_ by Khin Ohmar

On Burma’s Armed Forces Day, formerly known as Resistance Day, Senior-General Than Shwe, in his speech, promised he would bring democracy to Burma and civilian government will be in place after 2010 elections. However, the people of Burma are skeptical as they had once been promised by Senior-General Saw Maung in 1989 and early 1990 that the military would go back to barrack after May elections in 1990. Well, that has since taken us a long journey to fight for democracy and human rights in Burma for 18 years.

As some of you may be aware of, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has been giving messages out to the people of Burma by putting a signboard or banner in front of her house for quite sometime.

We believe you had seen the televised image of her coming out from the gate of her house to greet and meet protesting monks in September. The next day, she put a signboard on which the word read “A-way-yah haw-tu” in Pali meaning “All be saved from danger”. She knew what was to come. The next few days, Buddhist monks were brutalized and murdered by the regime’s troops and its thugs.

There are some other messages she has been sending out on the banner she made.

This time her Armed Forces Day’s message to the people of Burma read as “I have never deceived the public! (or the nation)”. She had put this message on portrait painting of her own father, a National Hero of Independence, General Aung San and she herself painted the portrait.