2 October 2007: The Centre for Democratization Studies, Faculty of Political Science and Public Administration, Chiang Mai University, organized a public discussion on "The Political Crisis in Burma" with speakers from various organizations working to help refugees from Burma and the media.

Pornsuk Kerdsawang, from Friends Without Borders magazine described the situation in refugee camps along the border where people have no electricity or telephone access. They get news only from the radio and friends. The refugees in the camps along the Thailand-Burma border, and the Karen, Karenni and Burman and local Thai people, have long expected that a political crisis on this scale would erupt. They know well that their compatriots inside Burma cannot stand the current regime and they all want to end the climate of fear inflicted on society by the Burmese junta.

We all know that this will happen and be followed by bloodshed. People in the refugee camps have feared that this bloodshed would happen. And when it did happen, they were confused whether they should have more hope or despair.

Pornsuk noted that the term "peoples from Burma" has been widely used in the refugee camps to differentiate the refugees from the "Burmese government" and the "Burmese military", terms which have negative connotations and foster antagonism.

Pornsuk estimated that there are around 150,000 refugees from Burma in Thailand. Both the Thai government and international aid agencies have been trying to convince third party countries to set a quota to take 15,000 asylum seekers per year. Meanwhile, the Thai authorities have shut down the border against the refugee influx and many refugees crossing here have been pushed back. 4,000 of them will be relocated to a small village in Burma which already has 600 residents. They can barely do anything there since landmines are planted all around the village which is also situated very close to the military barracks of the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) and the Rangoon military.

Pornsuk criticized the Thai government for coming up with "fancy" policies, but failing to implement any real intervention. In sum, the Thai authorities simply make themselves busy protecting their economic interests there including Thai-Burmese gas pipeline projects, and contract farming projects which have caused the removal of local people from their land and an increase in refugees. We contribute directly and indirectly in abetting violence in Burma.

"As our brave friends in Rangoon rose up against the regime, many more friends have become displaced people. They have been forcibly removed from their land. As the peoples there are revolting peacefully, and as a growing number of people are flocking here to make ends meet through low paid jobs, what are we feeling about this? Do we care about what has been happening at all given the bad news that is reported every now and then on all TV channels? Once the media attention dies down, will our attention drift away?" asked Pornsuk.

Hseng Noung, Chairperson of the Women's League of Burma (WLB) attributed the crisis in Burma to the longstanding dictatorships there. Since 1962, the women's movements in Burma have been part of the protest forces. Many have been arrested and physically abused and harassed during detention. In 1988, many women were sexually abused. Even in the recent demonstrations, WLB is very concerned that the Burmese military has treated women demonstrators with violence, including many Buddhist nuns.

Problems in Burma have caused an influx of refugees into Thailand. Many ethnic people find it difficult to travel to join other demonstrating groups. Our brothers and sisters in Shan State who are active for the cause have been under a close watch by the Burmese military, and many local people have been forced to come out and show support to the regime.

Hseng Noung proposed that a solution should be to push through a tripartite dialogue among the military, NLD and ethnic groups.

Chamtong from the Shan Women Action Network (SWAN) mentioned that they want the Thai government to take a clear stand and policies on providing aid to people who flee brutal suppression and on halting any investments in Burma including the Salween hydropower projects. Local villagers will benefit nothing from these development projects which have been planned and conducted behind closed doors. They are always forced by the Burmese military to do things. Given the human rights abuses in the country, the Thai government should scrap any projects there.

Chamtong mentioned that what the refugees from Burma want is simply a chance to return home. They want to live where they can lead peaceful lives free from fear of repression by the Burmese junta. She urges everyone to be part of the support for the cause to help address the suffering of those languishing under brute force in Burma.  

Dr. Lian Sakhong, General Secretary of Ethnic Nationality Council, stated that violence against the ethnic groups in Burma has long existed and was epitomized in the massive demonstrations in 1988. Then, they got no help from outside as all news was entirely censored.

The problems in Burma will impact Thailand, particularly through an increase in refugees. The Thai people should be aware of this and be part of the solution. What the peoples from Burma want is nothing more than what ordinary human beings deserve, including education, freedom, etc. Sympathy alone will not solve the problem. The peoples of Burma need us to act and pressure the Burmese government.

As of now, many nations still support Rangoon. ASEAN countries provide support through investments, and China plans to heap more support on the junta. Meanwhile, many social problems there have not been addressed including drug abuse, and outbreaks of diseases including HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, etc.  

Toe Zaw Latt from the Democratic Voice of Burma reported that information, images and video clips about the situation inside Burma have been obtained through satellite phone data. Yet, most media have received and featured news only from major cities, whereas news about protests in small towns cannot get out. The junta has tried to prevent people from joining the demonstrations and people in rural areas have been cut off from the towns and left to starve.

Ajchariya Saisilp, a reporter on displaced people from Burma, shared her impressions about the media on Burma that during this massive uprising. Despite strong domestic censorship, news and images have been disseminated widely outside. During the uprising in 1988Á which saw more than 3,000 people dead, it took more than three weeks for news to leak out and it was too late to galvanize support worldwide.

In Chiang Mai, various media are based locally including Democratic Voice of Burma, Irrawaddy, and even the world renowned Al-jazeera.

Lately, the Burmese authorities have shut down the internet network. Like the authorities in Thailand, the Burmese junta now knows they need to crack down on online communication and is claiming that the internet is down because of the broken fibre optic cables under the sea. But phone signals from Thailand and Malaysia are still available there.

Ajchariya mentioned that the Burmese junta has stringently tried to prevent any leakage of news through suppressing foreign correspondents. Apart from barring their entry, the military always looks for people who use cameras. Anyone who holds a camera openly will be shot down. A case in point is the shooting of a Japanese reporter, Kenji Nagai, as he used his video camera too openly and was in front of the marches. Most images and clips leaking out have been recorded discreetly.

Translated by Pipob Udomittipong