Inside Burma -- Land of Fear
By John Pilger and David Munro
ABC TV, June 5, 8.30pm (8 in SA)
Reviewed by Eva Cheng

For people who know little of the current political situation in Burma, Pilger and Munro's Land of Fear can provide a quick effective fix.

This is a powerful documentary, giving a concentrated picture of the key social contradictions in Burma today, namely that between the military dictatorship under the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) -- supported by big imperialist interests -- and the Burmese people, organised mainly around the National League for Democracy.

In particular, highlights of the massive uprisings in 1988, their bloody end, the return later from England of Aung San Suu Kyi, the democracy movement's landslide victory in the 1990 general election and the military's refusal to hand over power (continued until now) provide a useful background to understanding the ongoing repression in Burma.

The story is effectively told with the help of moving footage of some of the 1988 massacre scenes as well as of rescue efforts which were carried out and filmed under highly dangerous circumstances.

Reports by exiles bring to light outrages such as soldiers' shooting in the hospitals of patients, doctors and nurses, and burial and cremation of injured demonstrators -- including those who were still alive. No fewer than 10,000 are estimated to have been killed in the space of a few days in the August 1988 massacre.

SLORC is making a big push on tourism (a crucial source of foreign exchange). In fact, 1996 was named as the year of tourism, and in preparation for that, a range of physical infrastructure needed to be built or upgraded. More brutalities were committed to achieve that.

People were drafted to provide hard physical labour. Political prisoners and children were included, with the former chained while at work, in freezing cold, at gunpoint, and the latter engaged in highly dangerous jobs under temperatures as high as 35° Celsius. Footage filmed in secret provides telling evidence.

These powerful visual presentations alone make Land of Fear a worthwhile watch. However, the program left me wondering about the social base of the ruling clique, the extent and origin of imperialist backing and the ideological framework, political perspective and social composition of the opposition. Perhaps we can hope for these questions to be taken up in a sequel to this powerful production.

This article was posted on the Green Left Weekly Home Page.
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