Photo Courtesy of Han Lin Aung Kyaw Myint, left, and Ithaca College facilities attendant Han Lin carry a picture of detained Burmese democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi at at a protest in New York City.

Han Lin has always had a passion for democracy. He spent years teaching it in Burma, a decidedly un-democratic country. In 1996, he and his family were forced to flee after hiding in the jungle to avoid arrest.

Now a facilities attendant at Ithaca College, Lin is participating in a nationwide movement calling for democracy in his homeland.

“They cannot fight for democracy in Burma because they will be arrested,” Lin said. “So, we must carry on the fight here.”

With the help of two Tompkins Cortland Community College students, Lin has organized protests in New York City and Washington, D.C., designed to educate Americans about the plight of the Burmese people. This afternoon they’ll take their protest to The Commons in a bid to involve the activist community of Ithaca in the fight for a free Burma.

The embattled Southeast Asian country has been under military rule since 1962. Elections were held in 1990, and the pro-democracy party won with an overwhelming majority. The leader of that party, Aung San Suu Kyi was put under house arrest, and the results of the election have been ignored ever since.

Lin, along with Aung Kyaw Myint and Aung Mae Win, hope to get students at both Ithaca College and Cornell University involved in the fight for Burmese liberation.

“We understand that Ithaca is a hot area for education,” Win said. “We want the people here to get involved in the campaign because people from all over the world come to Ithaca.”

Thousands of dissidents languish in Burma’s prisons, and opposition to the government is officially illegal there. Relatives of protesters are regularly arrested and tortured as a way to punish those who speak out against the government.

Despite governmental pressure, both Win and Myint spent years fighting for democracy in their home country. They were frequently imprisoned for their efforts.

“I thought I might be arrested, but I decided I had to keep organizing the students,” Myint said. “I didn’t want to be a political activist, but the situation in Burma forced me to be one.”

Myint, along with Win and Lin, has taken his political activism to the United States in an effort to pressure the Burmese military regime to accept the results of the 1990 election. At a recent meeting of Asian powers, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell declared Aung San Suu Kyi the legitimate leader of the Burmese people, a major blow to the military regime.

Still, many Americans remain unaware of the situation in Burma.

“Here in America, students are very surprised to hear about the problems,” Win said. “We need American students to understand the people’s struggle and to stand and work with us together to free Burma.”