Win Maw Oo
posthumously wins the Steve Lehman 6 Gold Star Award™ for standing up against
oppression. Win Maw Oo was a 16 year-old democracy protestor shot by
Burmese snipers in front of the U. S. Embassy. I made an iconic image of
her shortly before her death nearly 25 years ago. I was always very moved
by her courage and that of the other Burmese students.
The 25th
anniversary of Win Maw Oo's death and the massacre of some 3000 democracy
protestors are coming up on September 19th, 2013. Burma has been in the
news. The Associate Press published an article on August 9, 2013, “25
Years After Unrest, Burma Begins To Cope.” In this article they discuss my iconic image of Win Maw
Oo. The reporting in the Associate
Press article is inaccurate. I
feel compelled to set the record straight.
The photograph of
Win Maw Oo is important because it summed up the tragic events that unfolded in
Burma in September 1988. It is
rare physical evidence of "war crimes" committed by the Burmese Military. This image of the bloodied Win Maw Oo
depicts one of thousands of murders that occurred throughout Burma. Through the efforts of Win Maw Oo’s
family and others within the democracy movement she became a symbol of those
who gave their lives so Burma could be free. Despite complete censorship, the image took on a life of
it’s own. It became famous in
Burma through issues of Newsweek
smuggled into the country. Underground copies of my photograph were created and
secretly circulated throughout Burma.
The bravery of the Burmese democracy activists will always be an inspiration;
it is wonderful to see that their sacrifice hasn’t been in vain. Without my photographs and the
reporting of a handful of journalists it is unlikely that the international community would have pressured the military junta to change. If there was no press coverage I doubt the National League for Democracy would have been able to form. Aung
San Suu Kyi would not have won the Nobel
Peace Prize; the Burmese
Military might have just killed her.
I’m proud to have made an important contribution. In the future, my images will play a significant role in bringing the killers to justice and ensuring Burma makes a complete
transition to an open society.
I’m glad these
important issues are now being examined. However, I’m concerned about the quality of the Associated Press’ journalism. The Associated
Press reported the photograph of the wounded Win Maw Oo was on the cover of
Newsweek; this is incorrect it
appeared inside the magazine. Newsweek used a different picture of
mine on the cover. Furthermore, statements
the Associated Press made concerning my photograph are untrue.
I was the only
photojournalist in Burma during the military crackdown in 1988. As far as I
know, I was the only western journalist on the streets when the military was slaughtering
innocent civilians. Shortly after
the shooting began, a scared student told me a blood-curdling tale of a Burmese
videographer who was shot in the eye; the sharpshooter’s bullet went through
the lens and out the back of his head.
The streets of Rangoon were like a war zone. The Burmese military targeted photographers to prevent news of their barbarity from leaking out.
In the story, the Associated Press implies there is a
direct link between the tragic suicide of Dr. Saw Lwin in 1996 and my
photograph taken 8 years earlier. This type of reporting invalidates the
photograph and me personally; something the Burmese military and rivals in media
would want. I feel awful about Saw
Lwin’s suicide, but in no way did my photograph cause this man’s death. Unless the AP has a suicide note from Saw Lwin citing the photograph as the
reason for him killing himself, it shouldn’t be implied. The AP
story is libelous. It wasn’t
original reporting. Reuters did a
story about Win Maw Oo and my photograph a year ago
(http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/09/16/myanmar-schoolgirl-idINDEE88F03Q20120916). These rumors relating to the doctors first arose in the Burmese
media, which is notorious for factual errors. On 8/5/13 the story emerged in English through an
article published in the Irrawaddy by Kyaw Zwa Moe. The Irrawaddy is a small regional website/blog about Burma
and Southeast Asia. The AP stole
elements from the Irrawaddy piece.
I consider this to be a type plagiarism. The decline of the Associated Press and other news organizations is common knowledge;
one former AP bureau chief explains why in the blog post The AP Headed Toward Mediocrity (https://medium.com/i-m-h-o/74341b8c87b5). Customers frequently complain about
quality issues in media and many have left.
