AlertNet speaks to former militants who now hope to support peaceful development
BANGKOK (AlertNet) - They fled in the aftermath of the 1988 failed student uprising in Myanmar which was brutally crushed by the military. Thousands were killed and injured. Many went into hiding and took up armed struggle.
Now, following more than two decades in exile, some of these student leaders are returning home for the first time after receiving visas, citing recent positive changes in Myanmar.
Their arrival on Friday is a further sign of political reconciliation in the impoverished country which is still struggling with armed conflict, human rights abuse allegations, displacement and the aftermath of natural disasters like the devastating 2008 cyclone.
“It seems surreal,” said Aung Naing Oo, deputy director of Vahu Development Institute, a Thailand-based thinktank, and former foreign affairs secretary of the All Burma Students’ Democratic Front (ABSDF), an insurgent group that remains operational.
“I’m trying to grapple with what I would do and what I would see (when I get home) because the world I left is not there anymore,” he told AlertNet.
“The one thing we all have is trauma. Physically, we haven’t been back in the country but emotionally, we never left,” he added.
Aung Thu Nyein, a senior associate at Vahu and former vice-chairman of the ABSDF, said he had been preparing psychologically for the trip for weeks.
“Just recently, I called my mum and she’s still worried about me coming home,” he said. “I haven’t seen her for 24 years.”
The two men founded Vahu, together with Zaw Oo, another former ABSDF member, and social critic Tin Maung Than. All four are going to Myanmar on Friday, where Aung Naing Oo and Aung Thu Nyein will stay for two weeks.
A NEW BEGINNING?
One of Asia's richest countries in the early 20th century, Myanmar is now one of the world's poorest. A third of the resource-rich country’s estimated 60 million people live on less than a dollar a day.
Aid workers say health statistics are among the worst in the region, as the former junta spent only a tiny sum on healthcare. The new government is planning to increase health and education spending.
Myanmar’s nominally civilian government, which took power in March after five decades of iron-fisted military rule, has surprised and impressed observers with the speed of its reforms.
The government has allowed Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi to run for parliament, begun peace talks with ethnic rebels, relaxed its strict media censorship, allowed trade unions and protests, and released hundreds of political prisoners. Activists say hundreds more remain in jail.
“We’re seeing a new beginning in a lot of the issues. We’re quite encouraged, and of course we want to lend our support,” said Aung Naing Oo. They will explore whether Vahu, which has trained hundreds of Burmese on civil society and government policy issues, can help with a key challenge the country now faces – a serious shortage of skilled people to work on further reforms.
“As a group, we’ll have an open mind. We’re meeting lots of different people: government officials, ministers, the private sector, public sector, civil society, politicians, non-governmental organisations, academics,” he said.
Critics say Myanmar’s reforms are cosmetic and can be reversed at any time, given that the country’s parliament and government are stacked with former and current military generals.
Vahu, however, believes dialogue, pragmatism and a focus on problem-solving are the way forward.
CULTURE OF VIOLENCE
“Looking around, I see that the countries that have gone way ahead of us have at least some kind of system in which to resolve conflicts peacefully without resorting to violence,” Aung Naing Oo said. “Our violence is sustained and we need to do away with this kind of culture.”
The bitterness of the armed struggle he experienced as an ABSDF leader led him to lay down his weapons.
“We learned in the jungle that the best thing is dialogue, negotiation and adherence to due process of law,” he told AlertNet. And while not all officials are willing to engage with dissidents, some are beginning to understand that they need to talk to the opposition, he added.
He is also hoping to persuade the government to enable the return of more exiles like himself, who can bring experience, expertise, funding and connections to the outside world.
“Nobody wants revenge; nobody wants to go back to the old ways,” Aung Naing Oo said.
“The one thing activists on Burma have is hope. Whether it’s false or genuine hope, that’s one thing that’s kept us alive, and it is the thing that is taking us back (home).”
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