We Cannot Remain Silent

Hello,

My name is Tim and although I have already contributed to this blog, I think I should provide a little more information about who I am and why it is that I came to support democracy and human rights in Burma. I grew up knowing very little about Burma. Not once did I study it in school nor had I ever met anyone from Burma before. In fact, by the time I had even become aware of it, Burma had already been renamed Myanmar by its military leadership.

The first time I found out about the situation in Burma was during my final year as an undergraduate. At the time I was very interested in the human rights problems of North Korea but I felt as though I should broaden my understanding of issues in the rest of Asia. So I went online to the Amnesty International website and the very first thing that popped up was a picture of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and a call to action demanding that Burma release her and the rest of its approximately 1300 political prisoners. I was instantly fascinated to find out more so I read on and then participated in the letter-writing campaign being advocated.

I could not believe that as a citizen in a country where the media is purported to be fair, well-rounded and uncensored, that I could not recall the last time or any time that I had ever heard a thing about Burma. I don't even think I could have placed it on the map. And it is not as though I had no awareness of the world around me. I had been involved in Model UN and taken a number of classes in International Relations, but still never any discussion of Burma. I was absolutely shocked that probably at some time during my education, a professor or fellow student had been aware of what was going on in Burma, yet not taken the opportunity to say something. I believe that no one should be at fault for simply not knowing, but to know and to remain silent is to be complicit to the tyranny of the SPDC. I should add that I am not referring to those inside of Burma whose lives might be at risk if they dare criticize or protest the regime. It is truly remarkable what heroic Burmese such as Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Ko Aung Din, Ko Min Ko Naing, Ma Su Su Nway have done to stand up for human rights and democratic freedoms. However, it is unfair to expect all Burmese to make similar sacrifices.

Returning to my main topic, I think that Daw Suu's famous quote, "Please use your liberty to promotes ours" says so much about why I have chosen to be involved. I cannot unlearn what I now know about Burma and so as long as I know there is a call inside of Burma for the establishment of democracy, for the creation of a fair and just judicial system and for the recognition and enjoyment of human rights then I will use my capabilities as a citizen of the US to advocate on behalf of the 52 million Burmese inside of Burma whose voices have been muffled by years of military rule.


Tim