well is like listening to a piece of Beethoven or the call of a whip bird.

But there is important information to be deciphered from hta. A Karen friend once told me that you could find at least seven different meanings in one spoken hta. This might seem excessive and downright impossible to ascertain a meaning, but it does serve its purpose. Hta is delivered, but it is only with personal experience and considered thought that meaning begins to emerge.

The hta above doesn’t make sense to the old Karen grandmother. However, to the grandchild it makes perfect sense. The centipede is in fact a train, its legs the many wheels on a train’s carriages. And if you think about it, now that we’ve determined it’s a train, it does in fact swallow up humans. Look from above and imagine all those people disappearing into the trains belly as they take their ride to work.

There is an element of mystical telling of the future in hta’s such as this. But there are equally important cultural practices that can be conveyed. Like how to act at a wedding or a funeral and how to undertake a courtship.

Like most oral histories they are constantly in danger of extinction. Fewer and fewer people know them and are able to pass them on. The younger generation prefers to learn the lyrics of Snoop Dog than a traditional hta. But there are some, and one can only hope that such a beautiful and important tradition will find a place in the contemporary world.

It’s been a while. I hope you all haven’t given up. At least I hope there was enough of interest here to sustain you during these few months of silence.

I’ve just come back from the border area. Much is the same as it has been for the past twenty years, but much is changed.

I’ve talked of resettlement here before, and generally it gets the most impassioned responses, especially from the Karen community themselves. Resettlement was all people talked about on this trip. Resettlement has been on the agenda for years now but this time the talk is most certainly replaced by action. Refugee registration through UNHCR has proliferated and people are being moved to third countries in the hundreds.

Most of the Karen in Tham Hin will be in the US by the end of the year, that’s almost 8,000 people. Nu Po, Mae La, Umpiem, 500 here, 200 there and thousands of Karen that were formally encamped becomes increasingly smaller.

2 dear friends have already gone, one to Sweden, the other to the US. 2 others have decided to stay, despite their entire families being resettled. When I ask why they tell me their work is here, on the border, close to their people. But they express more complex concerns with resettlement. How will they maintain their Karen ethnicity in the face of a dominant, western, capitalist society? Who will continue to fight for the thousands of villager’s that continue to be displaced inside Karen State, or for the thousands that continue to face other forms of discrimination and persecution? Who will teach in the refugee camps?

And my own question. What effect is resettlement having on the community that has been established along the border? Networks have been formed with international entities. Various ethnic groups have formed alliances to address issues as diverse as ethnic respresentation and the environment. New forms of culture and identity are being learnt, practiced, explored. Functioning support systems are evident throughout family, community and camps. Resettlement will have devastating ramifications for the border community.

The decision whether to resettle is an excruciating one. We can’t even be certain it is the correct one. What we do know is that it is proving devastating for the Karen community along the border. Families are divided and split. Education is disrupted. Skills, knowledge and training are being lost to third countries. And it is unlikely much of it will return to benefit the Karen community’s claims for political equality. Direction is lost, and to get it back requires mammoth commitment and support, only now there are fewer people to provide it.

Ideally you would hope that Thailand could provide a safe haven for the Karen, a transit lounge if you like, until they can return to their home. You would hope that Thailand could provide a home, food, education, health services, and do so with compassion and respect.

Only that seems more remote than the possibility of one day returning to Burma.

Woops…where does the time go.

It’s been a good five weeks and I have no real excuse. Perhaps its the thesis which seems to get neglected and then emerges as my other - loathed and loved all at once.
But I’ve raised my head to realise that Aung San Suu Kyi has just been handed her eleventh year of house arrest.
It’s heartening to see it hasn’t gone unnoticed in the international arena, but then it rarely does go unnoticed when Aung San Suu Kyi’s involved.
I think far more interesting is the grassroots movement I’m hearing about.

• NLD supporters praying for Aung San Suu Kyi’s release at Chauk Htat Kyi Pagoda in Rangoon.
• Prominent activst Su Su Nway in hospital/or prsion depending on reports, for undertaking a similar prayer campaign.
• More than 40 other activists arrested for similar campaigns calling for Aung San Suu Kyi’s release from house arrest.
• Supporters releasing more than 1,000 balloons at the Shwedagon Pagoda, despite the presence of mobs of USDA members.
• The start of a free Aung San Suu Kyi and all political prisoners campaign.
• The increasing strength of the peace-focused Generation 88.

