Tim Tai, Photography Editor

One Yale course got the chance to hear from a political leader in the midst of an active resistance movement. 

Students in the Yale course “Colonialism, Nationalism, and Identity in Myanmar” hosted Myanmar resistance leader, Lian Hmung Sakhong, the minister of federal union affairs in Myanmar’s National Unity Government — a resistance government formed after the February 2021 coup in Myanmar. Sakhong spoke about various topics including federalism, repression against ethnic minorities, peacebuilding and resistance efforts in Myanmar.

“I think what we need is to stand together for humanity,” Sakhong said. “We stand together for justice. We stand together for the truth.” 

Sakhong spoke to the class over Zoom on Wednesday, April 19. The course, taught by Henry Rice Postdoctoral Associate and Southeast Asian religious studies scholar David Moe and postdoctoral associate Frances O’Morchoe, takes a chronological approach to studying the history of Myanmar, covering themes such as pre-colonial conceptions of ethnicity in Myanmar, the impacts of colonialism and migration on ethnic relations, Buddhist nationalism and ethnic conflict, as well as interreligious solidarity after the coup. 

The course is composed of six Yale students and two to four students in Myanmar, who join the class via Zoom. According to Moe, the class aims to bring the “unheard voices and inspiring stories of these resistance movements” to a broader Yale audience.

O’Morchoe concurred, adding that Sakhong’s perspective as a resistance leader who is also an academic and a member of the Chin ethnic minority group provided valuable insight into the dynamics of current resistance activity in Myanmar. 

Since the coup in Myanmar, the ruling military junta has been associated with numerous human rights violations including repression of ethnic minorities, particularly the Rohingya Muslim community, violence against protestors and imprisonment of individuals expressing political dissent. The Burmese people have resisted the repression of the military junta in various ways, including through protest, active combat and online organizing. 

According to Human Rights Watch, the current death toll of the civil war, which began after the 2021 coup, numbers at least 2,300, with over 15,700 people detained by the military.

The National Unity Government aims to reinstate democracy in Myanmar through developing a federal constitution that encodes the rights and freedoms of the Burmese people, works with local governance structures — particularly in areas with high populations of ethnic minorities — and administers public goods in resistance-controlled areas. Additionally, the National Unity Government seeks to further its cause through forming diplomatic ties with foreign countries and international organizations.

Sakhong spoke of his early experiences engaging in dissent as a part of the 1988 resistance movement against the first military coup. He then engaged students in a discussion about the possibilities for federalism and federal democracy in Myanmar.

Because of Myanmar’s ethnic diversity, with 135 ethnic groups, the National Unity Government and Burmese proponents of federal democracy face several unique considerations when developing a constitution. Moe noted that these features mean that federalism in Myanmar, based on both ethnic and geographical considerations, will look different from countries such as the United States, where governmental structures are primarily organized geographically.

Sakhong noted the difficulties of activism and resistance work in an environment marked by political repression. This repression is particularly felt by members of minority ethnic groups.

“We, the Chin, have been persecuted under the regime, so many times and over so many years,” Sakhong said. “We are not able to practice freedom of religion. Yes, we are able to worship. But freedom of worship is not freedom of religion.” 

Claire Chang ’24, a student in the course, said that she appreciated the content of the course, particularly because few Yale courses cover Southeast Asia.

She added that she hopes to see more classes on this region in the future.

“I came into this class with little to no knowledge about Myanmar other than knowing about Aung San Suu Kyi and the Rohingya genocide,” Chang wrote in an email to the News. “Learning about ethnic constructions and community formations from a non American/Western point of view was very interesting as I mainly study race and ethnicity in the context of a white supremacist system.”

In his talk, Sakhong examined how promises of federalism and democracy have continually been left unfulfilled by the national government. He contended that the state’s desire for a homogenous ethnic and religious national identity precluded the formation of a just and equitable democracy.

A Burmese student, who has been granted anonymity due to potential political repercussions, said that they appreciated learning about the history of their country, particularly during a time of upheaval.

“Especially in a time like this, you realize many things… [about] why your country is in this state,” they wrote in an email to the News. “History always repeats itself.”

Moe and O’Morchoe say they hope to teach the class again in Spring 2024, focusing on additional themes such as questions regarding the meaning of sovereignty, forced migration and internally displaced people in Myanmar.

The Yale Council on Southeast Asian Studies was established in 1947. 

Correction 4/25: The article has been updated to reflect Sakhong and Moe’s correct titles.