FEATURE: Burmese democracy campaigner's story told on film

A Burmese pro-democracy campaigner who battled against the country's military regime is the focus of a new documentary tracing Burma's journey from independence to totalitarian state.

The documentary of Myo Myint Cho's life has been made by photojournalist Nic Dunlop. Sarah Jaensch has spoken to both men for Asia Pacific Focus - and a warning: some of the images in this report are distressing.

Last Updated: Mon, 6 Jun 2011 08:19:00 +1000

JIM MIDDLETON, PRESENTER: As a soldier in the Burmese Army Myo Myint Cho lost an arm, a leg and several fingers to a landmine.

But it was his decision to swap sides that proved even more life changing than his injuries. As a pro-democracy campaigner who battled against the military regime Myo Myint was jailed for a total of 15 years before he fled to Thailand and eventually resettled in the United States.

MYO MYINT CHO, BURMESE PRO-DEMOCRACY ACTIVIST: As long as there are no internal peace, I will fight for peace. I want to stop the civil war.

I lost all of my body, a lot of my body parts. But I made up my mind, the rest of my body parts are my life.

I will sacrifice for the, to stop the civil war, to free political prisoner. I will sacrifice to make the democratic country.

SARAH JAENSCH: It's a sacrifice that has seen Myo Myint arrested, torture and imprisoned for 15 years before having to leave his beloved country, Burma.

MYO MYINT CHO: This is my military ID.
This is my ID number.

SARAH JAENSCH: At just 17 years old Myo Myint followed in his father's footsteps and joined the Burmese Army which had been fighting Communist rebels and ethnic minorities since Burma gained independence from the British in 1948.

He was shocked by what he saw and says commanders brainwashed the soldiers into committing gruesome attacks.

MYO MYINT CHO: I saw my own eyes the atrocities committed by Burma Army. So this has totally changed my attitude.

SARAH JAENSCH: Trapped in a 10 year contract he was unable to leave the army.

Then just four years into his service Myo Myint was maimed when a shell exploded next to him in a minefield.

MYO MYINT CHO: So same time landmine and you know mortar shell explode together and all of the shreds hit my body and I lost all of my body parts there.

SARAH JAENSCH: It was while recovering from his injuries he decided to join the pro-democracy movement.

MYO MYINT CHO: I read a lot of books, philosophy and religion and politics. So I think about myself and then I have something to do for my people and country.

SARAH JAENSCH: So in 1988 pro-democracy uprising I myself took to the streets and involved in politics with the other people from Burma.

SARAH JAENSCH: In 1988 as nationwide protests broke out against the dictatorship Myo Myint gave an impromptu speech that rallied other soldiers to join demonstrators in the streets.

MYO MYINT CHO: This is my prison number, registration number. I smuggle out, you know very dangerously smuggled out from inside prison.

SARAH JAENSCH: That speech and his work for Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy saw him tortured and imprisoned three times for a total of 15 years.

MYO MYINT CHO: Some day we political prisoners have to put the shackle on our legs. So I feel very pained because here, a lot of you know landmine shreds. So wherever I put these shackles here, I feel very painful.

A lot of people ask me why I can come out from prison alive.

The one answer is my belief in democracy and freedom.

SARAH JAENSCH: After Myo Myint's release in 2004 he made the difficult decision to leave Burma.

MYO MYINT CHO: If I were arrested for the fourth time surely they will give me heavy sentence. If you know I might be killed in interrogation centre.

They hate me much more than other democracy anyways because I used to be military man.

SARAH JAENSCH: He fled to a refugee camp in Thailand.

MYO MYINT CHO: This picture was taken in refugee camp by Nic Dunlop.

SARAH JAENSCH: In the camp he met photo journalist Nic Dunlop and they began to make a film of Myo Myint's life.

NIC DUNLOP, CO-DIRECTOR, BURMA SOLDIER: For most of the outside world, the issue of democratic and rights inside Burma is always seen as separate to the civil war that continues to rage for more than 60 years now.

With Myo Myint's story, what his narrative brings together are those two apparent disparate subjects in a single narrative.

SARAH JAENSCH: Nic Dunlop was there to film another milestone in Myo Myint's life when in 2008 he was accepted by the United States and was reunited with his brother and sister.

MYO MYINT CHO: So I met here my younger sister and her husband and my younger brother and his wife and his kids.

This is kind of family reunifications after 20 years.

SARAH JAENSCH: Since resettling in Fort Wayne Indiana, Myo Myint has continued his work organising pro-democracy events and broadcasting into Burma on Radio Free Asia.

MYO MYINT CHO: One year after you know Burma Army took over the state power I was born.

So after I arrive here I know what is democracy, what is human rights, what is freedom.

But whenever I think about my people and my country (long pause) I am happy and sad.

SARAH JAENSCH: Myo Myint is one of thousands of Burmese refugees who have been resettled in Fort Wayne.

He is well known in the community and many have watched the documentary.

But the producers are determined people inside Burma also have a chance to see it. That's why they've been undertaking what they call reverse piracy.

NIC DUNLOP: We've been obviously sending, literally making copies on a laptop and handing it to dissidents and encouraging them to copy it and send it inside Burma, however they do that.

MYO MYINT CHO: I take this soil with me so wherever I based my country, I open, I look, oh this is my country. (Laughs)

SARAH JAENSCH: He's more than 8,000 miles from his homeland but it's never far from his mind.

MYO MYINT CHO: As long as there are political prisoner are behind bars, as long as oppression in Burma, there are as long as atrocity committed by Burma Army and military regimes, I will fight for my people and my country.

JIM MIDDLETON: Sarah Jaensch reporting.

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