In Myanmar, a resistance hero on the run
By Marwaan Macan-Markar
BANGKOK - Somewhere in the dilapidated city of Yangon is a man on the run since
August last year. He has sheltered in over 10 homes so far. But he expects to
continue avoiding arrest by Myanmar's dreaded military or intelligence forces.
When Tun Myint Aung shifts from one safehouse to another, he goes armed with
two items that have become indispensable. They are a mobile phone and a
portable, Chinese-made radio, to listen to such anti-junta stations like the
Democratic Voice of Burma, based in Oslo, Norway.
"The phone and the radio are very important now. I always take them wherever I
go. They are next to me when I sleep," said Tun
Myint Aung during a recent telephone interview with Inter Press Service from
his current safehouse in the former capital. "Through them I stay in touch with
people outside, my friends, and follow the news about events in the country."
But his Tecsum shortwave radio has taken on added value in military-ruled
Myanmar's current oppressive climate. "The radio has become a social weapon for
me and for our movement," added Tun Myint Aung over the phone, an act that
could get him jailed. "It is how the messages against the military regime are
broadcast by us and others against them."
The "us" he refers to is the "88 Generation Students", a highly respected group
of former university graduates who have been at the vanguard of peaceful
protests against the country's repressive military leaders. The group gets its
name from leading a pro-democracy popular movement in 1988, which was brutally
crushed by the military, leaving some 3,000 protesters dead.
Until August 2007, Tun Myint Aung worked in the shadows of "88 Generation"
leaders like Min Ko Naing, who to many Myanmese is the most respected person in
the country for his democracy crusade after Aung San Suu Kyi, the opposition
leader and Nobel Peace laureate. But that month, the junta arrested Min Ko
Naing and other prominent leaders of the group to curb the protests they called
for after the regime raised the price of oil by 500% without warning.
Tun Myint Aung, who will be turning 40 this year, had to flee his home to avoid
arrest. It was an escape, forcing him to "run and run", sometimes having to
spend nights on the streets with no place to hide, that has consequently
propelled him to be a new leader of the "88 Generation". With him at the helm
are two other activists of the same group, also on the run, Nilar Thein and Soe
Htun.
His first month as a leader was overshadowed by the rage against the junta that
poured on the streets of Yangon and other cities in September. Tens of
thousands of people, led by the countries maroon-robed Buddhist monks, staged
peaceful protests. They raised a cry against the unbearable economic woes, the
arrest of the "88 Generation" leaders, and the continued imprisonment of
political activists, including Suu Kyi. But the junta responded with force,
killing scores of demonstrators, including monks, and jailing hundreds.
The events, since then, have proved as formidable: the junta recently announced
plans to conduct a referendum in May to seek approval for a controversial new
constitution. And mounting a political campaign against that plebiscite from
underground is a challenge.
"There are 11 organizations we are working with to inform the public that the
new constitution was not drafted by the people's representatives. We are also
warning that the referendum will not be free and fair," says Tun Myint Aung.
"But if people want to vote, we are urging them to vote 'No'. They have to
oppose the military's plan to get its political life extended legally."
A mass movement against the referendum is also being discussed. "We want a
nation-wide silent movement against the military. We have been contacting
people in our network, through the phone and other ways, to get this message
out," he reveals. "Our actions are to get as many people to lead this silent
protest. That is how we have always worked. It is never been based on only one
person."
The anger that the new leaders of the "88 Generation" have towards the regime
was displayed in mid-February, when they released a statement saying that the
planned May referendum is a "declaration of war by the military regime against
the Burmese people". Another has followed since, denouncing the Chinese
government for "bankrolling" the junta and calling for a boycott of this year's
Summer Olympics in Beijing.
Despite the odds, Tun Myint Aung relishes his new role of leading the
opposition from within the country. "It is a very heavy task that we have, but
it is exciting," he says. "I am not depressed; I am eager to try as many
actions as we can against the military. This is the way to help our people and
to help my brothers, our comrades, in jail."
Even the solitary hours that he sometimes has to endure to avoid arrest barely
gets him down. For he has experienced worse: he was arrested in 1990 and jailed
at the notorious Insein Prison in Yangon for three years. At the time, he was
studying geography at Rangoon University. His "crime" was to be a protest
leader in the 1988 pro-democracy uprising. Then, in 1998, he was arrested again
and jailed until 2005. Once again, it was for his political activism.
"I have not talked to my parents for many months; I cannot contact them,
because our home in Rangoon [Yangon] is under watch by the intelligence," he
admits, after a pause. "I miss that. I miss talking to my nieces and nephews.
But they are used to not seeing me at home."
At times, however, the strain of struggling to remain free from the junta's
grip leads to restless nights. "If I hear strange sounds on the road, too many
dogs barking at night, I wake up," he says. "What is it?"
And visits to a hospital or clinics are out of the question for him: "I cannot
get sick. It is too risky to go to a clinic. I am always taking care of my
health now."
Yet there is a reason that weighs in his favor if he had to call on a doctor.
His face remains a mystery to the junta; it had not been in the glare during
the dissidents' public campaign. "It is fortunate. I avoided having my photos
taken during the protests last year," says Tun Myint Aung.
But that spell of anonymity may not last long, he concedes. "The junta wants to
arrest all our leaders. I cannot foretell my future: if I go to jail or not."
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