Aung San Suu Kyi

Approximately, two weeks now, she has been imprisoned in the notorious Insein Prison in Yangon, Burma - Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of Burma's opposition party, the National League for Democracy (NLD). After being under house arrest for thirteen years, she was scheduled for release this week. However, a mysterious American man swam across the lake surrounding her house and spent the night there. After arresting the man when he tried to swim back the next day, the Burmese junta immediately used this incident as an excuse to lock Aung San Suu Kyi up in prison. Her trial is ongoing now.

In 2010 elections are scheduled, which the junta calls its first steps on the road to democracy. Having the leader of the NLD imprisoned is all too convenient for the military leadership. Through Burmese media in exile both Burmese in and outside their country as well as foreigners all over the world, have access to news from Burma. For more news, visit the Democratic Voice of Burma, Mizzima and Irrawaddy websites.

This cartoon was copied from the Mizzima website

Inspired by IDFA

Not only my friend Miriam (who is about to make an interesting documentary herself by the way) has been inspired by IDFA; I too was very moved and thrilled by the documentaries I've seen. So here's a short impression:

Lucanamarca gave a balanced account of how people deal with the atrocities that were committed by the Sendero Luminoso in Peru. One of the filmmakers also produces the Peruvian Kids News Program NAPA (No Apto Para Adultos), so we attended the showing with a large Freevoice delegation.

The second documentary I saw was Hair India. In this film it's wonderfully shown how this world does not make sense: a poor Indian family goes on a long journey to give away their only possession - their hair - as offerings to their gods. The temple then sells all the long hair to an Indian hotshot businessguy, who has it combed, wrapped and shipped. The hair is flown to Italy, where it is treated and made into perfect hair extensions, which are sold at ridiculously high prices. 'Great Lengths' is worn by the biggest stars.. Yeah, it's all about the money.

Burma VJ - Reporting From a Closed Country was awarded twice (VPRO award and Human Rights Award) and rightfully so. It's a great portrayal of the courage and determination many Burmese journalists show. The Democratic Voice of Burma, and other Burmese media, deserve all the credit they can get. Keep it up, guys!

Shared Children was the only Dutch documentary I saw and it was quite moving as well. It tells the story of two brothers who have to deal with the fact that their parents are divorced and now have new families. This leads to many conflicts of loyalties and confusion. The filmmaker, Frans Bromet, has a great way to show Dutchness in its purest form.

Man on Wire was the last one I saw and it completely lifted my spirits after all those 'heavy' films. How great to see that someone can do the impossible! On August 7th 1974 Philippe Petit walked a wire between the Twin Towers of World Trade Center in New York, wow... The magic is even more intense since those buildings have disappeared from the Big Apple landscape.

Bangkok

It's become a nice tradition, posting pictures of my hotel room views... This is my view at the Imperial Queen's Park. Must say that I haven't had the chance to try the pool - yet. However, my time here is very well spent, meeting and speaking with journalists and advocates of press freedom. At dinner tonight, we were even addressed by the Secretary General of ASEAN! Good to know he's only journalism's side...


Here's a glimpse of the airport, a great mass of concrete and steel.


Did I miss something, or is it Christmas already?!

World keeps on turnin'

It's amazing how daily lives just goes on, while at the end other end of this world people loose all their loved ones and everything they own. All we can do is stand by and watch.. And send money for aid and hope the government is willing to accept it and use it to do good.

Well, at least we CAN watch what's going on in Burma, because of the courageous journalists working for the Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) who never seize to do their jobs. Let's never stop objecting to wrongdoings in this world!



Go check out DVB on http//www.dvb.no or on their YouTube channel, http://www.youtube.com/DVBtelevision

Republic of dreams - Republik Mimpi

How to step into the republic of my dreams? Without being aware, I entered it last Sunday in Jakarta. In the studio of Metro TV, the leaders of this republic came together to spread their word of good governance. Even though they looked a lot like the politicians ruling Indonesia, their policies are very different. Suciwati, the widow of human rights activist Munir, reported to the president of the Republik Mimpi about the current situation in Indonesia, where impunity still reigns. Perhaps one day, Indonesia will be more like Republik Mimpi...

Malaysiakini shows it like it is

“Ah, we just want to keep it confidential. I’m working very hard on it” says a well-known Malaysian lawyer over the phone while explaining how he would pull a few strings here and there to fix someone’s carrier. That ‘someone’ is believed to be Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim, Malaysia’s current Chief Justice. I’m watching the tape of their conversation, which Free Voice partner Malaysiakini posted online on September 20th. As the video painfully shows the severe lack of integrity of Malaysia’s judiciary system, it has caused quite a stir. The video has already been viewed over 30.000 times. After a two-day silence, the Malaysian authorities respond by appointing a commission to assess the authenticity of the tape. On 26 September, during my first visit to Malaysiakini, over two thousand lawyers marched in protest calling for the establishment of a royal commission of inquiry. In the morning paper, which hung on my hotel room doorknob, there was no mention of Malaysiakini’s part in this whatsoever.

Nevertheless, this is a great example of how Malaysiakini is able to create a stir. For me personally, it was truly impressive to be around and observe how they operate. In July 2005 this scarce source of independent news in Malaysia started broadcasting video’s to supplement the articles posted in the online newspaper. Since then, video has evolved into an essential part of Malaysiakini’s work. Nowadays, the documentaries are not only posted on the (newly set up) Malaysiakini.tv website, but also on YouTube.


During the ‘grand tour’ of the Malaysiakini office, we got a chance to see the new edit room. In a ten square meter space six editors were working on their video material. The video’s they make mostly provide background information or illustrations to articles posted on the Malaysiakini website. The ten to fifteen minute features show unknown stories and taboos. They deal with topics such as police violence, the position of ethnic minorities or forced labor, which is still practiced in Malaysia today. The short documentary ‘She’s My Son’ about the life of a transsexual aid worker was awarded at the Freedom Film Fest 2007. Despite insecurity as to whether the government will continue to allow Malaysiakini to do what they do, the staff is determined to dig down to the bottom of things. Let there be no doubt about it; with Malaysiakini around no secret is safe!

Check out www.malaysiakini.com, www.malaysiakini.tv and http://www.youtube.com/malaysiakini for these video’s and more

A scream so loud the whole world can hear