Burmese junta under spotlight

May 12 2008 by Barbara Hodgson, The Journal

As Burma struggles to cope with the disastrous aftermath of its cyclone, Barbara Hodgson finds the country’s military junta again under the spotlight – on stage.

UNTIL last week’s cyclone unhappily brought worldwide attention to Burma, the workings of the south east Asian country’s notoriously secretive ruling government went largely unnoticed by the western public.

Now, with an estimated 62,000 people dead and more than a million homeless, the military junta, which suppresses dissent and wields absolute power, is under new criticism for its refusal to allow outside aid agencies into the country.

By coincidence, the junta is also the focus of a play coming to Northumberland tomorrow with its timely reminder of the ongoing plight of Aung San Suu Kyi.

The Lady of Burma is showing in the region for one night only, in Hexham.

Starring Liana Gould in a solo performance, it tells the inspirational true story of the Burmese leader who has been under house arrest in Burma – also known as Myanmar – for more than 12 years. While Suu Kyi’s detention has been in and out of the news during that time, her situation has become so stagnant it appears largely forgotten by the wider public.

But Suu Kyi – a Nobel Peace Prize winner – is now nearly 63 and remains confined to her Rangoon home as a political prisoner, despite being the democratically elected leader of the country.

As the leader of the winning National League for Democracy party, she earned the right to be Prime Minister in the 1990 general election.

But she has never been allowed to take up the position and the Burmese junta continues to extend her detention. Suu Kyi’s struggle under the dictatorship has been a peaceful, non-violent one and this play is presented in association with the Burma Campaign UK, which has been campaigning and holding solidarity protests on her behalf.

The Lady of Burma had sell out runs on the Edinburgh Festival Fringe last August and previously at The Old Vic in London. Even before the natural disaster added an extra level of awareness to the tale, it was billed as “an unmissable hymn to the power of the human spirit in the quest for freedom, regardless of what you know or think about Burmese politics”.

This tour started in April with Liana Gould coming to it fresh from filming the lead role in a independent feature film called The Pharmacist. The Lady of Burma is at the Queen’s Hall Arts Centre, Hexham, at 7.30pm tomorrow. For tickets visit www.queenshall.co.uk or call (01434) 652477.