It’s very Rangoon heavy though. Has anyone heard of movements that exist outside of Rangoon, or even other major cities.

Because lets be a little realistic. Aung San Suu Kyi is just one person in the complex society that is Burma. It’s going to take a lot more than this one incredible lady to bring Burma back from the brink. That’s why the presence of these other voices is quite encouraging.

Anyone whose had experience with international agencies in the documentation of human rights knows their oft-repeated response is “We need facts. We need hard, objective documentation of names, places, positions and what actions were employed against the victims. We need documentation that shows injuries and deaths.” It’s a callous, often depersonalised response, part of me knows the need for it, but part of me is appalled at its ability to take the human out of the story.

What is equally apparent in human rights documentation is the path that appeals to a different audience, the average joe blow in their suburban home, whose attention is more likely to be gained through visual documentation, video or photographs, and who is more likely to respond to the subjective appeals of the victims themselves. This is a whole other level of victimisation and helplessness that is simply reinforced and retold.

Both avenues maintain a level of exploitation which many victims find callous, confusing and frankly life-threatening. Many find it disheartening, for why, when your house has been destroyed, family members killed, and you struggle for daily survival, should you have to justify your “victim status” with some hard facts that will back up your story. It’s bleedingly obvious what has happened to you, but it seems that unless you know the name, rank and place of the attack your story becomes less credible.

However, along the border there is an increasing use of skills and knowledge of media techniques which allow the victims themselves to control the message that goes out. As video and music become more accessible, there is a whole group of Karen who are taking advantage; producing their own stories, in their own words.

Below is a song, written by Kyaw Kweh and visually put together by Po Taw. It’s a beautiful song, I think, a sad song, but in a medium that has allowed the Karen to put dignity and humanity back into their experiences. It’s in Karen (there is a version with english subtitles but unfortunately I don’t have it, I have written the english translation afterwards however). It is written by Karen, performed by Karen, video compilation and images taken by Karen. Of course it has a motive, a particular audience, and some may look at it with such limitations in mind. But if nothing else, this is a message created and controlled by the Karen themselves. And it is mostly due to our increased access to alternative, contemporary forms of media.

Story of an IDP

Security and shelter are vanishing
Health, food and education I lack of
I can’t think for tomorrow
Because I don’t know how to survive today

The military regime destroyed my lands and home
I wonder who even knows our suffering

I miss the place where I was born
Where my mother rocked me in the cradle
Peace, love and unity were there
Natural resources abundant
And a picture of ‘home’ was in my eyes

Now the worlds’ greed destroyed this unity and peace
Oh, I miss the place where I was born
I long for the songs my mum sang to me
And her love drags me to recall the place I once lived
Wishing to be back there before the end of my days

The children are naked
The mothers are sobbing
The fathers disheartened
And all because of war

And I want to go home when the light shows my way
I can’t think of tomorrow
Because I don’t know how to survive today
My farm and home has been destroyed by the military regime
I wonder who even knows our suffering

Dark clouds are growing darker
And the military troops approach our home
We are moving from place to place and suffering daily

Oh I want to be free
Oh where has all the education gone
I want to learn

I want to rest like the birds at night
But I have to worry for tomorrow
And that worry brings screams while I sleep

I’ve been mulling over this photo for days now.
I can’t pull my thoughts into any cohesive explanation of it.
So I’ll just throw a few observations out there.

Punk at a buddhist celebration - I can’t find any connection in it.
It’s a party, which warrants a dressup, but parties are so rare in Burma and any gathering of say more than five people and you’re guaranteed a military presence. As it’s THE party of the year though, perhaps its an unprecedented opportunity.
People look happy…it’s nice to see
Punk can look quite aggressive don’t you think, I’m surprised there wasn’t some knee-jerk response.
Hip hop, punk…i’ve talked of hip hop before on this blog and perhaps there are similar arguments to why the Burmese embrace punk. In a tightly-controlled, conservative, religious and narrow-minded country, it becomes increasingly understandable why this anti-establishment genre of music is embraced.
It’s about youth rebellion, anti-authoritarian ideologies and distinctive clothing. Is it a protest clothed in piercings, rock shirts and mohawks?
The Burmese military probably had no idea what they were witnessing.

I wonder if the Ramones ever thought they’d make it to Burma?