• printer friendly
• mail this article
• iPod format
• digg

Photo

Rapaport is a second-year sociology and design student and Zolinsk is a first-year undeclared student.

By Jaime Rapaport and Julia Zolinsk

On Thursday, May 3, the world will celebrate World Press Freedom Day. Had it not been for my Mortar Board calendar, this day would have slipped by like any other one, as it will for most people. In a country where freedom of the press and freedom of speech have been guaranteed rights by the Constitution, Americans can ignore a day that commemorates something other human beings can only dream of.

But World Press Freedom Day does not include the whole world. Many governments, such as that of Burma, restrict freedom of the press and freedom of speech as a political tool. The silence of their victims allows the military regime to torture, rape, murder and enslave its people with little opposition.

  Illustration by RODERICK ROXAS/Daily Bruin A world with such corruption may seem foreign to us, but for the past 40 years, Burma has suffered an unbearable amount. In 1962, after gaining independence from Great Britain, Burma fell under the rule of the brutal Ne Win military regime. Using murder, imprisonment and repression, the regime secured their government from the threat of democratic activists and leaders. They continue to use these tactics even today.

By continuing to violate the basic human rights of 50 million Burmese people, the government has succeeded in preventing an effective threat to its power. Its track record reveals its denial of these rights as a means of political oppression. Burmese citizens, including children, are often required to construct roads and train tracks or work in factories with inhumane conditions. The regime also forces some of its citizens to walk over mine fields to serve as land-mine detectors.

In addition to harsh labor, the Burmese people are subject to restrictions at home. Ownership of an unauthorized fax machine results in seven years of prison. Possession of an unauthorized e-mail address is 15 years imprisonment. Publication of antigovernmental work leads to severe punishment. The military regime has also taken its toll on the environment. Exploitation of natural gas and mineral resources results in massive deforestation as well as the destruction of natural habitats.

Although opposition to the government is the most punishable crime, many democratic activists and leaders refuse to remain silent in the face of such oppression.

In 1988, university students Min Ko Naing led a mass uprising involving millions of Burmese citizens. This peaceful protest resulted in the massacre of Burmese students and civilians and forced thousands of citizens to flee to the border between Thailand and Burma. Ko Naing is currently a political prisoner, suffering torture and solitary confinement for the past 13 years.

The most famous member of Burma’s democratic movement is Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize-winner who believes in nonviolent resistance and organizing. During the democratic elections of 1990, Suu Kyi’s political party, the National League for Democracy, secured 82 percent of the seats in Parliament.

Despite the fact that the Burmese people also elected Suu Kyi as their new leader, she has not taken office. The regime immediately placed her under house arrest for five years. Although she was technically released in 1995, she remained under strict surveillance and was placed under house arrest again in September 2000.

As with many military regimes, Ne Win is indirectly funded by other countries, mainly through tourism and corporate business. Many of the companies that Americans buy products from – such as Warner Brothers, Tommy Hilfiger, Suzuki, Jordache, Marriott, UNOCAL, Nautica, Club Med, Adidas and Nestle – help finance the regime with their business. These corporations are attracted to the cheap labor in Burma, ignoring reports of human rights abuses.

By strengthening the regime with monetary support, large corporations also encourage the growth of Burma’s heroin industry, which accounts for 60 percent of the heroin that enters the United States. In addition, the regime stands to pocket virtually all of the money generated from the business of these corporations.

Burmese citizens continually ask that foreign companies withhold business from Burma. Suu Kyi herself said, “Until we have a system that guarantees rules of law and basic democratic institutions, no amount of aid or investment will benefit our people.”

Forty major companies have listened to Burma’s pleas since 1988, including Kenneth Cole, Reebok, J. Crew, Liz Claiborne and Levi-Strauss & Co. Upon leaving Burma, Levi-Strauss & Co. stated that “it is not possible to do business in (Burma) without directly supporting the military government and its pervasive violations of human rights.” Several city councils throughout America, including those of Los Angeles, Portland, and San Francisco, have divested from Burma-related stock.

University and college groups across America are trying to persuade their schools to follow suit and divest their stocks from companies situated in Burma. Universities such as American University and Bucknell have already been successful.

The UCLA Environmental Coalition is currently working in conjunction with other UC student groups on a Free Burma campaign to urge the UC Board of Regents to divest from Halliburton Co. and Procter & Gamble, two companies that work with Burma. Nineteen devoted members of the Environmental Coalition joined 94 universities in a 24-hour international fast to publicize the plight of the Burmese people and show support for Min Ko Naing.

A Norway-based international student festival in Trondheim is circulating a petition on the Web demanding the unconditional release of Ko Naing. Other organizations, such as Rights & Democracy, have been lobbying for support as well. These organizations’ support is imperative to the permanent downfall of the Ne Win regime.

Suu Kyi once said, “Those fortunate enough to live in societies where they are entitled to full political rights can reach out to help the less fortunate in other parts of our troubled planet.”

This Thursday on World Press Freedom Day, let us join in together at Westwood Plaza at 11:30 a.m. to publicize Burma’s plight. There is no better day to remember our freedom and the duty it gives us to fight for the freedom of others.