BKKPOST:Jun19 Suu Kii's pledge

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Subject:BKKPOST:Jun19 Suu Kii's pledge
Date: 20 Jun 1994 17:26:14 +1000
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Sunday Perspective
Suu Kyi's remarkable pledge to democracy


Today, Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been under house arrest in
Rangoon for nearly five years, celebrates her 49th birthday. AUNG
ZAW takes a look at her remarkable commitment to the struggle for
democracy in Burma.

O N July 19, 1947, six months before Burma's independence from the
British, a military jeep entered the Secretariat Building in
Rangoon where a Cabinet meeting was being held. Gunfire was heard:
Gen Aung San and his cabinet ministers had been assassinated.

On that fateful day, Burma lost not only Gen Aung San but also
other leaders who had won the trust and respect of not only the
Burmans but also the Shan, Kachin, Mon, Karen.

In March 1988, Aung San Suu Kyi, daughter of Aung San, returned to
Burma from her home in Britain to nurse Daw Khin Kyi, her mother,
who was dying in Rangoon. The country was in turmoil: Students
were leading demonstrations, there were indiscriminate killings in
the streets, and the people were calling for an end to one-man
rule.

Before the events of 1988, Suu Kyi had told her husband, British
Tibetologist Michael Aris, that if Burma ever needed her, she
would heed the call. Suu Kyi and Michael have two teen-age sons
who live with their father in England.

After she entered politics, repeated smear-campaigns were launched
by Khin Nyunt's military intelligence services. They said she is
married to a Briton and knows nothing about Burma's politics
because she had been living abroad.

In Suu Kyi's first public speech, at Shwedagon Pagoda, she said,
"Some people have been saying that I know nothing of Burmese
politics, but the trouble is that I know too much. My family knows
best how complicated and tricky Burmese politics can be and how
much my father had to suffer on this account." Some believe that
she had to shoulder her father's unfinished obligation to Burma.

Living in India with her mother, the Burmese ambassador to India,
Suu Kyi was an admirer of Mahatama Gandhi and believed in his
principles of non-violence. In one famous incident during the NLD
campaign in the Irrawaddy Delta in 1989, she was stopped by
soldiers who were prepared to shoot her if she continued her walk.
She did not stop and the soldiers did not pull the trigger.

In February 1994, Suu Kyi was visited by US Congressman Bill
Richardson, UN representatives in Burma and a journalist. This
move, most analysts said, was nothing more than a Slorc public
relations exercise.

During the February visit, her detention was extended to another
year, but according to Aung San Suu Kyi, she had known about this
since January 1994. "I told them [Slorc] they could not do that.
They explained that under the law, the `Central Committee' (which
I had never heard of) made the decision to put me away from the
initial year," Aung San Suu Kyi told her visitors. "I do not
recognise the legitimacy of the law under which I'm being held --
it is totally unjust," she added. Suu Kyi has received more than
20 prizes, including the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize.

Even though the military accused her of being married to a
foreigner, Suu Kyi has kept her Burmese citizenship. Some of Suu's
friends recalled Suu Kyi as a disciplinarian. One of her friends
wrote in an article, "She never forgot that she was her father's
daughter." Suu Kyi told her friend, "Our father's principles are
etched on our psyches." While at Oxford, Suu Kyi wore a
traditional Burmese sarong.

When she reappeared in the news magazines with one of her
visitors, Congressman Richardson, she was thinner than before and
the fresh smile had gone. However, she is still committed to
democracy and is still challenging the country's self-appointed
military rulers. When asked about her health by her visitors, Suu
Kyi replied, "not too bad," though she also said that she is
suffering from spondylosis, a degenerative disease of the spine.

Despite her condition, she still argued passionately about her
country, her people, the democracy movement, the importance of
international pressure, unity among the opposition and a genuine
dialogue between the Slorc generals and herself.

"I think of people everyday, including my colleagues in the NLD."
Suu Kyi said. "The only answer to Burma's problem is dialogue. I
am ready anytime, but they don't seem terribly keen. I don't know
why," Suu Kyi told her visitors.

Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt, the military intelligence chief, refuses to see
her. His reason: he needs to consult with other military leaders.

The 1988 pro-democracy movement lacked a clear leader, but after
the emergence of the NLD and Aung San Suu Kyi in 1989, the
movement gained ground. Throughout Burma all and sundry supported
Suu Kyi. Her message to the people was clear: Democracy through
disciple and non-violent struggle.

An observer said, "The movement of 1989 was in many ways more
significant than the upheaval of 1988. During 1989, Suu Kyi and
her party posed a major threat to the totalitarian regime." The
military feared not only the people but also her stature as the
daughter of Aung San, the founder of the Burmese Army.

On July 20, 1989, Suu Kyi was put under house arrest, NLD
headquarters was stormed by troops, and thousands of NLD members
were rounded up and thrown into jail. Since then, she has been cut
off from the outside world.

Despite her party being leaderless, the NLD won a landslide
victory in the 1990 general elections. The military regime, which
promised to hand over power to the elected representatives after
the elections, is still in power, and the remaining NLD members
were forced to expel her from the party.

T oday, she reads books on politics, biography and religion. She
wakes up at 4.30 am, meditates, listens to the radio and
exercises. Asked about her isolation, Suu Kyi said, "Being alone
is no problem. I do, though, worry about other people."

Slorc, on the other hand, does not seem willing to release her in
the near future. Its leaders repeatedly tell the world that Suu
Kyi can leave the country anytime. "...the principle of trying to
drive someone out of their own country is totally unacceptable,"
Suu Kyi replied through her visitors.

She said, "When I joined the democracy movement, I made few
promises, but one I did make was that I would like to work for the
movement until we achieve our goal." At her mother's funeral, Suu
Kyi promised, "I vow to stay in my motherland and work unceasingly
with all nationalities in accordance with the guidelines laid down
by my father to maintain the sovereignty of our country, to bring
development to all nationalities and to establish democracy."