Democratic Party for a New Society, 1-9-08, Thai/Burma Border Trip, Winter 2007-08

By Jodi

This meeting with the Democratic Party for a New Society was our very last, our 22nd, during a 16 day period. Over red, orange, and green Fanta, the leader--a somber, no-nonsense man--explained that his wasn’t a political party per se. Founded by he and other student activists when the military junta came into power in 1988, it plays a supporting role to get Aung Su Kyi’s NLD party, legally elected by the people in 1990 but never allowed to serve because of the military junta.

Working in collaboration with other organizations, it has several main thrusts:

• To build unity and understanding among the various ethnic groups.
• To continue the struggle to overthrow the military, through the use of underground cells in Burma. It supported what the leader said was a “people’s movement led by monks” in 2007, for example, during which some of its member were killed, some arrested. “Sometimes you have to take the risk,” DPNS’s leader told us resolutely. You carefully devise a strategy, knowing some will be arrested.

Unlike the Burmese Lawyer’s Council, DPNS believes strongly in dialogue, and the external community should pressure the SPDC to engage in dialogue with the opposition parties. The DPNS also believes in economic sanctions. When asked to elaborate on the pros and cons of economic sanctions, the leader smiled slowly and demurred that an explanation “would take a very long paper.” Then he responded simply (and, in our view, unsatisfactorily), in a sentence, that sanctions would be more effective than non-intervention, referring to ASEAN’s strategy.

Perhaps, but what about the impact of economic sanctions on the people? And realistically, would the strong military junta ever agree to dialogue? Once again, we were reminded of the complexities of this issue and the long suffering of its people these past 20 years.

And once again we were reminded of the unbelievable commitment and hope of these opposition groups. Each of the exiled groups we'd met with over these two weeks was doing its part, each with its own specific objectives and target audiences, to get back home.

We wished them success and thanked them for their hard work. More, we considered how we could combine their needs with the action steps the other groups had suggested to us. Based on what we had learned from each of our 22 meetings, once we get back home we plan on devising our own objectives. It will be a long action plan; we would need to find the best ways we could use our skills, contacts, and position in the United States to help the people of Burma--both in the country and in exile--to realize their dream of freedom and democracy.

Action Step

• Pressure the U.S. and U.N. Security Council to consider economic sanctions and press the military junta to engage in dialogue with the opposition groups.