Politics of Southeast Asia

Southeast Asian Studies SE2213/Singapore Studies SSA2207
Politics of Southeast Asia

For people who are planning to take this module some time or another, might take a look at this essay. Hopefully it does give some idea on what the module is about. But, must warn beforehand, this is not a grade A essay. I missed the elusive A by a bit. This is only an A- essay. But for little Joan here, I think that this is a good grade, after all it's a level 2000 module and I'm only a little year 1 girl.

Women in Politics
(my central topic)

The extent of which foreign support affected the rise of the female democratic advocators of South East Asia with direct reference to Aung San Suu Kyi and Corazon Aquino.
(the parameters I drew for this topic cos there is no questions given for this sort of paper)

In the past two decades, Southeast Asia witnessed the rise of female democratic advocators. Among these women, we shall take a closer look at Corazon Aquino who successfully overthrew the autocratic Marcos regime in the 1980s and her modern-day Burmese counterpart, Aung San Suu Kyi who is still struggling to achieve democracy in the military governed land of Burma. Corazon Aquino shares many similarities with Aung San Suu Kyi other than their belief in democracy in the region. They also share a similar background in their rise to politics due to the legacy of Corazon Aquino’s husband and Aung San Suu Kyi’s father. Their basis for democracy was also very similar as Philippines at that time and Burma now were under oppressive authoritarian rule. The similarity which I will touch further in this paper is the wide support for their lobbying for power they received from the international community which would include political backing, which was especially so in the case of Corazon Aquino; non-governmental activists, the Catholic Church for Corazon Azuino[1] and the support group formed by other Nobel Peace Laureates backing Aung San Suu Kyi[2]; and the role of the mass media which the two women used to bolster support.

Corazon Aquino and Aung San Suu Kyi were both from families with strong political backgrounds and a legacy to continue. Corazon Aquino was the “widow of political martyr Benigno Aquino”[3] and Aung San Suu Kyi was the “daughter of Burma’s national-independence hero Aung San”[4]. Their entrances into politics were also similar in that they were thrust into political limelight to overthrow the incumbent authoritarian government and establish a democratic one with free elections. However, while Corazon Aquino’s came into the political scene almost immediately after the assassination of her husband to replace him in the opposition of the Marcos regime, Aung San Suu Kyi only entered politics long after the assassination of her father. Unlike, Corazon Aquino, she was not so much of a replacement but was much more her individual self advocating the overthrow of the totalitarian regime in place. It was this cry for democracy of the two women that attracted the interest of the international community which in turn led to their rise in power though Aung San Suu Kyi is still struggling to achieve real power from the military junta.

This democracy cry attracted the interest of several states who gave their political backing to the two women. This political backing further consolidated their rise to power in their respective countries although I would note that this was more pronounced in the case of Corazon Aquino than for Aung San Suu Kyi. Corazon Aquino had direct political backing of the United States while although many countries are in support of Aung San Suu Kyi’s cause, not much was done by them politically. This could be due to the strong political and economic ties between the Philippines and the United States as the former was once a colony of the latter while Burma does not share any of this sort of ties with any country. The nature of the state of Burma is also one that is attempting to be self-sufficient and in a way almost in autarchy hence it does not feel threatened by the political backing of other states on Aung San Suu Kyi. Still international political groups like the UN and ASEAN still provide their support for Aung San Suu Kyi by voicing out their displeasures against the military junta’s treatment of her. In June 2003 when Aung San Suu Kyi was yet again arrested, ASEAN ministers held a series of talks in Phnom Penh calling for her release even though “ASEAN has a long-standing policy of not commenting on the internal affairs of members”[5]. It can be seen as a small victory to Aung San Suu Kyi as she was finally released by the junta after much international objections and the imposing of various forms of sanctions by different countries on Burma.

