Burma: Is It A Real Progress?

Is It A Real Progress?

By Htun Aung Gyaw

NLD Vice Chairman U Tin Oo was released from house arrest but releasing him from house arrest does not mean progress toward democracy and it is not a progress toward positive change. But his colleague Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is still under house arrest that she’d never committed a single crime.

On 30 May, 2003 leaders of Burma’s opposition political party, National League for Democracy (NLD) made an upper Burma organizational tour with its party members and supporters. The team was led by 1991 Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and the Party Vice Chairman Tin Oo.

Their car convoy was ambushed on May 30th, 2003 by the junta dead squads which killed as many as one hundred and was known as “Depeyin Massacre”.

The SPDC regime did not captured the culprits who killed innocent supporters of NLD party, but the regime captured NLD party Vice Chairman Tin Oo and Secretary General Aung San Suu Kyi saying that their lives were in danger and they need protection.

The real protection is detention and house arrest, this kind of act proved that criminals are at large and the victims are in custody. This is the reality of today lawlessness. After seven years under house arrest U Tin Oo was finally released not because of the regime kindness, because his house arrest term was up.

We all should know the regime released U Tin Oo for not a good gesture; they released him because the house arrest term is up. The regime tactic is if there is pressure on them and it is mounting bigger and bigger, they suddenly released some political prisoners for diverting the pressure. They use to release rumors that some significant change has come soon, many more will release within a month, so people waited for another month, wasted their precious time and forgot to fight back.

The regime use to give false hope to control the unrest, prison’s strikes and people movement. The significant tactic of the regime is using political prisoners as baits or as hostages to get some benefit from international actors. It is enough time for Burmese scholars and international actors not to fall into the regime’s trap.

PS: Htun Aung Gyaw is the one of the most prominent leaders of 1988 uprising which successfully toppled the General Ne Win led totalitarian regime. He is the patron of Burma Democratic Concern (BDC).