Aung San Suu Kyi born 19 June 1945 in Yangon (Rangoon), is a pro-democracy activist and leader of the National League for Democracy in Myanmar, and a noted prisoner of conscience and advocate of nonviolent resistance. A Buddhist, Suu Kyi won the Rafto Prize and the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought in 1990 and in 1991 was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her peaceful and non-violent struggle under a military dictatorship. She is currently under detention, with the Myanmar government repeatedly extending her detention. According to the results of the 1990 general election, Suu Kyi earned the right to be Prime Minister, as leader of the winning National League for Democracy party, but her detention by the military junta prevented her from assuming that role.
She is frequently called Daw Aung San Suu Kyi; Daw is not part of her name, but an honorific similar to madam for older, revered women, literally meaning "aunt".
Personal Life
Aung San Suu Kyi was born on 19 June 1945. Her father, Aung San, negotiated Burma's independence from the United Kingdom in 1947, and was assassinated by his rivals in the same year. She grew up with her mother, Khin Kyi, and two brothers, Aung San Lin and Aung San U in Rangoon. Aung San Lin drowned in a pool accident when Suu Kyi was eight. Suu Kyi was educated in English Catholic schools for much of her childhood in Burma.
Khin Kyi (Ma Khin Kyi) gained prominence as a political figure in the newly-formed Burmese government. Ma Khin Kyi was appointed as Burmese ambassador to India in 1960, and Aung San Suu Kyi followed her there, graduating from Lady Shri Ram College in New Delhi in 1964.
She continued her education at St Hugh's College, Oxford, obtaining a B.A. degree in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics in 1969 and a PhD at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London in 1985. She also worked for the Government of the Union of Myanmar. In 1972, Aung San Suu Kyi married Dr. Michael Aris, a scholar of Tibetan culture, living abroad in Bhutan. The following year she gave birth to her first son, Alexander, in London; and in 1977 she had her second son, Kim.
Political Life
Aung San Suu Kyi returned to Burma in 1988 to take care of her ailing mother. By coincidence, in that year, the long-time leader of the socialist ruling party, General Ne Win, stepped down, leading to mass demonstrations for democratisation on August 8, 1988 (8-8-88, a day seen as favorable), which were violently suppressed. A new military junta took power.
Heavily influenced by Mahatma Gandhi's philosophy of non-violence, Aung San Suu Kyi entered politics to work for democratisation, helped found the National League for Democracy on 27 September 1988, and was put under house arrest on 20 July 1989. She was offered freedom if she would leave the country, but she refused.
One of her most famous speeches is the "Freedom From Fear" speech, which begins:
‘It is not power that corrupts but fear. Fear of losing power corrupts those who wield it and fear of the scourge of power corrupts those who are subject to it’.
Detention in Myanmar
In 1990, the military junta called a general election, which the National League for Democracy won decisively. Being the NLD's candidate, Aung San Suu Kyi under normal circumstances would have assumed the office of Prime Minister. Instead, the results were nullified, and the military refused to hand over power. This resulted in an international outcry.
Aung San Suu Kyi was placed under house arrest. During her arrest, she was awarded the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought in 1990, and the Nobel Peace Prize the year after. Her sons Alexander and Kim accepted the Nobel Peace Prize on her behalf. Aung San Suu Kyi used the Nobel Peace Prize's 1.3 million USD prize money to establish a health and education trust for the Burmese people.
The military government released Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest in July 1995 but made it clear that if she left the country to visit her family in the United Kingdom, it would not allow her return. When her husband, Michael Aris, a British citizen, was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1997, the Burmese government denied him an entry visa. Aung San Suu Kyi remained in Burma, and never again saw her husband, who died in March 1999. She remains separated from her children, who live in the United Kingdom.
The junta continually prevented Aung San Suu Kyi from meeting with her party supporters or international visitors. In 1998, academic and journalist Maurizio Giuliano, after holding several meetings with her, was asked to leave the country and not allowed to enter again. In September 2000, the junta put her under house arrest again. On 6 May 2002, following secret confidence-building negotiations led by the United Nations, the government released her; a government spokesman said that she was free to move "because we are confident that we can trust each other". Aung San Suu Kyi proclaimed "a new dawn for the country". However on 30 May 2003, a government-sponsored mob attacked her caravan in the northern village of Depayin, murdering and wounding many of her supporters. Aung San Suu Kyi fled the scene with the help of her driver, Ko Kyaw Soe Lin, but was arrested upon reaching Ye-U. The government imprisoned her at Insein Prison in Yangon. After she underwent a hysterectomy in September 2003, the government again placed her under house arrest in Yangon.
