Ashin Kovida – member of The Best Friend
and freedom fighter on Garrett Kostin’s spreading of the Peace in Burma
now! sticker and his subsequent deportation
TBF: Can you please elaborate on the connection between the The Best Friend’s Peace Campaign and the monks and freedom movement?
Ashin Kovida: The Peace in Burma Now stickers are
very nice. Burmese monks are traditionally and historically associated
and connected with non-violence. When they are involved in political
matters and in helping the people, this is non-violence. This is peace.
So in this way, peace is connected to monks. I believe, that everybody
who wants peace will be happy to hear about Garrett’s actions. Everybody
who really wants peace will want many people to do something like this.
Something like Garrett has done.
TBF: What are you trying to achieve with the Peace stickers?
Ashin Kovida: The main goal of these stickers is to
show we want peace in Burma. And everywhere else in the world. We want
to achieve peace in Burma. We want everybody to be united. Everybody is
responsible to achieve peace and tranquility in Burma, mostly the
government itself. But look what they did: they deported Garrett,
somebody who wants exactly the same. This is very shameful for Burma and
the military regime. Garrett Kostin wants to see peace in Burma and
help the Burmese people. This is a very noble thing to do.
TBF: Is this the right time for actions like these?
Ashin Kovida: Now is a good time for actions like
these. The junta also claims to want peace. They keep announcing in
their newspapers they want tranquility and peace. In their roadmap to
democracy, with the elections. We have to test if they really mean this
and really want peace and democracy in Burma.
There is no evil in wanting peace.
There is no evil in wanting democracy.
TBF: You have said you believe that ‘we need more tourists
like Garrett’. Can you explain this and do you think tourists who visit
Burma are in some way obliged to do something?
Ashin Kovida: I am really proud of what Garrett
Kostin did inside Burma. He put up many stickers, which is brave and
great. We need many tourists like him to show they support peace,
freedom and non-violence. It’s like Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s quote: ‘use
your liberties to promote ours’.
I feel tourists and everybody, even Burmese people have a responsability to support freedom and democracy in Burma.
TBF: How can tourists do something?
Ashin Kovida: They can do like Garrett did: speak
with the people, both inside and outside. Show them you want peace in
burma. The junta has announced elections for this year and keeps on
talking about their 7-step roadmap to democracy: by saying you want
peace and democracy you don’t do anything wrong, because they say it,
too. Just test them. Test the regime. Are they serious about their calls
for democracy? Then why do they arrest people who call for exactly the
same?
TBF: There have been some reactions on the internet about
Garrett’s actions: some people feel his actions are irresponsible and
may have endangered local people inside. What is your opinion about
this?
Ashin Kovida:I believe everybody is free to his or
her own opinion. It was even like that in the time of the Buddha: not
everybody supported him. People have different opinions. You must have
your own intention. Garrett’s is, that he wants peace in Burma. I do not
blame anybody who wants peace in Burma.
I understand people worry about how these actions may have put Burmese
people in danger. Garrett tries to sacrifice to some extend for Burma. I
request everybody who wants peace in Burma to do something like him. As
long as the junta is there, people’s lives are in danger. They are not
only in danger because he put up peace stickers.
A quote by U Win Tin sums it up:
‘Burma is a prison under this military junta.‘
TBF: Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has said: ‘if you are neutral in a situation of injustice, you have chosen to side with the oppressor.‘
Ashin Kovida:I agree 100% with this!
The Buddha said: if you see the right, you must accept right as right
and wrong as wrong. You must be ready to say it’s wrong when you
encounter injustice. You must have the courage to speak out.
Albert Einstein said that the world we live in is dangerous, not because
the people do bad or evil things, but because of the people who support
it and ignore it.
Never ignore injustice.
We must be ready to speak out!