The Associated Press story also implies that
the second doctor/democracy activist (then a medical student), Win Zaw, was
persecuted four years later because he appeared in the dramatic picture
carrying Win Maw Oo. The Burmese military has a sophisticated network of spies
and informants. They knew about Dr. Win Zaw’s activities independent of my
photograph and were oppressing most people involved with the democracy
movement. I’m sad about Win Zaw
being detained for a few days but by Burmese standards what happened was
minor. Why didn’t the Burmese
Military imprison, torture, or kill Dr. Win Zaw? The potential backlash from the media, human
rights groups and governments was too high because he appeared in the iconic
image. The Associated Press' oversimplification of these complex moral issues is
irresponsible. If members of the international press weren’t present in Burma,
the death toll surely would have been greater. I acted honorably and did the right
thing.
I’m idealistic. I work off the theory that by creating
more awareness it is possible to affect positive social change. Most Burmese I encountered knew I was
very important to their cause and wanted me to document the atrocities. It was horrific; they shot a young boy
right between the eyes. What
happened in Burma was one of the great injustices of modern history. The democracy movement hoped the images
would galvanize people within Burma and bring outside support. The Burmese student activists arranged
for me to go with the ambulance carrying Win Zaw and Saw Lwin so I could get
close enough to photograph the people who were killed and wounded near the U.
S. Embassy. If I wasn’t present
there was a greater likelihood of the medical workers being shot. I also rode with other ambulances and
photographed; these people had no problem with me travelling with them. We all were risking our lives for the
sake of the common good.
The final decision
to publish the photograph wasn’t mine; Katherine Graham (deceased) and Richard
Smith of the Washington Post Company made
this decision. If I didn’t
come back with the pictures I would have been fired by most media companies and
drummed out of the profession. Also,
news organizations often refuse to block out the faces of people who might be
endangered. Furthermore, this was
huge news story of great import.
The public’s need to know outweighed everyone’s right to privacy.
At the time the
photograph was made many people believed there would be a split in the military
or foreign intervention. There was active resistance. The weak international
response was shameful and for me a source of great disillusionment. The United
States could have easily stopped the repression in 1988. No one expected it to
take 25 years for Burma to change! The world community stood by and did
nothing. I fault the major news organizations for de-emphasizing such a major
story. Without my photographs it would have been even worse. Sadly, some of the reasons for this are
ethnocentrism and racism, a scourge that has plagued editorial decisions for
years. In journalism a disgusting
adage exists, “for it to be news one white person has to die, 10 Europeans,
100,000 Asians and 500,000 Africans.”
I fought against this horrible attitude and often made decisions to work
in under-reported regions.
For the record, I
wouldn’t allow the Associated Press
to use this iconic photograph because of their exploitative business practices.
These labor issues are arguably as important as what happened in Burma. AP knew the photograph was not in the
public domain, ignored my wishes and went ahead and published the photograph
despite my objections. This deliberate act of theft is unethical. These unfair business practices are a violation
of my copyright and moral rights. Despite
having non-profit status, the Associated
Press is intent on hurting independent photographers and has a long history
of employee rights issues. To
this day, I still believe the death of Associated
Press photographer Hansi Krauss in Somalia was criminally negligent
homicide. It’s strange how my
pictures are stolen and a story that subtly undermines me magically appears
shortly after I whistle blew about health and safety issues in journalism. This
is retaliatory action for my activities as an organizer for artists’ rights. For years, media companies have used
dirty tricks to stop people who have stood up to them. The culture of
journalism must change.
This statement is not a compete recitation of the facts of this matter, nor of any of Steve Lehman
claims or defenses, legal or equitable, all of which are expressly reserved.
Steve Lehman Biography
Steve Lehman is a man
of many interests and talents. He is an American born
interdisciplinary artist whose oeuvre consists of photographs, mixed media,
collages, videos, drawings, designs, writings, sculpture, ceramics, objects,
paintings, installations and conceptual art. He is also an entrepreneur
and Person in Charge of WillyNilly™, a convergence company.
Steve is considered an important artist because he successfully merged fine
art, journalism, anthropology, sociolology, political science, human rights,
and advocacy. He has exhibited in major museums, was one of the
first multimedia journalists, contributed to most major news organizations,
helped spearhead the citizen journalism movement, covered 15
political conflicts (Rwanda, Chechnya, Bosnia, Somalia, Burma, Tibet, etc.),
traveled to 50 countries, conversational in Chinese, graduated from Duke
University and is an Eagle Scout. The work depicted in
his award-winning book The Tibetans: A Struggle to Survive™, was
instrumental in the formation of Free Tibet movement in the
West. His
exclusive coverage of military repression in Burma played a key role effecting
social change in this country.
The Award-Winning Tibetans: A Struggle to
Survive™
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