In 1962 a military coup lead by General Ne Win saw Burma, an isolated Buddhist country in South-East Asia, come under the power of one of the world’s most brutal regimes. For the past five decades, thousands of people have been arrested, tortured and given long prison sentences for openly expressing their beliefs and for their courageous political activities in defiance of successive military regimes. Burma has been ruled with an iron fist, which tolerates no form of dissent or opposition to authoritarian rule.
At present, more than 2,000 political prisoners including monks, students, journalists, lawyers, elected Members of Parliament and over 300 members of Aung San Suu Kyi’s opposition party, The National League for Democracy, are incarcerated in horrendous conditions in Burma’s notorious prisons. They are at risk of torture and other ill treatment. Healthcare is virtually non-existent and prisoners are denied adequate food and are malnourished.
For more than 50 years the plight of Burma’s political prisoners has shocked the world.
Now their struggle for freedom has been documented in a brave new project
Across the world, hundreds of Burma’s former political prisoners, many who have fled the country and are now forced to live in exile often as stateless people, have come together to raise awareness of the tragic plight of their colleagues still detained in jail. This book is part of an international appeal for their liberation.
Photographed standing motionless with their right hand raised, palm upturned facing the camera, the name of a current political prisoner is shown written on their hand. The simple symbolic gesture of the Buddhist Abhaya Mudra becomes a combined act of silent protest, remembrance and fearlessness. Qualities instilled in all of Burma's political prisoners. These moving portraits by James Mackay bear witness to their dignity, determination and courage in the face of oppression and suffering.
“I hope that all who read this book will be encouraged to do everything they can to gain the freedom of political prisoners in Burma and to create a world where there are no political prisoners” – Aung San Suu Kyi
