Has Aung San Sui Kyi Lived Up To Expectations Of Her? Poem by Gayathri Seetharam

Has Aung San Sui Kyi lived up to expectations of her?
-Gayathri B. Seetharam
Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo have been found guilty
Of transgressing Myanmar's Official Secrets Act
And have been sentenced to 7 years of imprisonment with hard labour
And one feels compelled to strip Aung San Sui Kyi of her Nobel Peace Prize
For the 2 journalists are only guilty of having investigated the slaughter of Muslim Rohingya;

This signifies a solar eclipse which has blocked the sunny side of democracy
With its dark shadow and signifies a dark day for freedom of press in Myanmar
But also elsewhere, for democracy while granting equality and power to the people
Also grants freedom of speech to journalists;

Here, I am reminded of Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward's book, All the President's Men,
Which was an investigative report on the 2 journalists' coverage of the Watergate scandal for The Washington Post
And cannot but help lauding freedom of press in Canada and USA and India, all democracies,
Powerful in their own way;

The founding principles of Canada also based on freedom of press have been upheld
And tested many a time
And it did hold true when the first Prime Minister of Canada, John A. Macdonald,
Resigned from office because the newspapers found him guilty of his office having taken bribes
From businessmen seeking to build the Canadian Pacific Railway;

It is frightening what a thirst for revealing the truth can lead writers into
For in Myanmar, all the two journalists wanted to do was to
Strengthen the basis that Aung San Sui Kyi laid out
When she silently led the struggle against military rule by undergoing house arrest for 15 years;
To reveal the truth is the creed of journalists
Who struggle against the handcuffs of diplomacy
And fight for justice from leaders and other people
By reporting even the unpalatable faults of our leaders, etc;

It is a dark hour indeed for Myanmar's democracy
For it, in its infant stage, died a crib death
For its cry was stifled
And two innocent men will be punished for no crime against humanity.

Acknowledgements:
1. The Globe and Mail
2. Wikipedia
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Please note: This painting of mine is symbolic of World Freedom of Press Day and symbolises the truth uncovered by high minded journalists which are the fruits of labour and which with its universality and widespread power, can grow beautifully into a social and political achievement of peoplekind.