Burmese-Australian George Than Setkyar Heine (84) recalls his time in Burma before the military seized power the first time.
“That was a golden age: 1948 to 1962, I was a student at the time. We have all the freedom, all the rights; nobody is above the law, everybody is fine and happy,” he recalls.
Myanmar gained independence from British rule in 1948. Burmese films redounded far beyond its border after independence. The country’s education system was among the best in Asia, and it was looking to be a promising economy in the region.
But on 2nd March 1962, when George was a fourth-year medical student, the military seized power in a coup against the civilian government. He says people didn’t realise for a few months what just had happened.
“We didn’t even notice that the military had taken over the country. But on 7 July 1962 when they started killing the students, then only we came to know what the military really was,” he told SBS Burmese.
On 7 July 1962, thousands of university students gathered to protest against stricter campus regulations, the end of university self-administration under strict military control. But the protests were brutally crushed.
Members of Australia's Burmese community protesting against the military seizing power in a coup against Aung San Suu Kyi's government in Myanmar. Source: SBS Burmese
“Even some onlookers at a nearby Buddhist assembly were shot at. I managed to escape, but some of my friends were shot and killed,” George says.
The next day, the military blew up the historic Rangoon University Students’ Union building which had been the symbol of the anti-colonial nationalism since the 1920s, killing all the wounded students who had taken shelter there.
“Since then I became rebellious; all I ever want is the downfall of the dictatorship, and everything else is a second priority for me,” he says.
The 1974 unrest
After the students' protest, George was barred from the university, so he couldn’t complete his medical studies. He became a civil servant as an Upper Division Clerk and later got a BA, majoring in English literature and history through distance education.
In 1974, another unrest was triggered by the death of Burmese diplomat U Thant, who was the third Secretary-General of the United Nations, after the military refused to give him a state funeral.
Military forces guard the streets of Rangoon, 04 march 1962, after the military putch commanded by General Ne Win. Source: Getty Images
Student activists stole his body from the official funeral procession and took it to the university campus. Thanks to the students, U Thant mausoleum is among the Kandawmin Garden Mausolea (mausoleum complex) in Yangon, the former capital city.
However, citywide riots followed, and several lives were lost in an ensuing brutal military crackdown. George narrowly escaped again.
He then went to work in Japan and Thailand.
“I was teaching English to children of members of the Diplomatic Corp in Bangkok,” he recalls.
When 1988 nationwide protests took place against the military dictatorship in Myanmar, he stood outside the Burmese embassy in Bangkok with an A4 size paper to protest against the military. He says it was a new thing in Thailand and he was interviewed which was televised widely.
His son also participated in the protests in Burma, but George didn’t know about it as all communication was cut off at the time. He only learned about it through some people later when his son fled to the Thai-Burma border and became very ill. George rushed to help his son.
George returned to Thailand in 1993 and founded New Era Journal with his friends and worked as its editor.
They were financially supported by National Endowment for Democracy (NED), and he made a few friends from NED, including US Republican Senator Mitch McConnell.
They published in on A4 size paper to circulate secretly in Myanmar.
“In Myanmar, reading New Era Journal could cause seven years jail term, no question asked,” he says.
Members of the Burmese community protesting in Melbourne's Federation Square. Source: SBS Burmese
Moving to Australia
The Journal was critical of the Thai government at the time because of its proximity to Myanmar’s military regime. George’s articles also appeared in The Nation and the Bangkok Post. The Thai government then began to crack down on them and raided the New Era Journal office three times. Some of George’s friends were arrested, but he managed to escape. He had been in Thailand without any legal documents.
“I needed to go somewhere, and I found out if I went to America, it would take me six years to get an American passport, but it was only going to take me two years in Australia,” he says.
“I didn’t even know what Australia was all about at the time, but I picked it because it would only take me two years to get a passport.”
After becoming an Australia citizen, he again returned to Thailand to continue working as the New Era Journal’s editor. The newspaper was disbanded in 2001.
George then returned to Australia and initiated Anti-Dictatorship People’s Freedom Movement. He also went to the US and started the campaign there by protesting every day at Lafayette Park, opposite the White House.
“Initially, we went to the White House in the morning and returned in the evening. But it became too much because I had to buy food and train ticket every day, so we camped there to save money.”
He started the protest on 8 August 2001 but had to end on 9 September 2001 because of the World Trade Centre attack.
“We were at our camp, the police came and ordered us to leave. We told them we had permission to camp there. But, they became forceful, so we left the camp. We found out about the 9/11 attack only when we got home.”
He then went to Europe and started a protest campaign in countries such as England, Netherland and Germany.
His wife got a visa in 2006 to join him in Australia, after 19 years of separation. The couple settled down in Melbourne while their son and their four grandchildren have remained in Canada.
In 2014, Myanmar President Thein Sein – a retired general – extended an invitation to overseas Burmese to come back. A group of Burmese expats – the 88 Generation People Power – went back for a visit. George was among them.
George Than Setkyar Heine (in pink jacket) with Aung San Suu Kyi in 2014. Source: SBS Burmese
In the 2015 general election, Aung San Suu Kyi’s party won, and she took office as the State Counsellor.
I am a rebel and I don’t want to be a politician with an office. All I ever want in my life is to see the final day of the military regime in Myanmar and once that happen, I can say that I was a part of bringing it down.
George’s first cousin, U Kyaw Tint Swe became the Minister for the Office of the State Counsellor, and his nephew U Thaung Tun became Minister of Investment and Foreign Economic Relations. Both were detained and placed under house arrest following the coup on 1st February.
“When I first heard about the current military coup, I was angry and sad as I have been through all this before. I am frustrated and have decided to fight it to the end,” he says.
Since the latest coup in his homeland, George has been taking part in the Burmese community's protests in Australia, calling for the Australian government to take firmer action against the military.
“My plea to the government of Australia is to make known to the world as soon as possible that the Australian government only recognizes Aung San Suu Kyi and her leadership as the legal government that was elected via the 2020 election.”
George gives free online English classes to his many students in Myanmar, among them teachers, students, activists and journalist. His message for them is that they will win for sure.
“Freedom is not free. There will be some sacrifices; we have to know that. But we will win for sure. This is the time, and there is no turning back, so keep on fighting until victory comes.”
