A c t i v i s m
Aung San Suu Kyi is the youngest child
of Aung Sun, considered the father of
modern-day Myanmar.After returning to Myanmar from Britian
in 1988, Suu Kyi made a speech at the
Shwedagon Pagoda in the capital, calling
for democracy. She helped found the
National League for Democracy in 1988
and was placed under house arrest in 1989.
She was offered her freedom is she agreed
to leave Myanmar but she refused. Even
when released from house arrest she was
unable to leave Myanmar to visit her
husband and children in Britain as the
military government made it clear she
would not be allowed to return.Suu Kyi has had nine periods of detention
since 1989, the latest being in August 2009
when she was sentenced to 18 months
following a "violation" of her house arrest
after a US man swam across the river to
gain access to her home.In 1991 Suu Kyi was awarded the Nobel
Peace Prize for her non-violent struggle
for democracy and human rights.
from Burma, the acclaimed filmmaker,
Anders Østergaard, brings us close to the
video journalists who deliver the footage.
Though risking torture and life in jail,
courageous young citizens of Burma live
the essence of journalism as they insist on
keeping up the flow of news from their
closed country. Armed with small handycams
the Burma VJs stop at nothing to make their
reportages from the streets of Rangoon. Their
material is smuggled out of the country and
broadcast back into Burma via satellite and
offered as free usage for international media.
The whole world has witnessed single event clips
made by the VJs, but for the very first time, their
individual images have been carefully put together
and at once, they tell a much bigger story. The film
offers a unique insight into high-risk journalism
and dissidence in a police state, while at the same
time providing a thorough documentation of the
historical and dramatic days of September 2007,
when the Buddhist monks started marching."
Political Hotspots September Issue