The Suzuki Cup and Aung San Suu Kyi

The Azkals’2-0 victory over Myanmar on Friday evening in the 2012 Suzuki Cup in Bangkok to secure a semifinals berth can only be described as remarkable. It was the first time in 13 games that the Philippine squad won over the Burmese. Phil Younghusband and Angel Guirado scored in the 47th and 93rd minutes, respectively, to capture a second semifinals berth in Group A.

The Philippines topped Group A competitions with six points after losing to Thailand, 1-2, and edging out Vietnam 1-0, and Myanmar, 2-0. Thailand continued its domination with an immaculate slate of three victories (2-1 versus the Philippines; 4-0 against Myanmar and 3-1 over Vietnam) and nine points. Group B action was fiercer as arch-rivals Malaysia and Singapore ended up with six points apiece on two wins and one loss. Malaysia won over Laos, 4-1 and Indonesia, 2-0. The Singaporeans lost to Indonesia, 1-0; hacked out a 3-0 victory over Malaysia and edged Laos, 4-3.

The Philippines and Singapore meet at the venerable Rizal Memorial Stadium on December 8 and on December 12 at the Jalan Besar Stadium in Singapore to determine the Group A finalist. Group B fireworks start on December 9 when the Malaysians host the Thais at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium and then move on to the Supahalasai Stadium in Bangkok on December 13. The two semifinals’ winners battle for the championship on December 19 and 22.

The ASEAN football championship is sponsored by Suzuki although its officially named the ASEAN Football Federation or AFF Suzuki Cup which has eight ASEAN nations competing. The 2012 championship is the ninth edition of the biennial competitions.

For the Philippines, the road to the semifinals was indeed a long and tortuous one marked by highs and lows. The success of the Azkals, helped tremendously by Filipinos with foreign parentage, has revived a long-dormant sport which has taken the undeserved backseat to basketball. The Azkals performance has finally sparked interest in a local professional league which used to labor under various difficult circumstances for lack of marketability and sustainability.

One interesting personal insight we had while watching the Philippines-Myanmar encounter live on AKTV was our continuing fascination with the developments in Myanmar or Burma. The Myanmar squad was definitely the younger and less experienced side compared to the Philippines and the youngness of the team perhaps exemplifies the tentative and cautious steps the country is taking as it travels the road to democracy.

Almost throughout the match, the images of democracy icon and pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi as played by Hong Kong-based Malaysian actress, Michelle Yeoh in Luc Besson’s movie “The Lady”, came running across our mind. I was continually wondering how those young Burmese players live out their lives in a country which saw thousands of students perish at the hands of Burma’s brutal military rulers in street demonstrations since 1962 and without let up from then on: 1975, 1976, 1977, 1988. Immolation by Buddhist monks in recent years in protest of military rule was seen live on television in recent years.

Incidentally, Yeoh, who played roles in the James Bond film, Tomorrow Never Dies; Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon; Memoirs of Geisha, was deported from Burma allegedly over her portrayal of Suu Kyi in June 2011.

Such brutal repression has led to worldwide condemnation of the military cabal’s systematic and continuing human rights violations ranging from genocide, rape, human trafficking and oppression of free speech and the right to assemble.

On January 4, 1948, the nation gained its independence as the Union of Burma (in 1989, the military changed the country’s name to Myanmar). On March 2, 1962, General Ne Win seized power through a coup d’ etat, a move which merely echoed Burma’s violent political past which saw General Aung San, San Suu Kyi’s father and considered the father of modern-day Burma, assassinated by political rivals in 1947 when “The Lady” was but a two-year old girl.

In 1991, Suu Kyi received the Nobel Prize in absentia. The award was received by her husband, Michael Aris (who died of prostate cancer in 1999) and sons, Alexander and Kim. In the 1990 general election, her National League for Democracy (NLD) won 59% of the national votes and 392 of 485 seats in Parliament. Suu Kyi remained under house arrest for 15 of 21 years since she returned to Burma from England in 1988 to bury her mother. On November 13, 2010, she was released from house arrest.

Back in the mainstream and with economic sanctions removed, Myanmar will host the 27th SEA Games in its new capital, Naypyidaw in 2013, on December 11. Its previous capitals were Mandalay and Rangoon (Yangon). It hosted the Games in 1961 and in 1969 or 44 years ago.