Interviews with Ashin Issariya

And [Cyclone] Nargis victims, so UN government tell to them, to the other countries, “Okay, now we can help to them directly.” But they don’t. They cannot. Because at that time I’m in the inside, in Nargis victim area. A lot of people need water and food and medicine. They don’t help them. At the time we enter that area and very, very difficult. Some area we cannot enter because of military regime, cannot allow to enter that area. So very major problem.

They are always saying they obey also the military regime, whatever they say. Okay, military regime very clever how to say to the world, how to say to the UN also, how to say to another country’s government. So at the time they always telling to the world, because they are not shameful. So they always telling whatever is it, “Okay, now we help for the people. People are okay now. They have already enough food and built also, already renewed everything.” But not like this.

We know very well. UN and government and ASEAN: three groups, they’re based in my village. I know very well. Because they are only taking photo and, “Okay, we built, new.” Very few houses. A lot of people need, and they are only taking a photo. So you can enter to that place, I give the name. Our village is the Sawkanty village in the Kon Yangon township in the Yangon Division. Also in that area, can study and can ask villagers freely if they can say like that. They never get food from that UN and ASEAN and military regime. Only the private donators offered them that. So they need a lot. UN and ASEAN and government never help them, only talking to the world. We know about this very well.

International can help for the people is very few. They can help for the military government, we know. Because military regime says, “Okay, if you want to offer – if you want to support to the people, you need to support directly to [us]. So and then later we support to the people.” At the time very few, because not directly. They don’t allow directly to the people. So firstly, international NGOs need to support to the military side and then later to the people. So at the time the military regime take a lot of food to their dock. Very few to support to the people.

I want to advise to the UN, if they want to help for the people, need to help directly to the people. They need to enter to the inside directly, and they need to help directly for the people. It is more okay. Internationals enter our country. Now they help to the people. Yes, all right. But they can help very few. And now they are in our country, the Nargis victim, also they need a lot.

Because military regimes – okay for example, “Okay, we don’t accept when you associate with me, so we cannot allow to enter.” So that NGO and that international need to associate with the government. Government are, ”Okay, you need to go that place. You need to go that place.” They divide it and wherever, they cannot go there. Because some Nargis victims areas are very far from the Yangon side. They can go the nearest victim site. So it is not good. Far from that area, very very difficult. So I suggest to them, they need to tell directly to the government, “Okay, wherever we need to go there, so we need to – we want to help for the people directly.” So at the time they need to try to do like that.

Venerable Ashin Issariya (“King Zero”) is a Buddhist monk from Burma. In 2007 he was a principal organizer of the nationwide protests that became known as the “Saffron Revolution.”

After the Burmese military regime used violence to break up a peaceful march by monks who were calling attention to poverty and starvation in the town of Pakkoku, Ashin Issariya and other monks organized nationwide protests against the violence. Over 100,000 monks and tens of thousands of ordinary citizens demonstrated in Rangoon, Mandalay, and other places throughout the country, often chanting Buddha’s teachings on “loving kindness”. The government responded with more violence, killing dozens of monks and other protestors and inflicting serious injuries on hundreds more.

Ashin Issariya became widely known in Burma and around the world under the name “King Zero”— which, as he explained in his Freedom Collection interview, meant that Burma should have no kings and no dictators. But it took the government some time to uncover his real identity, so he was able to spend several months assisting victims of Cyclone Nargis before fleeing to Thailand in 2008. He now lives in a monastery near the Thai-Burma border and remains in close touch with democracy advocates inside and outside Burma.