Beginning his lecture, he mentioned the second anniversary of the brutally quashed Saffron Revolution, which started in 2007. Neglected buildings that haven’t been renovated since the British times, ubiquitous dirt and poverty – that’s the first impression of Burma.
Although 90% of its population are Buddhists, religious minorities enjoy freedom in Burma. The mosque located in the centre of the country’s largest city, Rangoon, seems to prove that best. Also Christian communities, which are focused mainly on charity, function there actively. Temple-based education is on a very high level. As a result, Burma scores well even in the official ONZ statistics – it has a low rate of illiteracy.
For many years, Burma has been governed by a military junta, which constrains the most fundamental rights and freedoms, like the freedom of speech. There is a grim joke circulating around Burma, which claims that local people need to go abroad to fix their teeth, since they cannot open their mouths wide enough in their own country. The most famous Burmese oppositionist and Nobel Prize Winner, Aung San Suu Kyi, called “Burmese Gandhi”, has been under house arrest for a few years now.
Antoni Słodkowski talked about meeting the famous Moustache brothers – young members of the opposition, who originate from Mandalay (central Burma) and whose names appear on junta’s blacklist. They have been imprisoned several times for organising satirical happenings. In 2007 Amnesty International engaged in the fight for their release.
The audience could also watch a documentary that showed the living conditions in Burmese prisons and labour camps. The film presented some models of the camps too. Antoni Słodkowski labelled the system of repressions in Burma as “Burmese Gulag”. There are 43 prisons and 92 labour camps in this country. People kept there are subject to tortures: for example, they are forced to stay in the same uncomfortable position for a long period of time, given electroshocks, suffer from beating and waterboarding. Diseases such as malaria, AIDS and tuberculosis spread quickly. HIV infections are most often caused by multiple uses of the same needle for vaccinations. Prisoners are given rotten or undercooked food, which is often additionally mixed with sand. People kept in labour camps wear shackles on their feet. Private companies “hire” them from the government as cheap labour force.
At the end of the lecture the activities of Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) in Burma were presented. The organisation, the member of which is Antoni Słodkowski, is mainly responsible for the monitoring of prisons. They support, also financially, the former and current prisoners and their families. It is an important pillar of “Burmese underground state” structures, which deal with the documentation of the governing military junta crimes and with gathering documents from the trials.
After the speech by Antoni Słodkowski, the floor was taken by Than Htike, a honorary member of “Polish Burma Solidarity” organisation and the advisor of the National Council of the Union of Burma. He postulated the exclusion of junta’s members from the UN, due to the fact that, according to him, people currently governing Burma are not legitimized to represent Burma on the international arena. He also suggested that they should stand before the International Criminal Court. Apart from that, new technologies and expansion of the information society will give opportunity for sharing views and wide distribution of information about the situation in Burma. Especially web portals and sites such as Twitter and Facebook or blogs might prove helpful.
Unfortunately, the situation in Burma is not widely known. During the presidency of George Bush, the policy of the USA was based on restrictive economic sanctions. Now, with the new USA administration, the methods that are supposed to improve the situation in Burma also begin to change. The recent visit of senator Jim Web in Burma is an example that proves this fact.
In 2010 new parliamentary election will take place, but there is little chance for it to be held in a democratic way.
Antoni Słodkowski is a student of Japanese studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies, which is a constituent college of the University of London. As a volunteer he took part in European Voluntary Service Scheme and Southwark Day Centre for Asylum Seekers and Refugees. In 2008 he travelled to countries of Southeast Asia: Burma, Laos, Thailand and others. Currently he is cooperating with Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) in Burma. Antoni Słodkowski writes for Japan Times and Gazeta Wyborcza.
Michał Kowalski, Barbara Grabowska
Translation: Michał Urbański