In March 2004, Razali Ismail, UN special envoy to Myanmar, met with Aung San Suu Kyi. Ismail resigned from his post the following year, partly because he was denied re-entry to Myanmar on several occasions.
On 28 May 2004, the United Nations Working Group for Arbitrary Detention rendered an Opinion (No. 9 of 2004) that her deprivation of liberty was arbitrary, as being in contravention of Article 9 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948, and requested that the authorities in Burma set her free, but the authorities have so far ignored this request.
On 28 November 2005, the National League for Democracy confirmed that Suu Kyi's house arrest would be extended for yet another year. Many Western countries, as well as the United Nations, have expressed their disapproval of this latest extension.
On 20 May 2006, Ibrahim Gambari, UN Undersecretary-General (USG) of Department of Political Affairs, met with Aung San Suu Kyi, the first visit by a foreign official since 2004. Suu Kyi's house arrest term was set to expire 27 May 2006, but the Burmese government extended it for another year, flouting a direct appeal from U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan to Than Shwe. Suu Kyi continues to be imprisoned under the 1975 State Protection Act (Article 10 b), which grants the government the power to imprison persons for up to five years without a trial.
On 9 June 2006, Suu Kyi was hospitalised with severe diarrhea and weakness, as reported by a UN representative for National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma. Such claims were rejected by Major-General Khin Yi, the national police chief of Myanmar.
On 11 November 2006, USG Gambari, who was undertaking a mission to Myanmar for four days to encourage greater respect for human rights there, met with Suu Kyi. According to Gambari, Suu Kyi seems in good health but she wishes to meet her doctor more regularly.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has urged the Burmese government to release Aung San Suu Kyi, as it released 2,831 prisoners, including 40 political prisoners, on 1 January 2007.
On 18 January 2007, the state-run paper The New Light of Myanmar accused Suu Kyi of tax evasion for spending her Nobel Prize money outside of the country. The accusation followed the defeat of a US-sponsored United Nations Security Council resolution condemning Myanmar as a threat to international security.
On 25 May 2007, Myanmar extended Suu Kyi's detention for yet another year which would keep her confined to her residence for a fifth straight year. On 1 October 2007, in relation to rising political unrest in Myanmar, a United Nations emissary spent over an hour meeting with her within her guarded residence.
International support
World leaders
On May 16, 2007, 59 world leaders released a letter demanding Myanmar's military government free Suu Kyi and other political prisoners. The signatories include all three surviving former US presidents, Jimmy Carter, George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton; the former UK prime minister, Margaret Thatcher; Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and former President of Poland, Lech Wałęsa; as well as Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and former South Korean president, Kim Dae-jung, amongst many others.
After her confinement was again extended, current Secretary General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon said in a statement that "the sooner restrictions on Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and other political figures are lifted, the sooner Burma will be able to move towards inclusive national reconciliation, and the restoration of democracy and full respect for human rights."
On May 30, 2007, the Philippine government led members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in calling on Myanmar's military leaders to reverse their decision to extend the house arrest of democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. In a statement, Philippine foreign affairs secretary said "The Philippines joins the call for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and all political prisoners [in Myanmar]."
"The Philippines deeply regrets the Myanmar government's decision to extend her house arrest. We urge the Myanmar government to reconsider its decision."
It was the first time that a Philippine government official has called on all other Asian leaders to rally behind Aung San Suu Kyi.
On June 17, 2007, Aung San Suu Kyi's 62nd birthday, Senators Mitch McConnell and Diane Feinstein in the United States Senate urged the continuation of trade sanctions on the Myanmar government. In a statement, McConnell said "The best gift we can give Suu Kyi on this day is to continue to urge the international community to press for her immediate and unconditional release, as well as the release of all prisoners of conscience."
