 Okay, good morning, good afternoon, and good evening. We are live on Zoom and now broadcasting on Facebook as well. My name is Edward Simpson and I'm the director of the SOAS South Asia Institute. We're your host for the afternoon. I'd like to extend my own warm welcome. And on behalf of my colleagues, Avinash Paroel and Sunil Pan. SOAS is fortunate to host the WSD Distinguished Hunder Lecture. We've done so since 2017. The WSD Lecture is funded by an organisation called Worldwide Support for Development, which is based in Japan. The first lecture was given by Tony Abbott, the former Prime Minister of Australia. The second by Sir John Key, the former Prime Minister of New Zealand. And the third by Professor Thomas Christensen of Columbia University. This year we're fortunate enough to have Dr. Sassa as our speaker and distinguished guest. He will be known to many of you for his civil society work in Myanmar. And more recently, perhaps his role as a party campaign manager, then country representative to the United Nations. And now Union Minister of International Cooperation, an importantly spokesperson for the National Unity Government. He describes himself as a reluctant politician. But I think even in his short political career, he's been extremely successful and has worked hard. And with tenacity to lobby to make contacts and to reach out to people and has achieved a lot in an incredibly short amount of time. The lecture today comes at an important time, as you know, in the history of Myanmar. There are important questions about legitimate representation, but also questions about legitimate recognition. There is also a fear of impending humanitarian crisis and the role of sanctions and international diplomacy and what is happening. So, and what Dr. Sassa has to say today is important. And because of the historical juncture, I think we'll reverberate far beyond the SOAS community and out into the world. This talk is Freedom of Human Rights and the Federal Democratic Union of Myanmar. And I really warmly welcome you to our virtual SOAS environment. Please, the floor is yours. The talk will be followed by questions and answers. Dr. Sassa, thank you. Thank you for the unexpected professors, scholars and students, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you very much indeed for having me. Thank you for giving me this opportunity at South Asian Institute, SOAS, University of London. Thank you for giving me this opportunity to deliver this request. The Blue SD Hunder Lecture is the one of the most extensive and inclusive scholar committee communities working on Asian politics and societies. In the past, the lecture was delivered by former Prime Minister of Australia, Honorable Tony Abbott, and the former Prime Minister of New Zealand. So John Kay and Professor Thomas Christian from Columbia University of New York, and today I am honored that I now have the opportunity to deliver these distinguished lectures to you. I'm happy because I'm here to deliver these lectures on behalf of the 54 brave people of Myanmar who have suffered excessively for far too long under one of the most cruel, brutal, repressive military dictatorships known in the world. These 54 million people of Myanmar whom I representing today have never received their freedom. Their rightfully belongs to them from birth are being denied. It seems their freedom has been hijacked by this brutal government for the military regime. The fundamental rights and universal human rights have and are being denied by this oppressive military regime for so long. A federal democratic political system have been the world and the desire of the people of Myanmar since pre-independence era of Myanmar in 1947. The colonial era before 1824. All the states in Myanmar are living in autonomous states and possess freedom of self-determinations. Most of these self-determinations, self-administrations, allowed with each groups and ethnicities, respectively have their own respective kings and chief and the rights of the people of Myanmar were denied from them for 124 years. In pre-independence year of 1947, the great leaders of the states of Myanmar under the leadership of General Al-San came together under the name of Balang Agreement, Balang Coference, where Burma-independent declaration was agreed to and signed. This was known as the Balang Agreement, which is a political settlement agreement based on federal democratic principles and respect for self-determinations and the rights and equality of all the people of Myanmar. But the Balang Agreement was assassinated just after it was born. It was gunned down by the military, disposed before it was able to break. And where this instrumentalist writing and signing in was that. Here for the history of Myanmar provided evidence that these military dictators and their predecessors have stolen power from the people of Myanmar right from inception of our independence in 1948. In 1947, Kalu Uso and his hatchman assassinated General Al-San, the father of State Councilor Al-Sanshu Che, and the father of Myanmar independence. This act was not merely assassination of General Al-San, but assassination of the flag, federal democracy, and a massacre of Balang Agreement. After General Al-San assassinations and assassinations of this Balang Agreement, many ethnic leaders came to realization that their freedom, self-determination were once again stolen away by violence and bloodshed. In 1948, we got our independent from Britain, but without our independent declaration as found in the Balang Agreement. Which was based on the federal democratic political system, which enshrined the rights of self-determination, the freedom and human rights and respect and equality for all the people in Myanmar. Since 1949, right after our independence from Britain, our leaders of most of ethnic groups again began their struggle for freedom, federal democracy, which was once again taken away from them by these government of military dictators. In 1989, ethnic states have engaged the struggle for federal democracy and their self-determination, which was stolen by assassins and replaced by military dictatorship. The ethnic leaders have found independence agreement with General Al-San. No variable that the military dictatorship would try to wipe them out if they were not able to defend themselves. Dear friends and professors, students, this is the battle that has begun right from our pre-independent. The battle is