Documentary tells tales of Myanmar's political prisoners who, following the 1988 failed student uprising, were thrown in jail for standing against the junta
BANGKOK (AlertNet) – “They punched my ears, pounded my chest and stomped on my back. They hit my side and I was thrown in the air,” said a man with a hearing aid in his left ear, a legacy of the torture he suffered in one of Myanmar’s notorious jails.
But he didn’t allow himself to be depressed, he added, because then “it would be as if we were twice imprisoned.”
He was imprisoned for 12 years for distributing pamphlets against the iron-fisted junta which ruled Myanmar in different guises for half a century.
It is just one of many tales of abuse featuring in “Into the Current”, a documentary about the hundreds of political prisoners formerly and currently in Myanmar’s jails – people who, following the 1988 failed student uprising, were thrown in jail for standing against the junta.
“The purpose of the film is about sharing the integrity, humanity, heart and compassion of these people, and therefore the quality of human beings that they are and they should be part of Burma’s future,” Jeanne Hallacy, director of the documentary, told AlertNet, calling the country by its former name.
The documentary’s premiere, due on Jan. 26 in Bangkok, could not come at a more poignant time for many of the country’s political prisoners: On Jan. 13, Myanmar’s nominally civilian government that took power in March, released 651 prisoners including high-profile leaders of the pro-democracy 88 Generation Students Group. The event sparked scenes of jubilation outside many of Myanmar’s 42 prisons.
Released prisoners included Khun Tun Oo, an ethnic leader, elected member of parliament and head of the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy party. Another was Min Ko Naing, the second most influential activist after opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
THOSE STILL BEHIND BARS
Myanmar’s political prisoners come from all walks of life – students, professionals, labour rights activists, veteran politicians, monks and journalists.
Some of those imprisoned in the last few decades were members, elected parliamentarians and allies of Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy, which won the 1990 elections in a landslide but was never allowed to take power.
Many people from the 88 Generation Students Group were arrested multiple times or have spent most of their adult lives behind bars. This group’s activities later led to the 2007 Saffron Revolution protests, largely consisting of monks, calling for democratic change but crushed by the military.
A flurry of positive responses from western countries including the United States followed last week’s release of prisoners. Norway, for example, lifted its sanctions on the country.
Bo Kyi, one of the activists in the film, is happy childhood friend Min Ko Naing has been released. But he is concerned the international community is going to forget those still in prison.
A former political prisoner himself, he is the co-founder and joint-secretary of the Thailand-based Assistance Association of Political Prisoners (Burma), advocating on behalf of his former friends and comrades who are unable to speak.
He said AAPP has verified that 700 political prisoners remain in jail after the latest release. He said another 500 were in the process of being verified.
“Those who are left behind are not as well-known, but they are also political prisoners,” he told AlertNet. “I’m worried their mental states will worsen and they will feel very alone after many were released.”
CAREERS RUINED
Some question AAPP’s figures, saying they are too high. But Bo Kyi, who has compiled a detailed list of political prisoners through various sources in the past decade, said the more important issue is the recognition of political prisoners.
“So that these people, when they’re released, can continue with their professions – lawyers and doctors becoming lawyers and doctors again, and students going back to study,” he said.
“But because they are not recognised as political prisoners, they lose all the rights. Their livelihoods and ability to work are completely ruined for the rest of their lives.”
Most former political prisoners have found themselves unable to continue their studies or jobs upon release – while arbitrary arrest, detention and torture had continued unabated under the junta.
Bo Kyi said many were jailed in their 20s. By the time they are released, they are in their 40s and 50s.
“How are we going to support, nurture and help them rebuild their lives? We want people outside Myanmar and those in donor communities to be aware of this situation,” he said.
“We need to help them with their future because they’re important for Myanmar’s development.”
Yet what comes across in the film is how forgiving current and former prisoners are.
“Taking revenge is not Buddha’s teaching. I never think to take revenge to those who tortured me. My enemy is only the political system, not persons,” said Bo Kyi.
Another man in the film recounts being given electric shocks for two straight days and passing out. He spent 11 years in jail for delivering a letter from Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi that called for a democratically elected parliament.
Yet he feels little animosity towards those who tortured him.
“The cycle of violence will never end through revenge or retaliation,” he said softly, adding that the solution to violence lies in “meaningful dialogue.”
(Editing by Rebekah Curtis)
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