In his book, "Courage: Eight Portraits" (Bloomsbury), British Prime Minister Gordon Brown states: "So Suu Kyi's courage is the courage to sacrifice her own happiness and a comfortable life so that, through her struggle, she might win the right of an entire nation to seek happy and comfortable lives. It is the absolute expression of selflessness. Paradoxically, in sacrificing her own liberty, she strengthens its cry and bolsters its claim for the people she represents."
Nobel Peace Prize
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991. The decision of the Nobel Committee mentions:
“ The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 1991 to Aung San Suu Kyi of Myanmar (Burma) for her non-violent struggle for democracy and human rights.
...Suu Kyi's struggle is one of the most extraordinary examples of civil courage in Asia in recent decades. She has become an important symbol in the struggle against oppression...
...In awarding the Nobel Peace Prize for 1991 to Aung San Suu Kyi, the Norwegian Nobel Committee wishes to honour this woman for her unflagging efforts and to show its support for the many people throughout the world who are striving to attain democracy, human rights and ethnic conciliation by peaceful means. ”
— Oslo, October 14, 1991
Nations
On December 2, 2004, the United States pressured the Myanmar government to release Aung San Suu Kyi after the announcement that her house arrest would be extended.
On June 17, 2005, there were protests outside Burmese embassies in several countries in recognition of Suu Kyi's 60th birthday, which took place on June 19, 2005. The protests received international attention.
In late November 2005, the United States again returned to diplomatic pressure, this time in the United Nations Security Council, strongly urging multilateral action to address the "deteriorating situation" in Myanmar, requesting to put it into the official agenda docket. This action was due largely to a reinstatement of Aung San Suu Kyi's house arrest, an extension of precisely one year. In September 2006, the United Nations Security Council voted to place Myanmar on the council's agenda.
Organizations
Freedom Now, a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit organization, was retained in 2006 by a member of her family to help secure Aung San Suu Kyi's release from house arrest. The organization successfully secure a positive judgment from the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention and has been conducting political and public relations advocacy on her behalf.
Aung San Suu Kyi has been an honorary board member of International IDEA and ARTICLE 19 since her detention, and has received support from these organisations.
The Vrije Universiteit Brussel, located in Belgium, has granted her the title of Doctor Honoris Causa.
In June of each year, the US Campaign for Burma organizes hundreds of "Arrest Yourself" house parties around the world in support of Aung San Suu Kyi. At these parties, the organizers keep themselves under house arrest for 24 hours, invite their friends, and learn more about Burma and Aung San Suu Kyi.
The Freedom Campaign, a joint effort between the Human Rights Action Center and US Campaign for Burma, looks to raise worldwide attention to the struggles of Aung San Suu Kyi and the people of Burma.
St. Hugh's College, Oxford, where she studied, had a Burmese theme for their annual ball in support of her in 2006.
Aung San Suu Kyi is the official patron of The Rafto Human Rights House in Bergen, Norway. She received the Thorolf Rafto Memorial Prize in 1990.
She was made an honorary free person of the City of Dublin, Ireland in November 1999, although a space has been left on the roll of signatures to symbolize her continued detention.
The Bommersvik Declarations
In Bommersvik, Sweden, in 1995 and 2002, two conventions of the Elected Representatives of the Union of Burma took place and the following two landmark declarations were issued;
Bommersvik Declaration I
In 1995, during the first convention that lasted from 16-23 July, the Representatives issued the Bommersvik Declaration I:
“ We, the representatives of the people of Burma, elected in the 27 May 1990 general elections, meeting at the First Convention of Elected Representatives from the liberated areas of Burma, hereby - Warmly welcome the unconditional release of 1991 Nobel Peace laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi on 10 July 1995; Thank all who have worked tirelessly and consistently for the release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the cause of democracy in Burma; Applaud Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's determination, in spite of having spent 6 years under house arrest, to continue to work to bring true democracy to Burma; Welcome Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's return to politics to take up the mantle of her father, General Aung San, in Burma's second struggle for independence;... ”
— The Elected Representatives of the Union of Burma
Bommersvik Declaration II
In 2002, during the second convention that lasted from 25 February to the 1st of March, the Representatives issued the Bommersvik Declaration II:
“ We, the representatives of the people of Burma, elected in the 27 May 1990 general elections presently serving as members of the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma and/or the Members of Parliament Union, meeting at the Convention of Elected Representatives held in Bommersvik for the second time, hereby reaffirm - Our Mandate, Position, and Strategic Objectives - that we will never ignore the will of the Burmese people expressed through the May 1990 general elections; - that the military’s refusal to honor the election results does not in any way diminish the validity of these results..... ”
— The Elected Representatives of the Union of Burma
2007 anti-government protests
Main article: 2007 Burmese anti-government protests
Protests led by Buddhist monks began on 19 August 2007 following steep fuel price increases, and continued each day, despite the threat of a crackdown by the military.