between military dictatorships and federal democratic political systems. The root cause of the problems again repeated in 1962. Under General Neowind and his hasmet attack assassinate all aspirations and dream for the federal democratic political system by stating a military coup. And the array of terror continue to 1988. In 1988, the brave people of Myanmar again stood up to the most brutal military dictatorship, but the movement were brutally oppressed and eventually crushed by homosider military generals. And the array of terror continue up to 1990. Under the brutal reign of the generals. In 1919 under the repressive reign of General Somang, the military regime control elections was held and NLD wins over 90% of landslide victory. However, humiliated military regime refused to hand over the power to democratically elected government of Myanmar. They once again said about destroyed one of the people of Myanmar by oppressing the people, utilizing torture, arbitrary, arrested democratic defenders, and put pro-democracy leader of our society under house arrest. Systematic and widespread killing and violence follow 1988 revolutions and refusal to accept 1990 elections results give birth to many freedom fighters who have engaged in arms trackers. In 1991 Burma army under the command of General Somang, he sent his government, even into my village when I was a very, very young. It was 1991 that I first saw the gunman in my village. And it came there and they raped the woman they tortured the people they forced labor the villagers. It was frightening and scary. And they brought all villages around the regions to force labor under the oppressive regime. Their systematic abuse of human rights, torture, forced labor, rape, intimidation were systematic and widespread. I saw them when I was a very young, and it was very traumatizing. Since then my village and other parts of the state are being occupied till today by the military junta. On another hand, during my childhood, again, I saw my villages dying without health care, die without basic medicines. One day I saw three of my childhood friends die in front of me to diarrhea. One died in the morning, one died in the middle of the day, one died in the evening. That broke my heart. My mom's best friend went to labor for four or five days and she passed away. And I was thinking to myself I could be the one who died next. I was thinking to my mom could be the next who will die in Chai-Balt. My dad will be next who will be forced labor by the military junta. And my sisters will be the next to be raped by the military junta. And it was real. They're friends that have changed my life forever. And I start to think about there must be better life. There must be better way to live. There must be better way where the people of Myanmar live. And I have no idea of how, which, where, should I go for educations. The school that we have was a bamboo house where the pig, domestic animal all came. We're also there. I still remember my mom gave me the book. The first book I have was the Bible. And there was no picture of elephants or chicken. I came back home, I complained to my mom why my book does not have any picture. Yeah, my mom do not know how to write and read. She's illiterate. And I was asked my dad of birth by the teacher. And I asked my mom, he said, she said, you are born in the morning when it was raining. And you are born in the year when we have the farm in that mountain. That's where my life began. And my grandma give me name higher and higher, the salsa. Because she imagines all the troubles and the problem that they are seeing in the village is getting higher and higher, bigger and bigger. They're friends. I do not give up. I have the hope. If I get educated, I will be able to help my people. Who are most in need of the help. So it take me in 1995 to go to high school, two weeks. In Yangon, the bus, the electricity, everything I saw in Yangon was at odds. And as junk a boy, living in the city was not funny. The hopelessness, the helplessness that came to me was real. I get sexual abuse, physical abuse, and bullies. I want to go to that detail. But there was also the year in 1997. When I finished my high school and all the colleges across the country was again close down by the military junta. Because they afraid of protest by the students. And I came back home to Chin state and rural villages. And I saw the people in my village have no teacher. I became their teacher for two years. That was again the year that changed my life into more deeper. I was continue to see the atrocities of the military junta. First labor were continuing rape, torture, evictions continuing in my part of the world. So one day, a student run to me and he tell me, teacher, one of the student died this morning. When I went to the house where he stayed, it was real. We realized that he was not for my village. As a young teacher, I get all the students together. We transport his body. Two days throughout the jungle by food. When we arrived his village, I realized that it was single children. Came from single parents. His mom came and said, I don't want to live anymore. I don't have the reason to live. And I was too young to understand at that moment. But I told her, we all are your son. Before you have only one son. Now you have got 70 of us, your son. And I'm very, my student came back and I was taking to myself. What can I do? Burma side college remain close. And I hear in the open college. All I can get was chicken and goats. I brought them to the jungle. And sold to India villages. Chicken and goats. I get some money and get a place to study. In India. Finally, I qualified to do medical school. In 2002. In the US, UK, like India study medicine was too expensive. So I hear about Armenia, where I can study cheaper. So I came to Armenia in 2002. I don't have the money to come there. My villages, again, they gave chicken, goat and pigs. We sold them. And it came to Armenia. Those contributions enough for me to buy a ticket. Day one in Armenia, the money over. Finally, I got the support from UK scholarship for Burma program. And I continue my study in Armenia. And I was lucky and blessed to meet. Baroness Cox from UK. She came to know about me through scholarship program. And then she brought me to UK, London. And it was the first time 2004 I arrived in London. And then get a lot of clinical replacement. Hospitals in the UK. And again into 2007 when my people suffer great. Famines caused by bamboo flower. That happened once in every 50 years. So I came back to my people. In 2007 and I saw the people, the real people suffer so much for so long. And I ended up treating some 500 people a day. It was impossible to do that. And I collected all the evidence of the famines and came back to UK and lobby British government. And finally with cure. Fighting for emergency food aid. For more than 120,000 people in west of Myanmar. 