Asian Geographic2017

Hig HligHts

They’ve been saddled with

various labels, depending on who

has held the position of power at the

time: freedom fighter, revolutionist,

reformer, dissident, terrorist.

But the question of whether

they should be vilified or lionised

continues in some cases: Aung San

Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s national hero for

her tireless work towards democracy,

has come under fire recently for

her denial of the persecution of the

Rohingya. Having been denied proper

treatment for terminal cancer, Nobel

Peace laureate Liu Xiaobo passed

away on July 13, 2017. His death has

caused outrage in the international

community. The leading dissident

is still framed as “a criminal” in the

Chinese press, but for many others,

he remains a hero for campaigning for

Chinese democracy.

One could argue that this gives

traction to the cliche that “one man’s

terrorist is another man’s freedom

fighter”. But, to take the stance

of Jonah Goldberg in his book

The Tyranny of Cliches, “It is simply

absurd to contend that because

people may argue over who is or

is not a terrorist that it is therefore

impossible to make meaningful

distinctions between terrorists and

freedom fighters.”

Raising

the Bar

FROM VILLAIN TO HERO (AND

SOMETIMES BACK TO ANTI-
HERO), ASIA’S FAMOUS POLITICAL

PRISONERS HAVE PACKED A LOT
OF PUNCH IN TRANSFORMING THE

REGION’S DIPLOMATIC LANDSCAPE

MyanMar

Aung San Suu Kyi

r ussia

Andrei Sakharov

Any discussion about high

profile political prisoners in Asia

usually commences with “The

Lady”. The Nobel Peace Prize

winner spent 15 years under

house arrest. The daughter of the

former prime minister of British

Burma (who was assassinated),

she grew up in India, the US,

and England. Returning to Burma

in 1988 after years abroad, she

met political upheaval under

the ruthless dictator U Ne Win.

After speaking out against his

brutality, and actively advocating

for democracy and human rights,

she was placed under house

arrest in 1989 – and was arrested

repeatedly over the years. She

was finally released from house

arrest in November 2010. Five

years later, she led the National

League for Democracy (NLD) to a

majority win in Myanmar’s first

open election in 25 years.

Another political prisoner to win

the Nobel Peace Prize (1975),

the Soviet nuclear physicist was

imprisoned for his dissenting

views on the Soviet government.

He was involved in developing

the hydrogen bomb, and thus

became concerned about

the nuclear age. He voiced

his discontent with the arms

race, and wrote Reflections on

Progress, Peaceful Coexistence

and Intellectual Freedom in a bid

to end it. Due to his criticism of

Soviet political repression –

and international aggression –

he was exiled to Gorky in 1980,

and placed under surveillance

(where he was harassed by the

KGB), following his criticism of

the Soviet Union’s invasion of

Afghanistan. Mikhail Gorbachev

later released Sakharov, who was

subsequently appointed to the

Soviet Congress.

“Peace as a goal is an ideal which will not be

contested by any government or nation, not

even the most belligerent"

“Both now and for always, I intend

to hold fast to my belief in the hidden

strength of the human spirit"