On Saturday, 22 September 2007, although still under house arrest, Suu Kyi made a brief public appearance at the gate of her residence in Yangon to accept the blessings of Buddhist monks who were marching in support of human rights.
On 23 September, Reuters reported that, according to well placed sources, as a consequence of her appearance, Suu Kyi was moved to the notorious Insein Prison (where she was last detained in 2003) a day after her meeting with the monks. This report has been corroborated by a 28 September article appearing in The Australian in which it is mentioned that the head of Burma's government-in-exile, Sein Win, said that Suu Kyi has been at Insein since Sunday. If the reports are true, removing Suu Kyi from her lakeside residence would represent an attempt by the junta to deprive the protesters of focusing on their leader.
On 28 September, diplomatic sources told The Irrawaddy that Suu Kyi was being held at Yemon Military Camp near Rangoon, and that preparations were being made for her to meet with Vice Senior General Maung Aye.
Other sources assert that removal from her home is currently unlikely, as the military has recently blocked off the road with barbed wire barricades and riot police armed with machine guns
Books
Authored
• Letters from Burma (1998) with Fergal Keane ISBN 978-0140264036
• The Voice of Hope (1998) with Alan Clements, ISBN 978-1888363838
• Freedom from Fear and Other Writings (1995) with Vaclav Havel, Desmond M. Tutu, and Michael Aris, ISBN 978-0140253177
• Der Weg zur Freiheit (1999) with U Kyi Maung, U Tin Oo, ISBN 978-3404614356
• Letter to Daniel: Despatches from the Heart (1996) by Fergal Keane, foreword by Aung San Suu Kyi, edited by Tony Grant ISBN 978-0140262896
• Burma's Revolution of the Spirit: The Struggle for Democratic Freedom and Dignity (1994) with Alan Clements, Leslie Kean, The Dalai Lama, Sein Win ISBN 978-0893815806
• Aung San of Burma: A Biographical Portrait by His Daughter (1991) ISBN 978-1870838801, 2nd edition 1995
• Aung San (Leaders of Asia Series) (1990) ISBN 978-9990288834
• Burma and India: Some aspects of intellectual life under colonialism (1990) ISBN 978-8170231349
• Bhutan (Let's Visit Series) (1986) ISBN 978-0222010995
• Nepal (Let's Visit Series) (1985) ISBN 978-0222009814
• Burma (Let's Visit Series) (1985) ISBN 978-0222009791
Edited
• Tibetan Studies in Honour of Hugh Richardson. Edited by Michael Aris and Aung San Suu Kyi. (1979). Vikas Publishing house, New Delhi.