2009 I finished my medical studies. And I go back to my people immediately. And I start training a man and woman from each village. And since then I have trained more than 1000 men and women. More than 553 villages who are not working for almost half billion people in their regions. And most of my times I was spending there and also helping the students in schools. When after they finish high school. They have no more place to go. And I was able to develop the program to support them. We have support students who finish high school from those villages to come to India and China and Philippines to study. And now more than 100 students has qualified for medical schools, Virginia colleges and every time to our people. And also I was working in developing the first rural airport in my part of the world. We started projects together with Mission Aviation Fellowship. It became very successful. And also I was leading the project. In the sustainable farming programs. Replacing slash and bound agriculture in the regions. And also I led the projects. We call tradition about attendance training. So we train the woman so that the childbirth that's overcome. And I led the projects in each one and one crisis that happened 2007 2017 sorry. And also this 2020 of COVID-19. We were able to distribute half million and 95 face mask. Across the regions. And PPE equipment. And also in 2017 2015 where there was a cyclone keys. I was evolved and heavily in that project. We're able to deliver 100,000 tons of foods and medical aids to the people. And here we come to the 20. I was approached by our leaders in the country. To be a part of political campaign manager. And then I campaigned. For an LD. The last elections. And I can pay for unity campaign for human rights. Can pay for freedom campaign for federal democracy. And my message was here across the country. And they vote. For us and the people of Myanmar spoke clear and loud. On eight of November to a team 20. And we go on last line the victory. In two states where I came from. And I did 3% of the voters vote for us. And I was there in nebdo. When first of February military to took place. I was about to take senior role at the government. Was the first of February the morning that we are supposed to form and sweat. We are supposed to form of the nations to lead the country. In coming government 2021 and 2026. But what we saw. Was a government. With the smoky guns to kill us. And the rest of us torture us. So I was told to flee this is possible. So I became the face. And the voice of the people. It took me three days and three nights to escape from there. With a great risk. Since then I became. Myanmar special envoy to United Nations. And now I'm serving. At national government Myanmar. As international cooperation minister. And spokesperson for national government. And what we have been seeing Myanmar. Is the struggle between justice and injustice. It is the battle between freedom. And the battle between. Military dictatorship. I just like to again. Repeat that these military generals. The dictatorship that we have seen. Is not new. The same have happened in 1947. The same thing happened in 1962. The same thing happened in 1988. And 1997. 2007. 2017. When they slaughter. Our Rohingya brothers sisters. And the world watch. The horror of atrocities. And the crime against humanity. The clear denial. Of human rights and the freedom for the people of Myanmar. They want to establish. Military dictatorship as the country. Political system. Where the people of Myanmar. Have spoken clear and loud. And they want to establish. Fender. Political system. Fender democratic. Political system as the country. Political system. Since 1st of February. These. Military generals. And their governments under the control. Of general Ming. Outline. They have killed. Nearly 800 and 900. Civilians. Including 72. Children. Nearly 6000. Including. Our society. Our state councillor. And president women has been arrested. Without cost. Without reasons. And more than. 1800. People. Are being into arrest warrant. I have been charged. With the high treason against the country. By these military generals. Who is committing. High treason against. The people of Myanmar. Every day. And again. More than 1 million people. Are being displaced. By these violence. The violence we have been seeing. Are both systematic and widespread. United Nations. Development program. Have say. That. There are. Half populations of the country. 54 million. Which means 27 million. Will be living under the poverty line. Within a year. Again. World food program. Has come up. And said. 6.4 million people of Myanmar. Will be. Without food. By the end of our. October 2021. This year. These. Brutality and atrocities. Stuck. By these military generals. Where we sing. Are real. And as. Nationality government. That we have formed in the first time in our history. We are asking international community. To come and recognize as soon as possible. As soon as possible. Recognize the world. The desire. Of the people of Myanmar. That has been spoken. Clearly. And here I just like to read. What. We are asking international community. To come together. And. Stand solidarity with the people of Myanmar. We are asking. International community. And the government. The world. To stand. With the people of Myanmar. By engaging. And recognizing and supporting. National. Unity government. That is the first time in our history. That our country come. United. Together. And form this. Nationality government of Myanmar. Again. We are asking that. International community. Were. Now just engage with us. But also. Will please support us with humanitarian needs. As I stated. The humanitarian. Great catastrophe has been created. By this military junta. And we are asking. International community. And around the world. To come together. To come together. To come together. And impose. Both diplomatic. And financial suction. Against this military generals. Because they are buying a lot of