FOREWORD
Dr. (Col.) Lakshmi Sehgal

The struggle against British colonialism and imperialism brought together the leaders of the Third World during the period of 1940s to 1970s. In that struggle the Indian leaders belonging to a wide cross section of political ideologies, from followers of Netaji to socialists and communists developed close ties with the Burmese leaders. The memories of those interactions have been preserved by those who were a part of the struggle. For that generation Burma was a part of British India till 1935 and so inseparable from our own struggles and our history. The memories of those days did not fade even during the long years from 1962 to 1988 when Burma cut herself off from the rest of the world reeling under military dictatorship.

In 1988 the entire peoples of Burma arose in revolt against the vicious and brutal army rule. In the forefront of the struggle were the students and youth. In this struggle the minority nationalities as well as the Burman people joined together to form the movement for the restoration of democracy. In the leadership of this movement has been the National League for Democracy and its leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

Aung San Suu Kyi has inspired not only her own people but the entire world with her courage and strength in the face of personal tragedies and political repression that has kept her in detention for more than 15 years despite the fact that her party won a landslide victory in the 1990 elections. Since then the military junta has become known for being the world’s most brutal regime, promoting economic stagnation and international condemnation. It would seem that the entire people are living in a vast prison.

India has supported the Burmese peoples’ movement for democracy in many ways, from giving shelter to NLD members who had to leave their country to welcoming the student activists who escaped the military rule after the movement was brutally crushed. India honoured Aung San Suu Kyi by giving her the Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding for 1993 and our President APJ Abdul Kalam expressed India’s concern over the continuing detention of Aung San Suu Kyi when he visited Burma in 2006.

The movement for democracy in Burma includes the movements of various minority nationalities who have organized themselves under the banner of National Council of Union of Burma (NCUB) in support of the national movement for restoration of democracy. The minority nationalities include the Karen people, Shan people, the Arakan people and others.

It is true that India has developed close ties with the Myanmar military Junta since 1993s. We realize fully how sensitive Indo-Myanmar relations are especially since Myanmar shares borders with four North East states, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram, with a border that stretches for 1,640 kilometers in addition to the maritime boundary. However, giving refuge to Burma’s freedom fighters is a part of India’s international obligations under both international human rights law and humanitarian law.

It is for this reason we are shocked to learn that 34 freedom fighters of Burma have been lodged in Andaman Islands since 1998. They were at first held in Campbell Bay where their conditions of detention were totally in violation of basic norms of human rights. Later, they were shifted to the jail in Port Blair where they were denied all amenities and finally even when they were released on bail they were kept in barracks without adequate water or toilets and the barracks were mosquito-infested, unhygienic and dark.

We are aware that the case is in court and we do not wish to interfere in the judicial process. However, it has been brought to our attention by Burmese leaders in exile in India and Indian human rights activists that these 34 are freedom fighters. The print media has brought out the facts in various reports alleging that a corrupt member of the Indian military intelligence betrayed these men and even killed six of their leaders. We are reproducing the story as it appeared in two installments in a leading weekly.

We believe that the 34 Burmese lodged at present in Presidency Jail are indeed freedom fighters because of the reports in the papers, the information given to us by Burmese leaders in exile and Indian human rights lawyers and activists who have tried to reach out to them. The Indian lawyers have recorded the stories of nearly all these Burmese lodged in the jail. We are reproducing the details of their lives on the basis of their sworn statements recorded by their lawyers while they were in the Andaman Islands.

Even these few paragraphs on the lives of these men give us a glimpse of the extent of human rights violations and repression by the military junta. It also gives us a picture of the bravery and courage of these young people who joined the resistance at a great risk to their lives. It was exactly about such people that Aung San Suu Kyi was speaking when she accepted the Nehru award:

“….I am well aware that the prize comes to me not as an individual but as a representative of the democracy movement in Burma. And that fills me with a sense of humility and gratitude, as is always the case when I am chosen to be the recipients of honours that are awarded to those who have rendered outstanding service to the cause of human dignity the world over. In my own country there are a large number of men and women who do not enjoy the protection of international recognition, daily risking their well being, their liberty and even their lives for the sake of principles and rights that will guarantee our people a secure and dignified existence. I am thankful for the opportunity to draw attention to the struggles of these brave men and women and to accept, in all humility, the Nehru Memorial Prize for International understanding in their names.”

It is indeed an irony that Burma’s freedom fighters should have been kept imprisoned. It is also very sad indeed that these men should be treated so badly in the jail in West Bengal. In fact these men agreed to the transfer of their case from Port Blair to Kolkata because they had faith in the people of Bengal. They felt they would get justice in a place so rich in history of Indo-Burmese friendship.

On a more personal note I would like to say I feel very disturbed that Burma’s freedom fighters should be in an Indian jail because when we, the Indian freedom fighters were in Burma during the anti-colonial movement we were treated with so much warmth and love in their country. I believe it is our duty to show the same hospitality and solidarity to the Burmese freedom fighters in the hour of their need. That is why we have constituted this Solidarity Committee to keep alive the friendship between Indian and Burmese peoples.

We hope that the Burmese freedom fighters will get a fair hearing and that their basic human rights and dignity are respected while they are under detention.

Dr. (Col.) Lakshmi Sehgal