These political interventions, however, did have much implications on the two women which some were advantageous while others were not so. Foreign support provided some amount of legitimacy in the women’s fight for democracy and was not seen as rebels or anything undermining. For Corazon Aquino’s case, it was due to this support of the Americans that her People’s Power revolution was able to be successful and was not crushed by them as they were previously an ally of the Marcos regime. Corazon Aquino was thus able to hold popular, unbiased elections after toppling the incumbent President Ferdinand Marcos. However, after coming to power, President Aquino slanted her foreign policy towards the US and became “every bit the anti-Communist, pro-US president”[6]. She also “came to more clearly depend on US assistance, both militarily and economically”[7] which could have undermined her country in the eyes of the foreigners especially the Americans. It would most probably be the same for Aung San Suu Kyi too if she comes to power. She would need to repay the favours by the foreign powers who backed her release from arrest as she was indebted to these states when they pressured the junta to free her. However, it was probably out of their own vested interest that America had supported Corazon Aquino. The US had already thought that Marcos was falling out of favour with his people and his fall was only in due course, by shifting alliance to Corazon Aquino, the US protected their trade interests and their military bases in the Philippines and there was also an “increasing concern throughout the US government about the growing insurgency in the archipelago”[8] and Aquino provided an anti-Communist alternative to the Marcos regime.

Other than political backings, Corazon Aquino and Aung San Suu Kyi also received support from non-governmental organisations in the international community. Aung San Suu Kyi received much larger support from international peace activists than Corazon Aquino in a reverse situation from the latter who received more support from the political bodies. Aung San Suu Kyi found supporters in a group of other Nobel Peace Laureates, including the Dalai Lama (laureate 1989), Dr Oscar Arias (1987), Elie Wiesel (1986), Archbishop Desmond Tutu (1984), Adolfo Perez Esquivel (1980) and Rigoberta Menchu Tum (1992) who held a convention in Bangkok in Februaury 1993 publicising the plight of Aung San Suu Kyi and later went on to Geneva where they “presented a joint statement to the United Nations requesting that economic sanctions and arms embargo be imposed against Burma”.[9] Not only that, another group of laureates and peace activists, including Corazon Aquino, set up a website dedicating their cause to the freedom of Burma and Aung San Suu Kyi and also publicising the need for freedom in Burma to the masses.[10] This popular call for her support among the laureates community might be due to Aung San Suu Kyi herself was also a Nobel laureate (1991), thus her ability to foster support from her peers.

As we can see, the mass media too plays a part in the lobbying of support for Aung San Suu Kyi. For her, the internet plays a large role as her supporters are not only the 80% of the Burmese who voted for her in the 1990 elections but also many foreigners who have heard of her and supports her cause. The internet thus is able to coordinate and organise her varied supporters together as we can see in the Burmese Peace Campaign website set up for her by the Nobel Peace Laureate Campaign for Aung San Suu Kyi and the People of Burma which is in their own words “a cooperative effort of individuals and organizations from throughout the world who believe in human rights and democracy and support Aung San Suu Kyi and the people of Burma”[11]. During Corazon Aquino’s time, it was the use of radio that she and Cardinal Sin were able to successfully mobilise the people for the People’s Power revolution through the appeal “for public support for the rebels over the Catholic-run Radio Veritas”[12]. It was due to that appal that Filipinos poured the street in exhibiting their unhappiness over Marcos’ fraud election results. Newspaper reports and magazine articles also glorified Corazon Aquino and Aung San Suu Kyi to the international community which led to many other foreign countries too showing their support to them. This could be seen especially so when Time magazine picked her out to be their “Woman of the Year”[13] in 1987 and following that in 1999, she was named as one of “The Most Influential Asians of the Century”[14]. Aung San Suu Kyi, being a Nobel Peace Prize laureate also received wide media coverage over her frequent house arrests due to her laureate status.

However, it was not only the foreign support given to them that led to their rise and consolidation of power, but the local support that they received from their people was much more important. It was due to this vast numbers of supporters that they were able to futher their democracy causes. For Corazon Aquino, even if the US had fully supported her and ousted Marcos, without the People’s Power revolution, she would not have been able to consolidate her position in Filipino office. Similarly in Burma, without 80% of the population supporting her, Aung San Suu Kyi would not have attracted international outcries of fraud and she would also not have been able to bring her case into the international limelight. Unfortunately, because of the legacy of Benigno Aquino and Aung San, Corazon Aquino and Aung San Suu Kyi are often not seen of their own strengths but as shadows of their martyred relations and it was through foreign relations that they were able to establish themselves as for who they are as it was only the international community who do not know about their family legacy. This could be seen in Corazon Aquino’s goodwill tours she took after she took office when she tried to “win support from foreign governments and businesses” to build up Philippines destructed economy.