weapons. From stolen. The world of the people of Myanmar. From gas. From wine. From timber. From precious stones. And they bought those weapons. That is acceptable. We are asking. Or international around the world. To come together. With tougher sanctions. Targeted sanctions. And coordinated suction. Against. These military. And we have laid out the clear roadmap. To defeat. These military dictatorships. Number one. We have laid out the clear roadmap. clear roadmap defeating and eradicating of military dictatorships and reform and replace military institution as a whole with the military armed forces that will be under the control of civilian government. In the second we have ambush and determined to complete notifications of 2008 constitutions which was drafted and created by military generals for military generals and repeal and replace the constitution and the law such as 1982 citizen law which is discriminatory law against the people of Myanmar particularly the minority and replace them with permanent constitution of Myanmar that based on Fender democratic principles and the third we have laid out a clear roadmap to build Fender democratic union of Myanmar under which freedom, human rights for all the people of Myanmar regardless of race, regardless of culture, regardless of gender and ethnicities. The rights will be protected, respected and promoted in the Fender union where the three branches of the government, executive, parliamentarians, judiciary will operate independently and where the power sharing and resource sharing based on the principle of Fender democratic and self-determination will take place and we have got determinations to achieve that no matter what. Again dear friends the people of Myanmar are in a dear states of crisis, crisis entirely made by this terrorist military junta. I hope that these G7 members take the opportunity to stress to international community that the state of FF Myanmar will not be normalized, will not be legitimized but rather will be persuaded and punished. For there's nothing normal about taking power by a barrier of a gun, nothing normal about the prospect of harm of us being a poverty line in less than a year, nothing's normal about taking people you were swear to protect from their homes at the middle of the night and torturing them to death, nothing's normal about the mandatory of nearly 900 civilians in essence, there's nothing normal about killing its own people, its own children, there's nothing normal about declaring war against its own people by using heaven benefit weapons. I'm very proud of courageous people of Myanmar who are on the front lines of this movement to liberate our nation from the brutal military regime. For their bravery, their commitment of freedom to freedom, human rights and Fender democracy and justice for all the people of Myanmar. Ladies and gentlemen, mark my words, with the opposition to this illegal junta we will win in our struggle to liberate Myanmar from the brutal military junta. One on the end of this fight we will imagine as united Myanmar that is committed to freedom, Fender democracy, human rights for all and to being a responsible partner in the global community. This is a terrible crisis, but there is also this is also opportunity that happened was in the century. This is the opportunity to defeat this reign of terror and deliver freedom and justice to the brave people of Myanmar who have suffered so much for so long and the last 72 years of pain and suffering must come to an end. We must seize this opportunity to replace military dictatorship once for all with Fender democratic Myanmar where human rights, freedom, justice will be served and protected and respected for all people of Myanmar regardless of race, culture, gender, ethnicity and languages. Freedom of Myanmar, human rights for all people of Myanmar and Fender democratic union for all people of Myanmar is the only way to everlasting peace in Myanmar. It is the only way to end this century of great pain and suffering. It is the only way to everlasting stability and prosperity for all the people of Myanmar, its neighbor, regions and for the world. We will never surrender, we will never give up. We will no rest until freedom, justice, human rights and Fender democracy is achieved for all people of Myanmar. Justice will prevail, freedom will prevail, human rights will prevail, Fender democracy will prevail. Thank you all once again from the bottom of my heart. May God bless you all. I'd like to go more into discussion and questions. Once again, thank you very much indeed for having me today and have you say that I'll be posting all of this in my lecture today into social media and my Facebook and maybe I'll give this to so as so that you can post in into social media your page so that you know after this you can read once again. Thank you very much for having me. Dr. Sasser, thank you very much. When we're live on the internet, there is no applause function as there would be in a normal lecture theater. You have to imagine the applause, I'm afraid, for that important person and really rather moving lecture. I thank you very much on behalf of the Syus South Asia Institute. I think the story shows very clearly about the role of and power of education and primary healthcare in social transformation and in your own life. The story of the struggle between justice and injustice is a story for our times and I thank you for sharing it with us in such an eloquent and moving way. A number of questions have appeared in the chat, but I'd like to start off by asking you about sanctions. As you will know, governments of the UK, US and elsewhere have announced targeted sanctions and you referred to demand to extend them and for those of us who might be interested in writing to our MPs or lobbying in some way for an extension of those sanctions, I wonder if you could be more specific what you had in mind and what sort of sanctions the international community could think of imposing without further damaging ordinary people in Myanmar as well. So the people of Myanmar have sanctioned themselves in a very, very difficult way. They refused to work under military junta. That means they joined the strike and the break out. That means they don't get the salary, they don't get the pay. They know that they have no future with this military junta anymore and they also know that this hardship that they are facing by refusing to work under the military