Use Your Freedom is an international movement leveraging non-violent digital activism to spotlight the unjust imprisonment of Myanmar's democratically elected leaders. Read on to find interviews, articles, audio and video, and to download our freely available book, Aung San Suu Kyi from Prison - And a Letter to a Dictator.

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World Leaders, Rights Organizations and People of Conscience Worldwide: A Call to Defend Myanmar’s Democracy and Demand the Release of Aung San Suu Kyi

On February 1, 2021, Burma’s democratically elected government was overthrown and imprisoned through a rogue military dictatorship’s coup d’etat

Subsequently, the dictatorship has engaged in a genocide of democracy, displacing 2.5 million people, imprisoning 20,000 political prisoners, killing 10,000 innocent civilians. Without the guidance of wise, democratic civilian leadership, Burma faces the escalating horrors of nationwide war, atrocity, and institutionalized torture

The fight for democracy cannot be ignored. Join us in the GLOBAL campaign to Use Your Freedom

For the sake of Burma's future and its people's dignity, the immediate release of its 20,000 political prisoners is not just an urgent necessity—

it is a moral imperative.

FREE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE LAUREATE AUNG SAN SUU KYI! FREE President Win Myint! FREE all unlawfully imprisoned elected leaders!

Democracy is under attack—and Myanmar is the front line. A brutal military dictatorship has imprisoned its elected leaders, waged war against its own people, and turned the nation into a battlefield of terror.

At the center of this struggle is Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s democratically elected leader and a Nobel Peace Prize laureate. She has spent 15 years under house arrest and is now in her fourth year of solitary confinement—locked in a windowless, rat-infested cell, deprived of medical care, legal representation, and even the most basic right of visitation.

Yet, amid these horrors, many choose to target not the architects of this tragedy but Aung San Suu Kyi, it’s most prominent victim.

It is time to confront the smear campaign that has unjustly tarnished her legacy

Kim Aris, son of Aung San Suu Kyi, interviewed by Fergus Harlow

“She’s had death threats, and attempts on her life, over and over, and that’s never stopped her from doing what was right. That people believe that she's somehow flipped is unbelievable”, says her son, Kim Aris, in an interview with the Use Your Freedom director, Fergus Harlow. “One of the things the international community can do is to change the narrative. She was never silent about the Rohingya.” A shorter version of this interview appeared in DVB. 

“Many in Myanmar have condemned what they perceive as seriously flawed Western criticism of the Burmese ex-leader,” writes former UK ambassador to Thailand and Vietnam, Derek Tonkin. “U Win Htein commented: “They are false judgements. They are misperceptions. They are from the uninformed and misguided … Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is one of the most compassionate people I have ever met.””

“Those shocking actions against you reveal a blatant double standard” writes Dzongar Kyentse Rinpoche in an open letter to Aung San Suu Kyi, “Watching the self-righteous western actions against you in recent months, I've become convinced it's finally time to tell the truth about the colonial structures and worldview they imposed on us and that persist to this day.”

Now is the time to act in unity, for the sake of Burma's future and the principles that are the bedrock of our shared humanity.

Aung San Suu Kyi is Myanmar’s Nelson Mandela—a leader who has sacrificed everything for her country’s democratic rights. Adored by 90% of Myanmar’s population for her wisdom and moral courage, she remains an unbreakable symbol of hope and resistance.

She has endured relentless persecution:

Numerous death threats. Close colleagues tortured to death. Others executed for standing beside her.

Yet she has never wavered. Recognized alongside global icons like Václav Havel and Ronald Reagan, she has spent her life fighting for human rights—despite the unbearable cost.

She won multiple elections by a landslide—including the 2020 election, which the military brazenly ignored.

She spent decades under house arrest for demanding democracy.

She has been falsely accused of crimes—a desperate ploy by the junta to justify its dictatorship.

Even in captivity, her spirit remains unbroken. She has outlasted her captors, endured solitary confinement, and refused to bow to tyranny.

Yet Western governments and media abandoned her when she needed them most.

This betrayal only emboldened the military to launch its 2021 coup, plunging Myanmar into its darkest era in decades.

Aung San Suu Kyi cannot fight this battle alone.

Who will summon the moral courage to stand for truth?

The world must stand with Aung San Suu Kyi. The world must stand with Myanmar.

In a world increasingly divided, there comes a time when we must transcend our differences and unite for a cause greater than any individual viewpoint, where we must have the courage to care for things larger than our own self-interest. Today, that  cause is the dire situation in Burma (Myanmar), where the decades-long fight for democracy, human rights and freedom has reached a critical juncture.

Burma's elected leaders, including State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and President U Win Myint, along with thousands of other political prisoners, languish in detention under a brutal military regime. Their imprisonment is not just a tragedy for them and their families but a devastating blow to the principles of democracy and human rights that we hold most dear.