Mentioned in
• Aung San Suu Kyi (Modern Peacemakers) (2007) by Judy L. Hasday, ISBN 978-0791094358
• The Lady: Aung San Suu Kyi: Nobel Laureate and Burma's Prisoner (2002) by Barbara Victor, ISBN 978-0571211777, or 1998 hardcover: ISBN 978-0571199440
• The Perfect Hostage: A Life of Aung San Suu Kyi (2007) by Justin Wintle, ISBN 978-0091796815
• Tyrants: The World's 20 Worst Living Dictators (2006) by David Wallechinsky, ISBN 978-0060590048
• Aung San Suu Kyi (Trailblazers of the Modern World) (2004) by William Thomas, ISBN 978-0836852639
• No Logo: No Space, No Choice, No Jobs (2002) by Naomi Klein ISBN 978-0312421434
• Mental culture in Burmese crisis politics: Aung San Suu Kyi and the National League for Democracy (ILCAA Study of Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa Monograph Series) (1999) by Gustaaf Houtman, ISBN 978-4872977486
• Aung San Suu Kyi: Standing Up for Democracy in Burma (Women Changing the World) (1998) by Bettina Ling ISBN 978-1558611979
• Aung San Suu Kyi: Fearless Voice of Burma (Newsmakers Biographies Series) (1997) by Whitney Stewart, ISBN 978-0822549314
• Prisoner for Peace: Aung San Suu Kyi and Burma's Struggle for Democracy (Champions of Freedom Series) (1994) by John Parenteau, ISBN 978-1883846053
• Des femmes prix Nobel de Marie Curie à Aung San Suu Kyi, 1903-1991 (1992) by Charlotte Kerner, Nicole Casanova, Gidske Anderson, ISBN 978-2721004277
• Aung San Suu Kyi, towards a new freedom (1998) by Chin Geok Ang ISBN 978-9814024303
• Aung San Suu Kyi's struggle: Its principles and strategy (1997) by Mikio Oishi ISBN 978-9839861068
• Finding George Orwell in Burma (2004) by Emma Larkin ISBN 0143037110
Awards
• Thorolf Rafto Memorial Prize (1990)
• Sakharov Prize (1991)
• Nobel Peace Prize (1991)
• Eleanor Roosevelt Award for Human Rights
• Presidential Medal of Freedom (2000)
• Jawaharlal Nehru Award
• Olof Palme Prize
• Companions of the Order of Australia
Popular media
• She was featured prominently in John Boorman's 1995 film Beyond Rangoon, starring Patricia Arquette. Suu Kyi was played by Adele Lutz, the former wife of the musician David Byrne.
• The jazz saxophonist Wayne Shorter named one of his compositions after her. The piece is best known from the 1997 Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter duet album, 1 + 1.
• The Irish rock band U2's 2001 single "Walk On" was about and dedicated to Aung San Suu Kyi. The multi-artist 2004 compilation album For The Lady, which featured "Walk On", was banned by the junta.[40] During Vertigo Tour concerts in London and Glasgow (June 19 and June 21, 2005 respectively), U2 dedicated performances of "Running to Stand Still" to her. Other artists, including Black Eyed Peas, Coldplay, Damien Rice, and R.E.M. have also publicly supported Aung San Suu Kyi's cause.
• She was featured prominently in the music video for Damien Rice's collaboration with Lisa Hannigan, "Unplayed Piano", which was written for Suu Kyi after a visit to her, from Rice, in July 2004.
• In 2003's MTV Europe Music Awards in Edinburgh, Scotland, she was given the "Free Your Mind" award.
• In a list compiled by the magazine New Statesman in 2006, she was voted as the number one "Hero of our time".
• On 28 August 2007 Jim Carrey released a video on YouTube on behalf of the U.S. Campaign for Burma to raise awareness
Source - Wikipedia
She is frequently called Daw Aung San Suu Kyi; Daw is not part of her name, but an honorific similar to madam for older, revered women, literally meaning "aunt".
Personal Life
Aung San Suu Kyi was born on 19 June 1945. Her father, Aung San, negotiated Burma's independence from the United Kingdom in 1947, and was assassinated by his rivals in the same year. She grew up with her mother, Khin Kyi, and two brothers, Aung San Lin and Aung San U in Rangoon. Aung San Lin drowned in a pool accident when Suu Kyi was eight. Suu Kyi was educated in English Catholic schools for much of her childhood in Burma.
Khin Kyi (Ma Khin Kyi) gained prominence as a political figure in the newly-formed Burmese government. Ma Khin Kyi was appointed as Burmese ambassador to India in 1960, and Aung San Suu Kyi followed her there, graduating from Lady Shri Ram College in New Delhi in 1964.
She continued her education at St Hugh's College, Oxford, obtaining a B.A. degree in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics in 1969 and a PhD at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London in 1985. She also worked for the Government of the Union of Myanmar. In 1972, Aung San Suu Kyi married Dr. Michael Aris, a scholar of Tibetan culture, living abroad in Bhutan. The following year she gave birth to her first son, Alexander, in London; and in 1977 she had her second son, Kim.
Political Life
Aung San Suu Kyi returned to Burma in 1988 to take care of her ailing mother. By coincidence, in that year, the long-time leader of the socialist ruling party, General Ne Win, stepped down, leading to mass demonstrations for democratisation on August 8, 1988 (8-8-88, a day seen as favorable), which were violently suppressed. A new military junta took power.
