Anniversaries play an important role in spreading sympathy and information about oppressed peoples - none more so than those of Burma. This month sees the tenth anniversary of the brutal suppression by the army of the widespread pro-democracy movement there, in which some 10,000 people were killed. Aung San Suu Kyi, the courageous leader of the banned National League for Democracy who was awarded the Nobel peace prize in 1991 (and is now involved in another protest against constraints on her freedom of movement), has given a deadline of August 21st for the parliament elected in 1990, which never sat, to be convened. Her party had a huge majority in it. The confrontation comes during the fiftieth anniversary of Burma's independence, which has been tragically disfigured by nearly four decades of military rule. In the course of this history, the country of 46 million people has sadly declined in comparative economic performance - it used to be known as the rice bowl of Asia and now has to import food. This year has seen its currency decline steeply and its investment and trade fall equally precipitously. The military, ruling through the State Peace and Development Council, is involved in the world's most egregious form of crony capitalism, based on exploitation of its natural resources, heavy involvement in the heroin trade, and recently, an attempt to open up the tourism industry based on forced labour.
For many years Burma seemed to vanish from international awareness as though it had slid off the map of the world. It has taken the imaginative and heroic efforts of Ms Suu Kyi and her supporters to bring it back to the world's attention. For several years, the junta had some success with leaders in Asia who argued that its political arrangements should not affect its participation in regional organisations. This argument held up until the recent economic crisis, which has undermined the military's capacity to rule. The junta is increasingly without friends and is reported to be divided between those advocating more repression and those who say some sort of dialogue must be initiated with the opposition.
The issues have been highlighted in recent weeks by Ms Suu Kyi's attempts to establish contact with her fellow parliamentarians-elect in meetings outside Rangoon, which the military prevented her from attending. The resulting standoff saw her staying in her car at a road block for six days until she was forcibly returned to her compound in the capital. She has now renewed her protests in similar manner, having been stopped yesterday at a village 17 miles from the capital. Ms Suu Kyi continues to hold to the August 21st deadline, insisting that only a political dialogue on the return to democracy can head off street protests. The junta is afraid there will be an attempt to set up a parallel government. They are also worried about Ms Suu Kyi's state of health; if anything were to happen to her they fear they could not contain popular anger.
Sympathisers of Burmese democracy around the world, governments included, should be alert to the real influence they can have, through sanctions and solidarity, in ensuring that a transition to democracy takes place rapidly and peacefully.