SUU KYI: INDEPENDENCE SHOULD MEAN B

[altsean@xxxxxxxxxx]

January 3, 1998

MEDIA RELEASE
INDEPENDENCE SHOULD MEAN BETTER HUMAN RIGHTS - SUU KYI

Bangkok: National League for Democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has linked
Burma's 50th anniversary of independence with the 50th anniversary of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

During a recent interview in Rangoon Ms Suu Kyi said: "Independence should
mean greater enjoyment of human rights but unfortunately it has not meant
this in Burma. I think that it should be one of our goals that the 50th year
of our independence should be a year when the people of Burma are able to
enjoy better human rights." Burma celebrates 50 years of independence tomorrow.

In an apparent response to recent attacks on the universality of human
rights, Ms Suu Kyi said: "...Burma was one of the original signatories to
the UDHR and I'm not aware that any Burmese at the time stood up and said
'this is not Asian, this is not Burmese.' If we are only to accept values
that originated in our own region, there can't be any Muslims in Malaysia,
for example, because Islam did not originate from Malaysia, neither can
there be Christians in any part of the world except the Middle East. It just
doesn't make sense."

Ms Suu Kyi was confident that there would be a democratically elected
government in Burma in the "not too distant" future: "We've already had
democracy in Burma. When we became independent we were a democratic nation
 ... these were the years Burma was considered one of the nations most likely
to succeed in Asia. I think democracy did us a lot of good.

"What we want is a liberal, practising democracy. A democracy where there
will be regular elections, where the people are in a position to freely
change the government if they feel that it is not acting for their benefit,
and a system that is strong enough to withstand whatever crises the nation
might have to face.

"I know that democracy will not mean the end of our problems but I would
like democracy to mean a country which is strong enough, liberal enough and
sensible enough to cope with whatever problems that arise without (causing)
undue harm to the people," Ms Suu Kyi emphasised.

Ms Suu Kyi expressed appreciation for the support of other pro-democracy
political parties in Burma, some of which have been de-registered by the
military regime. "It not only shows their dedication to democracy but it
also demonstrates the generosity of their spirit ... they are very
supportive of what we are doing because they know we are all working towards
the same goal."

The Nobel Laureate also hoped that 1998 would see the international
community taking concerted action to implement the terms of the General
Assembly resolution on Burma which was adopted unanimously by consensus. "It
means that every member of the UN has a duty to try to implement its terms.
We don't want the present situation to continue where it seems that Asean is
pulling one way and the United States is pulling another way and the EU is
pulling somewhere in the direction of the US, and Japan is pulling in the
direction of Asean."

ENDS

For more information, please contact:
Bangkok tel. (66 2) 275 1811, tel/fax (66 2) 693 4515 or email
<altsean@xxxxxxxxxx>
A L T S E A N - B U R M A
ALTERNATIVE ASEAN NETWORK ON BURMA
*tel: [662] 275 1811/693 4515 *fax: [662] 693 4515 *e-mail: altsean@xxxxxxxxxx
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