Heavily influenced by Mahatma Gandhi's philosophy of non-violence, Aung San Suu Kyi entered politics to work for democratisation, helped found the National League for Democracy on 27 September 1988, and was put under house arrest on 20 July 1989. She was offered freedom if she would leave the country, but she refused.
One of her most famous speeches is the "Freedom From Fear" speech, which begins:
‘It is not power that corrupts but fear. Fear of losing power corrupts those who wield it and fear of the scourge of power corrupts those who are subject to it’.
Detention in Myanmar
In 1990, the military junta called a general election, which the National League for Democracy won decisively. Being the NLD's candidate, Aung San Suu Kyi under normal circumstances would have assumed the office of Prime Minister. Instead, the results were nullified, and the military refused to hand over power. This resulted in an international outcry.
Aung San Suu Kyi was placed under house arrest. During her arrest, she was awarded the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought in 1990, and the Nobel Peace Prize the year after. Her sons Alexander and Kim accepted the Nobel Peace Prize on her behalf. Aung San Suu Kyi used the Nobel Peace Prize's 1.3 million USD prize money to establish a health and education trust for the Burmese people.
The military government released Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest in July 1995 but made it clear that if she left the country to visit her family in the United Kingdom, it would not allow her return. When her husband, Michael Aris, a British citizen, was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1997, the Burmese government denied him an entry visa. Aung San Suu Kyi remained in Burma, and never again saw her husband, who died in March 1999. She remains separated from her children, who live in the United Kingdom.
The junta continually prevented Aung San Suu Kyi from meeting with her party supporters or international visitors. In 1998, academic and journalist Maurizio Giuliano, after holding several meetings with her, was asked to leave the country and not allowed to enter again. In September 2000, the junta put her under house arrest again. On 6 May 2002, following secret confidence-building negotiations led by the United Nations, the government released her; a government spokesman said that she was free to move "because we are confident that we can trust each other". Aung San Suu Kyi proclaimed "a new dawn for the country". However on 30 May 2003, a government-sponsored mob attacked her caravan in the northern village of Depayin, murdering and wounding many of her supporters. Aung San Suu Kyi fled the scene with the help of her driver, Ko Kyaw Soe Lin, but was arrested upon reaching Ye-U. The government imprisoned her at Insein Prison in Yangon. After she underwent a hysterectomy in September 2003, the government again placed her under house arrest in Yangon.
In March 2004, Razali Ismail, UN special envoy to Myanmar, met with Aung San Suu Kyi. Ismail resigned from his post the following year, partly because he was denied re-entry to Myanmar on several occasions.
On 28 May 2004, the United Nations Working Group for Arbitrary Detention rendered an Opinion (No. 9 of 2004) that her deprivation of liberty was arbitrary, as being in contravention of Article 9 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948, and requested that the authorities in Burma set her free, but the authorities have so far ignored this request.
On 28 November 2005, the National League for Democracy confirmed that Suu Kyi's house arrest would be extended for yet another year. Many Western countries, as well as the United Nations, have expressed their disapproval of this latest extension.
On 20 May 2006, Ibrahim Gambari, UN Undersecretary-General (USG) of Department of Political Affairs, met with Aung San Suu Kyi, the first visit by a foreign official since 2004. Suu Kyi's house arrest term was set to expire 27 May 2006, but the Burmese government extended it for another year, flouting a direct appeal from U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan to Than Shwe. Suu Kyi continues to be imprisoned under the 1975 State Protection Act (Article 10 b), which grants the government the power to imprison persons for up to five years without a trial.
On 9 June 2006, Suu Kyi was hospitalised with severe diarrhea and weakness, as reported by a UN representative for National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma. Such claims were rejected by Major-General Khin Yi, the national police chief of Myanmar.
On 11 November 2006, USG Gambari, who was undertaking a mission to Myanmar for four days to encourage greater respect for human rights there, met with Suu Kyi. According to Gambari, Suu Kyi seems in good health but she wishes to meet her doctor more regularly.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has urged the Burmese government to release Aung San Suu Kyi, as it released 2,831 prisoners, including 40 political prisoners, on 1 January 2007.