junta is temporary. So what we are seeing right now is the revenue world, the tax coming from international company, working in the country from gas, wild industry and state-owned business and they are paying those tax directly to the military junta's pocket. So we see every month this Ming Outlaw and his brutal regime are receiving at least from few companies, I can tell you, from Total, Chaffron, Pasco, PPTP is a four company still paying some hundreds, millions of dollars every month. So what about the other company, they are working in Myanmar, paying a lot of money that belongs to the people of Myanmar, gas belongs to the people of Myanmar, wild belongs to the people of Myanmar. So it should not be allowed to go to the military junta, they kill the people of Myanmar. So that means that those money and tax and everything that's to do with the tax paying, it has to be reversed by their home countries. Maybe they hold those money few months in their home countries by their own home government and then when the Myanmar return to democracy, maybe those money has to be released so that it can be used for the people of Myanmar, it can be used for health, educations and food security for development. Right now all the money they are paying goes directly to the military junta, the generous and more money they get from international company as a tax and they buy from China and Russia and the country and they kill more people. So what we are saying is that in some situation it may bring some hardship for temporary but hardship is better than that or killing. So what I'm saying is that all the pressure available, public pressure or government pressure or the money that is from the public or the private or the government all has to be stopped flowing to the military junta. So all the country around the world must stop giving more money to this military junta and that's very simple because the more they give the money the more people will be killed. Thank you for that very clear answer. Okay so for those of you who are joining us via Facebook, if you have questions for Dr. Sasser please write them on the Facebook page and they will be relayed to us. We have a number of questions already in our Zoom space which I'm now going to go through. The first is from Rajesh Bhattacharya who I understand is a journalist in India who asks in a very straightforward way what is your expectation from India? India is the founder of non-violence movement and it's the largest democracy in the world. We look to India in many ways and India people are democratic and free people and Myanmar become democracy country is a good for India in many many ways and then there's a lot of leverage that India have right now in humanitarians opening the border for humanitarian relief because the people of Myanmar as I see right now they are in a crisis. As I said there's 6.4 million people who will be without food by the end of October according to the World Food Program and again there will be 27 millions out of 54 million people living under the poverty line within a year and as the violence continues all this is going to cause huge burdens to our neighbor so stability in Myanmar will be stability India and the peace in Myanmar will bring also peace to India in many ways and we will become a great alliance for India when we became democratic country and then that is to a win-win to all sides but we need to help from India. India needs to help us in these moments of the darkest in our history particularly we look to India as the in the UN international they have got the great airlines like you know democracy worlds and the free world the United States and the European unions and many other countries like Japan and South Korea which are all democratic country and I believe that is you know if there is India bringing a coalition on Myanmar through its democratic value that will be inspirational to Myanmar and that this flame of democracy and the freedom and human rights has to come from India to Myanmar across the border so there's lots that we can cooperate together there's a lot that we can do together and we again appreciate greatly to India I know they have done so many many things already but we need more help we need more engagements and I believe that uh India government will recognize national unity government as the source a democratic government of Myanmar elected by the people of Myanmar so such kind of recognitions and engagements in the corporations but national unity government is a very very important okay thank you very much for those of you who are asking questions could I ask that you just give me a few words in your question about who you are that will help I think to contextualize the question so the next the next question is from somebody called Sam Samir who thanks you for the speech and for representing the people of Myanmar points out that the the other side is heavenly armed but asks a very interesting question one day for the sake of peace and tranquility for our country and people would you consider negotiating with those who let the two again we there's three things number one doing nothing which is not number two is political solutions by political means number three is we like it or not the only option left is military actions that is violence so we always believe that uh political problem has to be solved by political means so political situations political problem particularly in 21st century cannot be solved in the battlefield it's always solved in the table dialogue talk but sometimes political solutions to come to the table this needs to be the pressure so like in Myanmar what's happening now is this side the military junta they went to build military dictatorship as the country political system so that they can continue their reign on terror and this nightmare will continue that's what i'm saying is that the the root cause of problem in Myanmar is this military dictatorship and that side is federal political system that promise of freedom and human rights this side is dictatorship this side is democracy so when they come into politics what i'm saying is that we need all this pressure when you say like uh sanctions you know international community should come together say to meet our life enough is enough you cannot solve the political problem by violence we are not going to give you any more money number one no more weapons number two our lands you come and stop killing the people