Study program in Burma

The Centre for the Study of Democracy and Culture cooperates on the management of a two-year project called "Burma Foreign Affairs and Transition Study Program". This project takes place from January 2011 through December 2012 at the Thai-Burma border and is co-financed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic. The main coordinator of the project is an external CDK colleague, Igor Blaževič, who is active with his small team at the site.

The following donors are also involved in this project: the National Endowment for Democracy, the Open Society Foundations, and the Norwegian Rafto Foundation. Igor Blaževič is in permanent contact with several Burmese organizations (HREIB, ALTSEAN-Burma, Burma Partnership, AAPPB, Burma Fund, ND Burma, and EarthRights International School) and foreign advocacy partners (People in Need, Burma Campaign UK, World Movement for Democracy, and Human Rights Watch).

Project objectives

The aim of this project is to train sixteen selected representatives of the Burma opposition and civic groups in issues of human rights, political science, and international relations. The training also focuses on issues such as communication, politics, and negotiation. The training lasts for ten months.

Seventy-two candidates from fifty different organizations applied for this project. Sixteen students were selected with regards to their current experience, work in their own organizations, personal political maturity, and willingness to learn and cooperate with other members of different ethnic and civic groups. The proportion of men and women is 10:6; twelve participants of the course are in exile, and four live in Burma.

The program consists of all-day lessons and distance lectures. In previous years, two brochures had been used in the course: Human Rights for All and Democracy for All, both of which were published in South Africa at the beginning of 1980s. Most of the materials had been last updated in 2004. Therefore, the head of the curriculum, Igor Blaževič, prepared new study materials. The topic of transition and democracy and strategies and tactics of non-violent resistance were added to the curriculum. The new study guide on transition is being prepared in cooperation with CDK experts.

Study guide: Building Democratic Institutions

Contents

• Kopeček, Lubomír: The Fundamentals of Democracy and the Theory and Practice of Democratic Transition
• Hloušek, Vít: Political Development of Europe from the Second World War to the Fall of Communism, and the Democratic Transition of the Czech Republic
• Kopeček, Lubomír: Political Parties, Elections, Election Systems, and Their Impact on Democracy
• Mikš, František: Civil Society
• Chytilek, Roman: The Role of Interest Groups
• Fajmon, Hynek: Legislative Power
• Holzer, Jan: Executive Power
• Pospíšil, Ivo: Judiciary Power and the Legal System
• Mareš, Miroslav and Frank, Libor: Security Policy, Police, and the Army

Distance lectures

Distance lectures started in May 2011 as video conferences; each lasted for 70 minutes.

The lecturers were:

• Šimon Pánek, People in Need, CZ
• Mark Farmaner, Burma Campaign UK
• Renee Xia, Chinese Human Rights Defenders
• Han Dongfan, China Labour Bulletin
• Thun Saray, ADHOC, Cambodia
• Haris Azhar, KontraS, Indonesia
• Yuyun, HRWG, Indonesia
• Jaroslav Valuch: Ushahidi

The CDK distance lectures started in September and lasted through December 2011. Students had the opportunity to improve their English skills and basic knowledge of political science before they were presented with the topic of transition, which is quite difficult for them. All of the lecturers are also the authors of the study guide mentioned above.

In the second half of November 2011, Pavel Pšeja, an external colleague of CDK, spent one week in the Thai cities of Chiang Mai and Mae Sot where he lectured at two seminars organized within this project.

The first seminar took place in Chiang Mai. Within three days training, participants were familiarized with detailed information about democratic transition in general and about its specific variations in Poland, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia. We sought parallels with the contemporary situation in Burma and presented as many examples as possible to illustrate them. In the course, there was also an afternoon government simulation, with opposition negotiations in different situations and scenarios. The seminar was concluded with lectures on nationalism and current issues in global politics. We emphasized connections to the Burmese situation throughout the seminar.

The second seminar was organized in Mae Sot. It was more intensive because it lasted only one and a half days. Topics such as democratic transition were illustrated using countries like Serbia and Ukraine where the transition process is not yet finished. We focused on all the risks that are connected with a democratic transition process and on answering how to mitigate these risks in Burma.

Participants evaluated both seminars positively and said that they consider the information presented to be practical for their future.