Burma Behind the Mask - No Laughing Matter

Humour is a staple of life, especially so when living conditions are tough, as they have been for as long as anyone can remember in Burma. Until four years ago, relief from life's daily drudgery came in the form of a travelling troupe of burlesque and vaudeville performers from Mandalay called The Moustache Brothers.

This family of comedians, dancers, musicians and storytellers went from temple fairs to weddings to Buddhist festivals performing this lively art form called a-nyeint thoughout the country. Whole villages turned up for their all-night performances.

Par Par Lay and his brother Lu Maw were masters of improvisation and satire, often interrupting the traditional dance segments with lively comedy routines full of improvised material about news of the day - from the recruiting of tribal girls for prostitution to the increasing price of cooking oil. Their short skits, in garish folk costumes, dealt with small incidents in everyday life which affected ordinary people.

The Moustache Brothers knew they were walking a fine line between art and politics. But they saw theira-nyeint performances as a safe public outlet for the people's frustrations with "the SLORC dictators who give each other medals down in Rangoon", as one ex-performer, now in exile, put it.

Then came the Independence Day performance on Jan. 7, 1996 which brought a centuries-old cultural life-line to an abrupt end.

On that day, the Moustache Brothers gained unwanted notoriety when older brother Par Par Lay was arrested and dragged out of his bed in the middle of the night following a performance at the compound of their close friend Aung San Suu Kyi.

As Burma's most famousa-nyeint troupe, the Moustache Brothers had been warned to steer clear of any political commentary, no matter how subtle, in their routines. Thousands showed up despite intimidating SLORC guards surrounding the compound.

His crime was to tell a joke on the government which is still making the rounds at tea shops: In one skit Par Par Lay plays an insurgent who refuses to die, no matter how many times he is shot at by a general. In Burmese, the word for "hit" also means "right". When the general demands that he die because he has been hit, Par Par Lay acts confused, retorting, "Why should I die if I'm right?!"

The last straw for the fuming generals was a passing reference to the corrupted effort at socialising the economy: "In the past, thieves were called thieves. Now they are known as cooperative workers."

He has since been sentenced to 7-years' hard labour at a remote prison camp. His famous joke has taken on a terrible personal poignancy as he fights for his life.

Reports from former fellow inmates suggest he is in failing health, sustained only by unflavoured rice porridge. His hair and famous moustache have been shaved to humiliate him.