Daw Suu's Letter from Burma #30

[carol@xxxxxxx]

Mainichi Daily News, Monday, June 17, 1996

NLD STRESSES NONVIOLENT PATH TOWARD DEMOCRACY

"Eight years ago"

Letter from Burma (No. 30) by Aung San Suu Kyi

	In Burma the number eight is not generally held to be in any way special,
although as Buddhists most of the people of the country know of the noble
eightfold path and the eight victories of the Lord Buddha.  But eight years
ago, in 1988, the number eight unexpectedly acquired a political
significance.  On the eighth of August of that year, "8-8-88," a general
strike was declared and public demonstrations that had been taking place
throughout the nation for several days took on massive proportions.
Participating in these peaceful demonstrations were people of all ages, from
all the different strata of society: students, farmers, laborers, civil
servants, including members of the armed forces, Buddhist monks, Christians,
Muslims, intellectuals, professionals, businessmen, small traders,
housewives and artists.  Their united demand was for change: They wanted no
more of the authoritarian rule, initiated by a military coup in 1962, that
had impoverished Burma intellectually, politically, morally and economically.
	The discontent that had been simmering in the country for years had come to
a boil in March 1988 after an incident in a tea shop led to the killing of a
university student by members of the security forces, Students held
demonstrations demanding an open investigation into the death, and when it
became evident that these demands would not be met by the authorities more
demonstrations broke out in June.  The country was in ferment and in July U
Ne Win, the chairman of the BSPP, U San Yu, the president, and a number of
the nation's top leaders resigned.  At the dramatic emergency congress where
the resignations were announced the outgoing chairman declared that a
decision should be made as to whether the country should continue under
one-party rule or whether it should opt for a multiparty system.  He also
made the ominous remark that when the army shot, it shot straight.
	Within a matter of days it became sufficiently clear that the new
administration under President U Sein Lwin had no intention of abolishing
one party dictatorship.  The frustrations that the people of Burma had been
holding back for some two decades erupted and they poured out on to the
streets in a great, spontaneous demonstration of their desire for a
governing system that would respect their will.  The movement for democracy
had begun.
	It is never easy to convince those who have acquired power forcibly of the
wisdom of peaceful change.  On the night of Aug. 8 the army moved to crush
the demonstrations, shooting down thousands of unarmed people, including
children, throughout the land.  The killings went on for four days but the
demonstrations continued and the president, U Sein Lwin, resigned.  The next
president, Dr. Maung Maung, was the first head of state Burma had known in
nearly three decades who had not come into government from the ranks of the
military.  For a while the people hoped their demands for democracy would be
met speedily.  However, on Sept. 18 troops once again fired on unarmed
demonstrators and the military took over the country.  The new junta assumed
what has often been described as an Orwellian title: the State Law and Order
Restoration Council or SLORC.
	The SLORC proclaimed that it was not interested in holding on to power for
long and that it would establish multiparty democracy in Burma within a
short period of time.  Political parties were required to register with the
Multiparty Elections Commission which was charged with the responsibility of
organizing free and fair elections.  More than 200 parties registered, among
them the National League for Democracy (NLD).
	From the very beginning the path the NLD had to tread was far from smooth.
The enthusiastic support of the public which led to NLD offices springing up
even in the remotest villages brought upon the party the unfriendly
attention of the authorities.  The SLORC had announced that the military
powers would observe a strictly neutral position but it soon became evident
that the National Unity Party, as the BSPP had decided to restyle itself,
was very much the favored political organization.  Harrassment and
intimidation become everyday matters for members of the NLD.  But we learned
to cope and amidst teething pains our party became stronger by the day.
	In building up the NLD our chief concern was to establish a close, mutually
beneficial relationship with the general public.  We listened to the voice
of the people that our policies might be in harmony with their legitimate
needs and aspirations.  We discussed with them the problem of our country
and explained why in spite of its inevitable flaws, we considered to be
better than other political systems.  Most important of all, we sought to
make them understand why we believed that political change was best achieved
through nonviolent means.

* * * * * * * *
(This article is one of a yearlong series of letters. The Japanese
translation appears in the Mainichi Shimbun the same day, or the previous
day in some areas.)