your old people and come to the table to talk about politics so for us the dialogue to happen we need mean of life and military junta stop the killing it's a very simple they have to stop the killing number two release all political prisoners our satsuchi president we means all release commissioner he keep them hostage and that side i will come and talk to you it's not good to work so we also completely understand and has to understand that these military junta they have got billions of billions of bullets this is only one there's only 53 millions people but they have got 50 not just 53 they have got maybe 100 billions of bullets that's what we are saying to international community the bloodbath is coming if you do not take any actions great shivi war is coming if you do not take any actions against this military junta and that will be any genocide why because they bought this weapon to oppress the people of Myanmar we have no war with our neighbor we have no enemy outside of our country they suddenly declare the people of Myanmar as their enemy it's like cancer within your body it's like cancer these military dictatorships like cancer in Myanmar so it's a very important for us to understand so um the only way to dialogue is to give more and more pressure to these military junta until they stop and think again that they will never be able to solve political problem by killing their own people it's not going to happen and the people of Myanmar say do or die we don't like to live under military junta anymore enough is enough so 54 million people of Myanmar say enough is enough so there's no any other choice really it's no choice then for them to surrender to violence and come to nakushisin table and release all political prisoners and withdraw all these men gunmen that they have this chance with better few weapons the neighborhoods across the village across the city across the town in the country so if they withdraw all of those forces and stop killing the people at least political prisoners yes it's a chance of solving this crisis in a table not with the bullets not with the bombardment not with the fighter jets it's with people on the table we have to compromise on the table thank you the next question is from Justin Watkins who is a colleague of mine at SOAS he's a professor of Burmese and he asks Dr. Assassin thank you for your compelling upsetting and inspiring account of the violent history of Myanmar and your courageous struggle to bring peace the events in Burma this year have shocked the world and it's not clear what the future holds he wants to ask you a native of Matanpe about your view of the role of ethnic and linguistic diversity may play in bringing about vision of a federal and democratic nation it's a question really about your views of the roles of ethnic and linguistic diversity in the making of a new Myanmar let us not forget that the greatest strength of Myanmar is our unity in diversity in the way our national strength is on our diversity it's powerful it's very powerful in the way it's beautiful that's why when we say vendre democracy that means that all those language will be protected all those race will be protected all those culture will be protected not just protected it will be promoted and respected it's very important it's a very important and with the self-determinations because vendre means self-determinations so it's like flower gardens Myanmar is like a big flower garden where there's so many type of flower bloom together in the garden the chains are flowers the kareem's are flower the shan's are flower moon's are flower rakhine's are flower baman's are flower it's very beautiful there there's the beauty there rohingya and brother sister's are flowers and our common ground is our right to live our common ground is our freedom our common ground is equality our common ground is every right freedom will be protected every culture every language every race every religious every ethnicity will be protected respected and promoted with the self-determinations that is our future that is the beauty that is the beauty so what i'm saying is that it is the military junta that has used divide and rule policy for many many years divide rule and conquer let's not forget divide rule and conquer they divide us based on race they divide us based on religious they divide us based on ethnicities they divide us based on culture remember those days are over those days are over we will never along ourselves again to be divided by these people never again we should all say never again to these people never again there is no future of Myanmar as long as there is racism there is no future of Myanmar as long as there is this military dictatorship continuously dividing us based on our race our ethnicities our background our culture our religious yeah so Myanmar is a malady ethnic countries Myanmar is a malady religious country malady culture country it's like malady flowers garden it's a big garden Myanmar is a big garden of flowers you know we all are flowers with respect respecting each other protecting each other caring for each other so the future is beautiful once we defeat it that's why we have got a real one is to defeat eradicate this cancer of military dictatorship and build and draft permanent constitution in Myanmar and build a democratic union with Myanmar so that all this flower can bloom again so let us remember again that our nation's strength is our unity in diversity that's why when I get the presentation just now it's the first time in the history of Myanmar that we have a national unity government our government its name is unity why that is the center of our country that is the strength of our country so this is the greatest chance that we have to defeat united we defeat this military junta and that is very important for us and this opportunity happened once in the century that I can tell you this is the first time I saw in the history of our country that our people are so much united together that side is a military dictatorship military generals and this has 54 million people of Myanmar united maybe the platform we're standing may not be the same but I can tell you we are so united they give me the hope the strength that we will defeat these darknesses soon thank you very much I'm going to move now to doing two two questions together so questions will come in pairs so we managed to get through what we have there's a question from Julimo Colombo