The Karen National League, as a non-armed Karen organization, seeks to uplift the lot of the Karen people and bring about the rule of law and true democracy to Burma. It engages in any and all lawful activities incidental to the foregoing purposes.

No Freedom of Expression in Burma: An Ethnic Comment A presentation at the Alternative Asia Europe Meeting Berlin, Germany, April 1-10, 1999

It is my sincere pleasure to be here and proudly present my opinion, our opinion, of freedom of expression in Southeast Asia as a whole. Of course, it is only my prudence to talk about it Burmawide as I am a legitimate child of Burma who grew up there at the absent of freedom of expression. When I actually saw the expression, I also saw the suppression of it in the most outrageous way, and that is why I am here today to talk about how and why I believe in freedom of expression as a vital necessity for a free and democratic society for the positive growth of a nation and its citizens.

Coming as I do from the Toungoo area of Burma, I would like to briefly recount my experience with regard to the freedom of expression. There are several Karen villages around Kyaukkyi township and most villages have both Burmese and Karen names. One day a Karen woman was asked about where she came from and where she was going by a Burmese soldier from a check point near her village. The woman answered him but the village name she said was in Karen. The name of the village in Karen is "Haw Ko Gaw" and in Burmese is "Nga Htway Sote". The soldier then kicked the woman on her hip and told her never to say the village name in Karen again. This was only one small incident. In fact many villages around Kyaukkyi township are mostly inhibited by Karens and have Karen names. The government, however, forces the villagers to use only Burmese names not only in official letters and papers but even in informal communication as well.

In the so-called "Union" of Burma, ethnic languages are barred from official use. Nor are they allowed to be taught at schools. This consequently restricts ethnic people in the way they express themselves as they are deprived of using and developing their own languages which are part of their own identities. Except for annual folk dance and costume parades on traditional holidays recognized by the government, most ethnic cultures are being eliminated. Consequently, ethnic nationality schoolchildren and the young generation are growing up neither knowing their own cultures nor speaking their own languages. In this way, social and cultural domination has been effectively taking place in Burma today and freedom of expression has become beyond the reality.

One important point to note here is that, with the advancement of information and computer technologies, there is a ray of hope for ethnic people and Burma alike to express and communicate their culture and improve their languages freely to outside world. However, as reported by the Special Rapporteur in January 1998 report; [T]he Computer Science Development Law of 27 September 1996 makes the unauthorized import, possession, and use of certain types of computer equipment, for example computers with networking ability, punishable with sentences of 7 to 15 years' in prison and/or a fine... According to the Government-controlled newspaper New Light of Myanmar (NLM), the punishment is prescribed for anyone setting up links with a computer network without permission or who uses computer networks or information technology for undermining State security, law and order, national unity, the national economy and national culture or who obtains or transmits State secrets... A punishment of 5 to 10 years' imprisonment is prescribed for anyone who imports or exports computer software or information banned by the Myanmar Computer Science Council. [E/CN.4/1998/40]

So, it is clear that there is no such thing as freedom of expression in my country, a country of Southeast Asia that is ruled by a military dictatorship. This lack of freedom of expression has become one of the reasons that prolong the decades long civil war and deprived the country of development in technologies and science.

Another obvious example took place in 1988. Together with the students all over the country, the people had joined in expressing their will for changes in political and social system including the type of government. And as a result, severe suppression was imposed by the military authority and thousands of students as well as non-students were killed on the streets.

Why are we so much afraid of that free expression? Or maybe the first question is if freedom of expression is culturally original and how it has been perceived by the "authority" historically. Why is it a vital necessity for a society to grow and develop? How far do we want to go for that? How do we make sure that freedom of expression does not mean lawlessness of individuals' certain actions? These are some important questions that I would like to try and address during the discussion. Thank you.

 

Released by: Communication and Information Division P.O Box 320 518 San Francisco, CA 94132 U.S.A. Email: KNLcomm@aol.com

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