Chicago, IL
In 1988, students, monks, civil servants and workers by the hundreds of thousands took to the streets in cities all over Burma demanding an end to 25 years of brutal military rule. Tragically, the military responded by opening fire on the peaceful protests, massacring thousands. Many others were forced to flee the country.
Now 13 years later, Burma’s military regime desperately clings to power after having been singled out by the international community as one of the worst violators of basic human rights in the world. Last year, the International Labor Organization (ILO) agreed to implement measures it had never imposed against a member state in its 80-year history to compel the military regime to end its widespread use of forced labor. Freedom of association does not exist anywhere in Burma despite the fact that Burma ratified ILO Convention 87 on Freedom of Association over 40 years ago. Any attempt to organize an independent trade union is repressed with violence.
One of the participants in the 1988 demonstrations was U Maung Maung. A geologist by trade, Brother Maung Maung’s trade union activism brought him to the pro-democracy movement. As the elected president of the Ministry of Mines Union, he and six other union leaders were fired from their jobs for participating in the 1988 protests. He was forced to flee his home and escape to the Thai-Burma border in December of that year after the Military Intelligence came looking for him at his in-law’s home.
Two years after fleeing Burma, Brother Maung Maung helped to form the Federation of Trade Unions of Burma (FTUB). In doing so, he mobilized other exiled workers to come together to protect basic worker rights, while simultaneously acting to restore democracy in Burma. Beginning with virtually no resources, Maung Maung has built an effective grassroots organization that has had a tremendous impact on bringing the plight of Burmese workers to the attention of the world. The AFL-CIO is proud of the solidarity support we have been providing to the FTUB for many years.
Now based in Bangkok, the FTUB is the only effective voice for the over 1.5 million Burmese migrants working in Thailand. It has successfully organized underground unions inside Burma, often at great peril and sacrifice of its leaders. Two FTUB activists, arrested in Rangoon over four years ago, have not been seen since in spite of an international trade union campaign demanding their release. The FTUB has also supported the organization of trade unions in many of Burma’s ethnic states. The ethnic trade unions represent the first democratic institutions organized in these areas.
When he fled Burma in 1988, U Maung Maung left behind a wife and young son. He has not seen either of them for 13 years and avoids any communication with them for their own protection. His ability to remain optimistic in his belief that one day democracy will come to Burma and that he will be reunited with his family and friends in a democratic Burma is truly remarkable. For his inspiration, leadership, and personal sacrifice, the AFL-CIO is pleased to award the 2001 George Meany-Lane Kirkland Human Rights Award to Brother U Maung Maung.