who is a consultant who works with international NGOs who asks two questions so actually you'll have three questions in this round two questions the first is do you start to envisage a time when to engage with China and to think about the role of international NGOs who are caught in a space between dictatorial and territorial power and freedom and whether international NGOs could play a different role in the situation given I think the question is given that they have a different sort of structure that is not national in its context but that's the first two questions and then from Miao Ning Ang it's may I request your view of the public situation public health situation sorry in Myanmar and how international cooperation could be used to improve the public health situation because worried about provision and accessibility of health care and many health professionals have died and arrested and I suppose importantly it's easy to forget that this question comes in an era of COVID as well it's not just a coup it's an era of COVID and Miao Ning Ang is associate professor of global health in Tokyo Japan so please Dr. Sasser China is a very important neighbor and a very big neighbor as long as there's Myanmar there will be China that is that is very cool and again China has the power to stop this military junta and if they want to they can stop it today one phone call from Beijing can stop it I can tell you but again China want to see Myanmar stable economically stable and open for economy they have got a great project called one bell one road that has to come through Myanmar they have got a lot of the projects there's more than 400 Chinese projects in Myanmar and there's more than 23 billion events in the country from China so there's a huge interest that's why we are saying that the stability to the stability the way to stability is a piece the only way to stability is a piece the only way to stability is a federal democratic system of political system as long as there is this military dictatorship system in the country what we can be very clear is there will be never peace in Myanmar Myanmar will never stable again as long as there is these mandarin in the country so in the way if I describe as a medical doctor our country has a cancer I have a cancer I cannot be stable because I have cancer the only way to heal the country is to replace that cancer like cancer military dictatorship with federal democratic political system so we have made it that clear to international community and to China and particularly to all our neighbors when we get stability Myanmar will become stable when the rights are being respected and when the freedom and be respected and promoted in other hand will never get stable as long as there's oppression as long as there's a repressive regime once we can into that peace once we can into that federal democratic union what I can tell you is that let's say now China advancement is just 23 billion billion dollar that time I can tell you it will boom into maybe 50 million dollar you know maybe hundred billion dollar because our economy that's why we have got big country India except we have got big country China and Myanmar is too politically economically it can be the hub between this great economic power in the region as in the world so it's good for India it's good for China it's good for everyone that's why we are asking that you know democracy is something that will stabilize the country in other words only democracy can stabilize Myanmar no other no weapons no the bomber no the bullets we have made clear that is for China to accept and then other neighbors to accept that fact that true um the second question about the health care and is it's a great concern is COVID-19 to coming up in the region there's a third wave coming up and what's happened in India that we have seen is great tragedy but really sorry for what has happening with COVID-19 in India we do really pray every day every moment that this you know this this will go away sooner it started to happen in Myanmar and these military dictators military junta number one they kick out all the doctors the nurses from hospitals and they they live in the hospital they occupy the hospital just imagine for what and they fire all the the nurses and midwife who work a life-saving work because of the giant strike a civil disobedient movement and let me make it clear this is civil disobedient movement is the most powerful movement more powerful than this military junta at of terrorism and even now this Nobel Peace Prize no way Oslo University professor have nominated them Nobel Peace Prize they deserve not only Nobel Peace they deserve the support of international community so instead of military junta say look if they are the strike they have to come and talk to them yeah what can i do because you don't like to come work under us and what's wrong and they know that so what i'm saying is military generals they cannot even deliver COVID-19 vaccination the generous people of Myanmar has contributed the money for COVID-19 vaccination we have every reason to believe that military junta have used those money and buy weapons and kill the people you know forget about COVID-19 vaccination they don't care they don't care so they fail to form the government any government around the world if decent government they are responsible to deliver health care the governments are responsible to deliver education the governments are responsible to deliver all these these things in in a country of any nation in the world but imagine this military junta do they take any responsibility for COVID-19 no so whatever no do they take any responsibility for education no from day one of um first of February till today nine of June in these four months all they are doing is killing killing and killing torture torture torture so our health care has failed education has failed economic has failed let us remember Myanmar is becoming a failed state very quickly under a failed coup failed state and a failed coup the final one about international organizations humanitarian needs are great and all the government that we have been talking and I have been engaging internationally it's my job to engage and cooperate with international community and government around the world it just it's just very difficult um I mean they are targeting all NGO and NGO in the country basically say don't work anymore because they are used they are trying to use