Freeing Mynamar

Today, Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi was sentenced to 18 months of home imprisonment.  She is the leader of a non-violent, democracy movement in one of the most brutal dictatorships still left on the planet in Mynamar (formerly Burma).  You can read about the her personal history here and visit her webpage here for information, news, video and more, but what I wanted to draw attention to today is a news story from the BBC concerning what individuals and nations can do to influence the military dictatorship to change its policies.  The article is titled, “How Do You Apply Pressure on Burma?” and it refers to the UK’s proposal for an UN arms embargo on the nation, depriving it of what it needs most: weapons and ammunition.  This article calls on individuals to wonder, in this globalized and interconnected world, what can be done to influence the internal politics of one nation from the intervention of citizens from another.  What is the impact of social justice activism on nations that do not permit or require international cooperation and/or compliance?  The Council on Foreign Relations issued a report called, “Burma: Time for Change” and outlined actions for nations to take, but what about individuals?  Commentators have suggested that the military junta is sensitive to media pressure.  Consider the impact of social networking on Iran’s recent election and uprising.  Human Rights Watch has a report on the sham trial as well.