Free Burma!

With a project due in a couple of weeks time, I am tied down with so much academic work, that I actually can’t find enough time to even organize my photos for my 10 day South Island trip, not less blog about it.

However, the recent Burma imbroglio has compelled me to write a thing of two about it.

Afterthoughts of the Recent Uprising in Burma
To be frank, I was utterly ignorant about the situation in Burma before I started my student exchange in the University of Auckland. It was only when I borrowed the following book from the school library that my interest was roused.

To Be Free: Stories from Asia’s Struggle Against Oppression
by Dr. Chee Soon Juan

(Yes, the kiwi library actually carried this book…)

Coincidentally, as I was voraciously lapping up the book, the Burma Support Group in the university commemorated the 19th anniversary of 8888 Uprising on 8th August by organizing a seminar on campus. Out of curiosity, I attended it and gradually began to grasp the gravity of the situation happening at this awkward member of ASEAN.

Another interesting fact I learnt was that the name change in 1989 from Burma to Myanmar was controversial and not recognized by the Burmese people themselves. Yes, while the state media in Singapore is more than willing to use the word Myanmar, some international news agencies have stuck on to the old name, Burma.

Okay fine, maybe you all already know that liao. Just label me as a typical parochial Singaporean who have a predilection for bemoaning about other Singaporeans for being apathetic and stuff… However, there had been a surprising turn of events which have challenged my beliefs.

It all began with the Singapore Democrat (SDP) rebuking the local government to “do more than just call on the military regime in Burma to show restraint.”

Then on 29th September, two news was reported on Singapore blogosphere. First was that the Online Citizen had reported on the filing of an application for Burma protest by a graduate student in Lee Kuan Yew School of Policy. Secondly, the Singapore Democratic Party publicly urged Singaporeans to sign letters of protest at the Burmese embassy on 30th September.

Expectedly, the police rejected the permit for the outdoor protest with a hilariously lame excuse:

the police explained to him (Andrew Teo who filed for the application) that he could be in trouble if someone threw a stone at the riot police or burned a flag at a rally. And if the protest was held in front of the Myanmar embassy and someone threw objects at it, then the embassy could demand that police take action against him.

The cynical side of me anticipated that the petition/protest held by SDP would fall flat with probably only a few party loyals turning up. But as more and more Singaporeans arrived, it became clear that they too felt a moral obligation to voice their concerns.

It was heartening to read that some Singaporeans had advanced beyond verbal commitment, but it was disconcerting when incidents of police harassment began surfacing on Singaporean blogs.

Instead of an international campaign united to end this man made tragedy, some attention had been diverted towards the dismal state that we are in. Epitomizing this was the blog, “Looking for Lalaland“, which had a post with a series of photos depicting protests taking place in other countries, including Malaysia, Thailand and Hong Kong.

The overt presence (or pressure) of the police really got me pondering how Singapore has progressed in civil or civic terms, as a nation. Indeed, at the thought of this, I was immediately at a loss of words.

Free Burma, but Free Singapore too.

You can read it more disputatious issues like Singapore providing a refuge for the military regime of Burma at The Singapore Daily.