In conclusion, it is important for a state to have international support in today’s globalising world thus we see the need for both Corazon Aquino and Aung San Suu Kyi to establish themselves in the international community for their rise and consolidation of power in the Philippines and Burma respectively. However, due to the difference in nature of state, the foreign support that Corazon Aquino received increased her chances of being able to successfully topple the incumbent authoritarian regime while her counterpart is still working hard in achieving political freedom for her country. Philippines was a country with an open economy thus it relied heavily on trade and was hence more subjected to international criticism while Burma on the other hand remains largely an autarchy and was able to disregard international criticisms without any harm to themselves. Although their rise to power and gain in support in their homeland relied mostly on their family name, it was a different case when it came to international support. The support they received from foreigners were achieved via their own virtues. Even though Corazon Aquino and Aung San Suu Kyi share similar ideals and political background, the nature of their homeland is vastly different and this accounted for their different fates in which Corazon Aquino was successful and Aung San Suu Kyi still at this present moment fighting for due political freedom.

[1] Vincent G. Boudreau, “Corazon Aquino: Gender, Class, and the People Power President” in Women in Politics: An Introduction, ed. Francine D’Amico and Peter R. Beckman, (Westport/London: Bergin & Garvey, 1995), pg 78
[2] Burma peace campaign, http://www.burmapeacecampaign.org/
[3] Vincent G. Boudreau, “Corazon Aquino: Gender, Class, and the People Power President” in Women in Politics: An Introduction, ed. Francine D’Amico and Peter R. Beckman, (Westport/London: Bergin & Garvey, 1995), pg 71
[4] Alan Clements and Leslie Kean, Burma’s Revolution of the Spirit: The Struggle for Democratic Freedom and Dignity, (Bangkok: White Orchid Press, 1995), pg 50
[5] ASEAN ministers call for Aung San Suu Kyi’s release. http://www.goasiapacific.com/news/GoAsiaPacificBNA_881150.htm
[6] Vincent G. Boudreau, “Corazon Aquino: Gender, Class, and the People Power President” in Women in Politics: An Introduction, ed. Francine D’Amico and Peter R. Beckman, (Westport/London: Bergin & Garvey, 1995), pg 81
[7] Vincent G. Boudreau, “Corazon Aquino: Gender, Class, and the People Power President” in Women in Politics: An Introduction, ed. Francine D’Amico and Peter R. Beckman, (Westport/London: Bergin & Garvey, 1995), pg 81
[8] Mark R. Thompson, Democratic Revolutions: Asia and Eastern European, (London and New York: Routledge, 2004), pg 26
[9] Alan Clements and Leslie Kean, Burma’s Revolution of the Spirit: The Struggle for Democratic Freedom and Dignity, (Bangkok: White Orchid Press, 1995), pg 100-1
[10] Burma peace campaign, http://www.burmapeacecampaign.org/
[11] Burma peace campaign, http://www.burmapeacecampaign.org/
[12] Vincent G. Boudreau, “Corazon Aquino: Gender, Class, and the People Power President” in Women in Politics: An Introduction, ed. Francine D’Amico and Peter R. Beckman, (Westport/London: Bergin & Garvey, 1995), pg 75
[13] Vincent G. Boudreau, “Corazon Aquino: Gender, Class, and the People Power President” in Women in Politics: An Introduction, ed. Francine D’Amico and Peter R. Beckman, (Westport/London: Bergin & Garvey, 1995), pg 78
[14] Corazon Aquino. http://www.time.com/time/asia/asia/magazine/1999/990823/aquino1.html

Unlike the other essay that I uploaded, I didn't really have a good feeling about this essay which I piahed tongxiao, so it was amazing when I got back the paper and saw that my dear lecturer really like this paper. But thinking closely, I might have got such a high grade cos I went to see my lecturer a couple of times and made it known to him that I'm a little year 1 girl writing such a long (2000-word) essay for the first time.

Okay... But seeing the results of all four of my term papers, I think I'll be damn pressured to produce good essays next semester. And to think that some seniors are saying essays are supposed to get better the more times you write them. That's it Joan, all the way... to more stress next semester...