Myanmar seemed to be on a well-paved road to democracy, after political reforms had been initiated in 2011 and the first free elections had been held after 25 years in 2015. The military coup in 2021 ended it abruptly. Ever since, a civil war has been simmering, in which thousands have been arrested and killed. Among those arrested was the democratically elected leader of the country, Aung San Suu Kyi. She started out as one of the revolutionary icons in the democratic protests in 1988, known as the 8888 protests. In 1991, she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, but was later on heavily criticized for her stance on the Rohingya genocide in 2017.

Our guest, Ma Thida – surgeon, author, and human rights activist – joined the prodemocratic movement behind Suu Kyi. In 1993, she was arrested and sentenced to 20 years in prison for her political engagement and support of Suu Kyis party. After six years, she was released due to her health conditions and international pressure. In this episode of ‘Die Kulturmittler:innen’, Ma Thida talks about the role of icons in revolutions and literature as a tool for freedom and protest while giving us an insight on recent developments in her country.

All previous episodes of ‘Die Kulturmittler:innen’, e.g. on Taiwan as a democratic role model, can be found here: https://www.ifa.de/ifa-podcast/

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