A Letter From the Publisher

By Robert L. Miller

For the past several weeks, Hong Kong Bureau Chief William Stewart and Photographer Sandro Tucci have been the only Western journalists in Burma. In normal times that would not be surprising: since the country's last democratic government was ousted in a 1962 coup, Burma has been virtually closed to visiting foreign correspondents. Yet during the past six months that benighted land has become one of the hottest news stories in the world, as thousands of dissident students, housewives, monks, civil servants and even police have taken to the streets in an attempt to topple the government and restore democracy.

Earlier this summer Stewart had tried several methods of gaining access to Burma. These included pleading with Burmese embassy officials in neighboring Thailand for a visa, looking into chartering a plane to take him and Tucci secretly into the capital, and even contacting tribal chieftains inside Burma to guide them through their territory on foot. This month Stewart and Tucci finally made it into Rangoon, the capital, by means they prefer, for the moment, to keep to themselves.

Once in Burma they tried to keep a low profile, not an easy assignment for two tall foreigners such as British-born Stewart and Tucci, an Italian citizen. "Trying to blend in proved impossible," says Stewart. "But the crowds were so receptive to our questions and cameras that any fears quickly faded. People shook our hands and gave us flowers."

Stewart and Tucci stayed at Rangoon's stately turn-of-the-century Strand Hotel, which was taken over by its workers after the turmoil began last month. The pair got to know the entire staff quickly: they were the only guests, the usual trickle of foreign tourists having vanished. Both men admit they owe a great debt to their hotel "family," who watched over their well-being by maintaining a vigilant security operation and scrounging for food for them. As one staff member told them, "If the police come here, we'll chop them."

Stewart's journalistic career has taken him through wars and upheavals in Viet Nam, India and the Middle East, yet he considers the Burma rebellion unique. "This is the first genuinely popular revolt I have ever witnessed," he says. "The people here have faced armed force with moral force and given the world a lesson in courage." A lesson that Stewart and Tucci, alone among the Western press, have been on hand to record.