humanitarian aid which should be neutral not political but they are using it they want to use as a political so whichever will allow them to do that they will be allowed to work but whoever do not they will God point and they say leave this place so they do not have any respect for humanitarian law these are the people let's remember let's not forget that these are military generals who even break the law that they make 2008 constitution was created by them right in 2008 constitution sitting president cannot be arrested there's no any chapter that say that sitting president can be arrested but he arrested mr president who we mean elected so he break 2008 constitution that he made so these military generals let us remember and not forget that they do not even respect the law that they made they break the law that they make there's no law that says military generals mean or like can take a power like that there's no there's no law but he's using the law that it does not have so what I'm saying is that they have no respect for human life they are not they are not having human human thinking they are not human thinking I think they are not have a human you know Gormos I don't know how to describe this it just beyond of what I can describe of who they are now. Dr. Sasser thank you very much now I must apologize to lots of people who have asked questions that we're not going to have time to address many scholars and commentators have written in with quite detailed questions but there's one question which will be your final final one from an anonymous attendee that in some ways I think gets to the spirit of many of the other questions that have been asked and that is really simply Dr. Sasser will we win this fight? First of all we are already winning this is a fair coup they failed to do anything of what the government would do so they are already failing they already failed coup they attempted but they failed so let us be clear there's 24 ministry ministry of education ministry of health ministry of transport so name it there's 27 24 ministry but Ming Au Lai failed to all of 22 ministry he do not think about that he do not think absolutely nothing he failed to do it exemplary health care exemplary education he failed to do it okay now number two ministry only that is somehow he controlled by Gantt our ministry of home affairs and minister of defense can give you so many of his soldiers at least in our least more than 800 military officers have run away from him more than 800 military have run away from him he understand that in the coming days I can I I I hope and pray that these military men and women in uniform we will find a way for them so that they can defect from this man it's a bad people and many many women uniform they don't like to be with them anymore they don't like to be slave under Ming Au Lai anymore it's very simple but we are now developing a strategy how can that happen peacefully because we don't like them die yeah so he's saying kill or be killed if you do not kill them I'll kill you that's mean allies that's the punta words so again why we will win is they fail that's why we will win let's be clear he failed that's why we win number two he know his days are in number till today there's no even one country that recognize these military junta as the government of Myanmar not even one country in the world not even China I can tell you they don't recognize you yet that's why we win thought what the people of Myanmar reject him completely totally 54 million people say no to him already that's why we will win and we already went so giving that now we are winning international front US European Union UK and other country are coming with us and putting more and more sanctions and it will come I can tell you only tougher and tougher the suction will come more and more tougher and tougher until he gave up that's why we will win and now we have stopped some of his money it come we have cut off cut off so we will have less essence to money and less essence to weapon that's why we will win number five point now we are united ethnic arms organizations political party elected member of parliament serious society organizations politicians we all are united against him that's why we win so there's a lot of reason I can go on why we win but I cannot see any reason why he will win I do see any reason why military coup will win I do not see any reason but I see a lot of reason why we win so I describe already that so we will win and we already win it's no more so what I'm saying is we revolution must win was the slogan we used to say but now revolution is winning we are set to victory so we are going to win and we are going to prevail because if you look at the whole history democracy will prevail freedom will prevail justice will prevail and human rights will prevail we like it or not the light will prevail over the darkness the good things will prevail over the bad the bad things the right things will prevail on the wrong things and that side again you know that the truth will prevail on the false the same is very same justice will prevail over injustice fairness will prevail over unfairness it's very simple so we are winning look to sasa thank you very much it just leaves me to thank you for giving a moving passionate personal persuasive engaging lecture and and taking on the questions of face value and answering them with so much passion so on behalf of the South Asia Institute at SOAS and WSD Hunder I'd like to thank you for delivering this distinguished lecture your time and thoughts I much appreciate but I would like my last message to go to our audience the guests who've come to listen to you speak and I'd ask you um to take away the experience of listening to dr sasa and talk to your friends family share the experience on facebook let them make up their own minds about what has been said but do talk turn this inspirational experience into something that generates more conversation perhaps a conversation that leads to lobbying a letter to an mp whatever it might be but please don't leave here and think about this issue no more so thank you very much thank you for spending your time with us in this afternoon and finally once again on behalf of SOAS dr sasa really thank you very much it's been a pleasure to engage with you throughout this process and your lecture was a fitting one for this series so thank you very much indeed thank you very much for having me jido po awyami