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AP-Myanmar Women Told To Put Up Fig



Subject: AP-Myanmar Women Told To Put Up Fight

Saturday June 19 4:35 PM ET
Myanmar Women Told To Put Up Fight

BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) - Embattled opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi
encouraged Myanmar women to fight for democracy in a statement released
Saturday on Women of Burma Day, an unofficial holiday that coincides with
the activist's birthday.

``There is a great need for our women of Burma to use their capabilities to
bring democracy and human rights to our country,'' Suu Kyi said in her
statement, which was received in Bangkok.

Although not recognized as a national holiday, Women of Burma Day was
created by Suu Kyi's supporters as a way to celebrate the struggles and
achievements of the country's women.

Myanmar, which has been ruled by the military since 1962, is also known as
Burma. Suu Kyi, the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize winner, spent six years under
house arrest from 1989-95 for her role in trying to restore democracy to the
Southeast Asian nation.

Suu Kyi delivered her statement Friday to members of her political party,
the National League for Democracy, at its headquarters in Myanmar's capital,
Yangon.

``It is no longer possible even for housewives to keep out of politics,
because politics has invaded the traditional domain of housewives,'' Suu Kyi
said. ``The root cause of upward spiraling commodity prices, greatly
increased charges for electricity and rising costs of education and health
care is a political one.''

Suu Kyi and many economists have blamed the military government for economic
mismanagement that has plunged the resource-rich country into poverty. Power
cuts are a daily occurrence.

The government spends nearly half its budget on defense, while
appropriations for health care and education have steadily dwindled during
the past decade.

On Saturday, which was her 54th birthday, Suu Kyi spent the day giving food
to Buddhist monks, as she customarily does on the 19th of each month to
honor her late father and Myanmar's independence leader, Aung San. He was
assassinated by political rivals on July 19, 1947, along with six members of
his Cabinet.

In Bangkok, more than 20 women from Myanmar protested against military rule
in front of the Myanmar Embassy. Dressed in traditional sarongs, they
chanted anti-military slogans.


In her statement, Suu Kyi also addressed women who have fled the country to
avoid campaigns by the army. More than 100,000 refugees from Myanmar, mostly
ethnic minorities, have been living in camps in Thailand for several years.

``We are working hard so that you may be able to come back soon to a Burma
that will be a refuge for all our ethnic nationalities,'' she said. ``Please
do not lose heart.''