Why This Matters to the World

Myanmar’s crisis is not an isolated event. It is a test for democracy everywhere. If the world allows a violent coup to erase the will of 52 million people, it sets a precedent for dictatorships worldwide.

The junta’s war against its people is also fueling a growing global crisis:

1. Myanmar’s Military is Flooding the World with Drugs

Myanmar has become the epicenter of the world’s deadliest drug trade. With backing from rogue elements within China, the military regime has transformed the country into a global hub for fentanyl, heroin, and methamphetamine.

These drugs are flooding the U.S., Europe, Thailand, Australia, and Japan, fueling addiction crises, overwhelming law enforcement, and devastating communities.

2. China’s Strategic Takeover of Myanmar Threatens Global Stability

China shields Myanmar’s dictatorship to expand its power.

At the heart of this alliance—central to Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative—are China’s billion-dollar infrastructure projects, including:

  • Oil and gas pipelines from the Bay of Bengal to Yunnan.
  • A deep-sea port for China’s navy in Myanmar.

These projects bypass the Malacca Strait, tighten Beijing’s grip, and push Myanmar closer to becoming a Chinese province.

If Myanmar falls fully under China’s control:

  • U.S. influence in Southeast Asia will collapse.
  • India’s security will be threatened.
  • China’s military footprint will expand across the Indo-Pacific.

If the world fails to act, it won’t just betray Myanmar—it will surrender Southeast Asia to authoritarian rule.

The Time to Act Is Now

History will judge our response. The U.S. and its allies must act immediately to restore democracy in Myanmar:

  • Demand Aung San Suu Kyi’s Immediate Release – Without her freedom, there is no democracy in Myanmar. Hold the junta accountable with maximum sanctions.
  • Secure a Nationwide Peace Accord – Support a federal democracy to empower the people and end dictatorship.
  • Designate the Junta as a Terrorist Organization – Freeze their international assets and cut off financial lifelines.
  • Expose China’s Role – Hold Beijing accountable for backing the junta and enabling war crimes.
  • Dismantle the Myanmar-China Drug Trade – Crack down on the fentanyl, heroin, and meth fueling global addiction and financing the junta’s terror.
  • Leverage U.S. Economic and Diplomatic Power – Use sanctions and economic pressure to weaken the junta’s networks.
  • Strengthen Humanitarian Assistance – Increase aid for refugees, political prisoners, and Myanmar’s resistance movement.
  • Pressure ASEAN to Act – ASEAN has failed to hold the junta accountable. The U.S. must demand real action—not just empty rhetoric.

The time for words is over. The world must act—now.

Your support is crucial.

The Use Your Freedom Global Campaign was launched in 2023 by The Buddha Sasana Foundation (BSF) (US 501(c) (3) registered nonprofit corporation) advocating for democracy, human rights and rule of law in Burma since 1988.

Founded by author, correspondent, investigative journalist and former Buddhist monk in Burma, Alan Clements, the Buddha Sasana Foundation has created and distributed books, interviews, video, radio, podcast and other media in support of Burma's grassroots nonviolent movement for democracy for decades.

In 1996, Alan Published "The Voice of Hope: Conversations with Aung San Suu Kyi", a bestselling account of six months of underground dialogue with Suu Kyi, capturing her spiritual and political philosophy in an intimate and definitive format.

Clement's most recent work includes the definitive, four-volume set of feature interviews with key members of Burma's democratic movement from 2013 - 2020, Burma's Voices of Freedom, co-authored with Fergus Harlow. In early 2023, Aung San Suu Kyi from Prison - and a Letter to a Dictator was released, before Clements and Harlow opted to make the work freely available through this website.

Our mission with the Use Your Freedom Global Campaign is unequivocally clear: to secure the immediate release of Burma's democratically elected leaders and all political prisoners. This mission transcends political affiliations and ethnic divides. It is a call to every individual who believes in justice, rule of law, and the intrinsic value of human freedom.

This campaign is not about one person or one group, it is about the collective struggle for a free and democratic Burma, where all ethnicities and communities can live together in peace.

We urge global leaders, governments, artists, authors, influencers and citizens of all nations worldwide to demand their immediate release, stop the military's mass violence against all ethnic groups, and pave the way for democracy, rule of law, peace, and prevention of social collapse.

Why Your Support is Crucial

International Awareness: By joining us, you help amplify our call to the international community, making it impossible for the plight of Burma's 54 million people and 132 ethnicities to be ignored.

Human Rights Advocacy: Your voice adds weight to our demand for the respect of universal human rights, and the urgent need to end the systemic oppression of Myanmar.

Solidarity in Action: Your participation is a testament to global solidarity, showing the we stand together against tyranny and injustice.

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