Maureen Aung-Thwin, director of the Burma Project, spoke last week on the current state of affairs in Burma — the country also called Myanmar that borders China — and the repression of democracy there by its ruling military dictatorship.
The Burma Project aims to bring democracy to the country through education and political action. It is sponsored by the Open Society Institute.
Originally called Burma, it was renamed Myanmar in 1989, a year after the current military dictatorship seized power. Most newspapers refer to the country as Myanmar, Aung-Thwin said. She said though this is not incorrect, it risks lending undeserved legitimacy to the ruling government.
Aung-Thwin first discussed the particular case of Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. She said the Burma government has sporadically detained Suu Kyi because she is a leader of the government's opposition, the National League for Democracy.
Suu Kyi, who has been put under house arrest on and off since 1989, was most recently detained on May 30, Aung-Thwin said, but this time other nations have noticed.
"After the crackdown on Suu Kyi on May 30, the world said 'Oh wow, this is a bad thing,' " she said.
Political freedom is not the only thing in peril because of the oppressive regime, Aung-Thwin said. Education is a serious problem as well.
Burma's universities are open only sporadically and are often located far away from students' homes, where transportation prices prohibit them from enrolling, she said. Remedying this is one of the goals of her project.
"It's unbelievable. I want to call it cultural genocide. That's one of the most horrible things that has happened, this lack of education across the country," Aung-Thwin said. "We're helping bridge the gap for Burmese immigrants so that they can go into higher education."
The project is not limited to domestic influences, Aung-Thwin said. It also plans to help democratize nearby nations.
"When Burma does transition — it will — we want it to be in the neighborhood of free countries. That's one of our goals," she said.
She encouraged her listeners to help. When visiting Burma, she said, one should stay with locals and avoid expensive travel packages.
"I have been banned so I cannot go," Aung-Thwin said. "But you can. If you take a luxury tour, you can go through all of Burma without really seeing it and hearing it. Go alone. You can bring news to the outside world."
The event was cosponsored by the Princeton Institute for International and Regional Studies and the Global Issues Forum.
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