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| Tuesday, 3 June 2003 |
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Asia Watch : Curbs on Suu Kyi raise posers for West by Lynn Ockersz The pattern is now all too familiar. Each time Myanmar's pro-democracy
icon Aung San Suu Kyi proves a crowd-puller following the easing of
Junta-enforced restrictions on her movements, she is subjected to fresh,
immobilizing, coercive curbs. The latest clamping of these official shackles came a couple of days back when Myanmar's ruling military Junta took Suu Kyi into "protective custody", alleging that the crowds she was drawing in the countryside had caused "traffic jams and commotion". However, the new curbs were wide-ranging and drastic. While some 17 other leaders of Suu Kyi's opposition National League for Democracy were also subjected to the same restrictions, several NLD offices were shut down along with the country's colleges and universities. While these developments freshly underscore the continuing charismatic appeal of Suu Kyi who has come to symbolize the democratic aspirations of the Myanmar masses and indeed those of many other peoples of Asia, they also disclose the irrepressible endurance of Myanmar's pro-democracy movement which has remained alive over the years with a degree of vitality, official restrictions notwithstanding. Similar democratic stirrings are manifesting themselves on the streets of Kathmandu in Nepal, where sections of the people are calling on the Nepalese monarch to ensure the installation of a government of national unity, following the recent resignation of Prime Minister. Lokendra Bahadur Chand - the 12th Nepalese Prime Minister since 1990. Reports said that the resignation was aimed at easing opposition pressure on King Gyanendra, who has been facing popular pressure for progressive democratic change. Nobel Peace Prize winner Suu Kyi has been consistently backed by the West in her prolonged standoff with Myanmar's military rulers but it is little realised in the West that democratization in this part of the world is a multi-dimensional exercise which envisages the granting of economic rights besides providing for political and civil rights. For South Asia's poor, for instance, political rights would mean very little if they are not accompanied by the right to a stable income and the possibility of acquiring a right livelihood. This is the message which is being violently conveyed by anti-globalization protesters to the G8 leaders as they meet in summit in Evian, France to charter the future of the global economy. Moreover, the big powers expose themselves to the charge of political duplicity on account of their backing of some states notorious for their rights violations and their simultaneous opposition to military - run states such as Myanmar, which today stand accused of gross human rights violations. Such forked-tongued positions on issues which almost define the future of Third World states in political turmoil, carry no conviction with pro-democracy opinion in this part of the world. Given the backing of some big powers for repressive regimes and their simultaneous espousal of good governance, anti - "corruption" and the like, it is best that they recall Suu Kyi's memorable words: "It is not power that corrupts but fear. Fear of losing power corrupts those who wield it and fear of the scourge of power corrupts those who are subject to it". |
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