Guest contributors
Alan Clements & Fergus Harlow
Democracy is under attack—and Myanmar is the front line. A brutal military dictatorship has imprisoned its elected leaders, waged war against its own people, and turned the nation into a battlefield of terror.
At the center of this struggle is Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s democratically-elected leader and a Nobel Peace Prize laureate. She has spent 15 years under house arrest and is now in her fourth year of solitary confinement—locked in a windowless, rat-infested cell, deprived of medical care, legal representation, and even the most basic right of visitation.
Meanwhile, Myanmar is fighting for its very survival:
- Over 21,000 political prisoners languish in jail.
- More than 10,000 innocent civilians have been slaughtered—many in targeted airstrikes on schools, churches, monasteries, and orphanages.
- Over two million people have been displaced from their homes, with thousands facing starvation.
The junta’s brutal campaign of bombings, executions, and mass arrests has devastated the country. Yet the people refuse to submit. They are still fighting.
And they need the world to stand with them.
Aung San Suu Kyi: A voice for democracy, silenced
Aung San Suu Kyi is Myanmar’s Nelson Mandela—a leader who has sacrificed everything for her country’s democratic rights. Adored by 90 percent of Myanmar’s population for her wisdom and moral courage, she remains an unbreakable symbol of hope and resistance.
She has endured relentless persecution:
- Numerous death threats.
- Close colleagues tortured to death.
- Others were executed for standing beside her.
Yet she has never wavered. Recognized alongside global icons like Václav Havel and Ronald Reagan, she has spent her life fighting for human rights—despite the unbearable cost.
- She won multiple elections by a landslide—including the 2020 election, which the military brazenly ignored.
- She spent decades under house arrest for demanding democracy.
- She has been falsely accused of crimes—a desperate ploy by the junta to justify its dictatorship.
Even in captivity, her spirit remains unbroken.
Yet Western governments and media abandoned her when she needed them most. This betrayal emboldened the military to launch its 2021 coup, plunging Myanmar into its darkest era in decades.
But Aung San Suu Kyi remains defiant. She has outlasted her captors, endured solitary confinement, and refused to bow to tyranny.
She cannot fight this battle alone.
Who will summon the moral courage to stand for truth?
The world must stand with Aung San Suu Kyi. The world must stand with Myanmar.
Why this matters to the world
Myanmar’s crisis is not an isolated event. It is a test for democracy everywhere. If the world allows a violent coup to erase the will of 52 million people, it sets a precedent for dictatorships worldwide.
The junta’s war against its people is also fueling a growing global crisis:
1. Myanmar’s military is flooding the world with drugs
Myanmar has become the epicenter of the world’s deadliest drug trade. With backing from rogue elements within China, the military regime has transformed the country into a global hub for fentanyl, heroin, and methamphetamine.
These drugs are flooding the U.S., Europe, Thailand, Australia, and Japan, fueling addiction crises, overwhelming law enforcement, and devastating communities.
2. China’s strategic takeover of Myanmar threatens global stability
China shields Myanmar’s dictatorship to expand its power.
At the heart of this alliance—central to Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative—are China’s billion-dollar infrastructure projects, including:
- Oil and gas pipelines from the Bay of Bengal to Yunnan Province.
- A deep-sea port for China’s navy in Myanmar.
These projects bypass the Malacca Strait, tighten Beijing’s grip, and push Myanmar closer to becoming a Chinese province.
If Myanmar falls fully under China’s control:
- U.S. influence in Southeast Asia will collapse.
- India’s security will be threatened.
- China’s military footprint will expand across the Indo-Pacific.
If the world fails to act, it won’t just betray Myanmar—it will surrender Southeast Asia to authoritarian rule.
The time to act Is now
History will judge our response. The U.S. and its allies must act immediately to restore democracy in Myanmar:
- Demand Aung San Suu Kyi’s Immediate Release – Without her freedom, there is no democracy in Myanmar. Hold the junta accountable with maximum sanctions.
- Secure a Nationwide Peace Accord – Support a federal democracy to empower the people and end dictatorship.
- Designate the junta as a terrorist organization – Freeze their international assets and cut off financial lifelines.
- Expose China’s role – hold Beijing accountable for backing the junta and enabling war crimes.
- Dismantle the Myanmar-China drug trade – crack down on the fentanyl, heroin, and meth fueling global addiction and financing the junta’s terror.
- Leverage U.S. economic and diplomatic power – Use sanctions and economic pressure to weaken the junta’s networks.
- Strengthen humanitarian assistance – Increase aid for refugees, political prisoners, and Myanmar’s resistance movement.
- Pressure ASEAN to act – ASEAN has failed to hold the junta accountable. The U.S. must demand real action—not just empty rhetoric.
The time for words is over. The world must act—now.
The fate of democracy is in our hands
This is not just about Myanmar—it is about the survival of democracy itself. If the world stays silent, it signals that coups succeed, dictatorships thrive, and democracy is expendable.
We cannot let Myanmar become the graveyard of global freedom.
The U.S. must lead. Not just in words—but in action.
The world must choose: Stand with Myanmar, or surrender to tyranny.
History will remember who had the courage to act—and who stood by in silence.
Alan Clements is an author, investigative journalist, and former Buddhist monk ordained in Myanmar, where he lived for years immersed in the country’s spiritual and political landscapes. He is the author of Burma: The Next Killing Fields? and The Voice of Hope, co-authored with Aung San Suu Kyi, as well as the four-volume Burma’s Voices of Freedom and Aung San Suu Kyi From Prison and a Letter to a Dictator. His decades-long work focuses on Myanmar’s ongoing struggle for democracy, human rights, and spiritual resilience.
Fergus Harlow is a writer, scholar, and human rights advocate. He co-authored Burma’s Voices of Freedom and Aung San Suu Kyi From Prison and a Letter to a Dictator, providing an in-depth exploration of Myanmar’s political crises and the resilience of its people. Harlow’s work centers on the intersections of democracy, spirituality, and global human rights.
DVB publishes a diversity of opinions that does not reflect DVB editorial policy. We’d like to hear what you think about this or any of our stories: [email protected]
