MYANMAR POLITICS
"The country had suffered years of economic collapse, environmental degradation and human rights abuses as a result of the junta's isolationist 'Burmese way to socialism' programme."
Smith, Jeremy. "Tortured Soul." Ecologist 34.6...
Since 1885, the people of Burma (present-day 'democratic' Myanmar) have been denied of human rights. British colonization, initiated through dilution of culture and division of ethnic minorities, marked only the beginning of this abusive continuity and the challenge of protecting these rights, which Ka Hsaw Wa would ambitiously undertake.
After a brief invasion by the Japanese, Burma was granted independence in 1947.
"Most Burmese people were excited about their new-found independence. As the years passed, however, the country struggled with all sorts of problems, including a weak economy, ineffective political parties, restrictions on basic rights, widespread ethnic tensions, and violent Communist-sponsored rebellions."
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As with other nations, like Germany under Hitler and
the majority of Latin America nations after independence, the post-war chaos and disorder in Burma from WWII demanded strict control of a single leader to instill faith and trust in the nation. This leader was ultimately a dictator, furthering the history of limited rights, only to be exacerbated during the military coup that gave rise to an oppressive military junta that had been ruling Burma until recently. |
"For the next ten years, Burma's fledgling democratic government was continuously challenged by communist and ethnic groups who felt under-represented in the 1948 constitution. Periods of intense civil war destabilized the nation....General Ne Win took control of the whole country [in 1960]...he staged a coup...and instituted authoritarian military rule.
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GOVERNMENT MISTREATMENT OF CITIZENS
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Bajoria, Jayshree. "Understanding Myanmar." ... |
Although the military junta is well-known for its oppression of citizens, the soldiers were also victims of the government's manipulative force.
"Take over 300,000 men, many of them under the age of seventeen and largely uneducated. Force some of them to enlist a gunpoint and promise all of them a salary they never receive entirely. Give them guns and bombs. Train them to shoot, to crawl through the jungle at night, to ambush. Convince them that their enemies are ethnic minorities, students, women, anyone who disagrees with the government, and that these millions of people are traitors or infidels. Starve them. Withhold their mail and don’t allow them to send any letters. Forbid them from visiting their families. Force them to beat each other for punishment. Abandon some of them if they are too sick to walk. Abuse them verbally and physically every day. Allow them plenty of alcohol and drugs. You have just created the army of Burma’s ruling military regime."
"Ka Hsaw Wa." Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice & Hum...