On 18 January 2007, the state-run paper The New Light of Myanmar accused Suu Kyi of tax evasion for spending her Nobel Prize money outside of the country. The accusation followed the defeat of a US-sponsored United Nations Security Council resolution condemning Myanmar as a threat to international security.
On 25 May 2007, Myanmar extended Suu Kyi's detention for yet another year which would keep her confined to her residence for a fifth straight year. On 1 October 2007, in relation to rising political unrest in Myanmar, a United Nations emissary spent over an hour meeting with her within her guarded residence.
International support
World leaders
On May 16, 2007, 59 world leaders released a letter demanding Myanmar's military government free Suu Kyi and other political prisoners. The signatories include all three surviving former US presidents, Jimmy Carter, George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton; the former UK prime minister, Margaret Thatcher; Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and former President of Poland, Lech Wałęsa; as well as Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and former South Korean president, Kim Dae-jung, amongst many others.
After her confinement was again extended, current Secretary General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon said in a statement that "the sooner restrictions on Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and other political figures are lifted, the sooner Burma will be able to move towards inclusive national reconciliation, and the restoration of democracy and full respect for human rights."
On May 30, 2007, the Philippine government led members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in calling on Myanmar's military leaders to reverse their decision to extend the house arrest of democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. In a statement, Philippine foreign affairs secretary said "The Philippines joins the call for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and all political prisoners [in Myanmar]."
"The Philippines deeply regrets the Myanmar government's decision to extend her house arrest. We urge the Myanmar government to reconsider its decision."
It was the first time that a Philippine government official has called on all other Asian leaders to rally behind Aung San Suu Kyi.
On June 17, 2007, Aung San Suu Kyi's 62nd birthday, Senators Mitch McConnell and Diane Feinstein in the United States Senate urged the continuation of trade sanctions on the Myanmar government. In a statement, McConnell said "The best gift we can give Suu Kyi on this day is to continue to urge the international community to press for her immediate and unconditional release, as well as the release of all prisoners of conscience."
In his book, "Courage: Eight Portraits" (Bloomsbury), British Prime Minister Gordon Brown states: "So Suu Kyi's courage is the courage to sacrifice her own happiness and a comfortable life so that, through her struggle, she might win the right of an entire nation to seek happy and comfortable lives. It is the absolute expression of selflessness. Paradoxically, in sacrificing her own liberty, she strengthens its cry and bolsters its claim for the people she represents."
Nobel Peace Prize
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991. The decision of the Nobel Committee mentions:
“ The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 1991 to Aung San Suu Kyi of Myanmar (Burma) for her non-violent struggle for democracy and human rights.
...Suu Kyi's struggle is one of the most extraordinary examples of civil courage in Asia in recent decades. She has become an important symbol in the struggle against oppression...
...In awarding the Nobel Peace Prize for 1991 to Aung San Suu Kyi, the Norwegian Nobel Committee wishes to honour this woman for her unflagging efforts and to show its support for the many people throughout the world who are striving to attain democracy, human rights and ethnic conciliation by peaceful means. ”
— Oslo, October 14, 1991
Nations
On December 2, 2004, the United States pressured the Myanmar government to release Aung San Suu Kyi after the announcement that her house arrest would be extended.
On June 17, 2005, there were protests outside Burmese embassies in several countries in recognition of Suu Kyi's 60th birthday, which took place on June 19, 2005. The protests received international attention.
In late November 2005, the United States again returned to diplomatic pressure, this time in the United Nations Security Council, strongly urging multilateral action to address the "deteriorating situation" in Myanmar, requesting to put it into the official agenda docket. This action was due largely to a reinstatement of Aung San Suu Kyi's house arrest, an extension of precisely one year. In September 2006, the United Nations Security Council voted to place Myanmar on the council's agenda.
Organizations
Freedom Now, a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit organization, was retained in 2006 by a member of her family to help secure Aung San Suu Kyi's release from house arrest. The organization successfully secure a positive judgment from the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention and has been conducting political and public relations advocacy on her behalf.
Aung San Suu Kyi has been an honorary board member of International IDEA and ARTICLE 19 since her detention, and has received support from these organisations.
The Vrije Universiteit Brussel, located in Belgium, has granted her the title of Doctor Honoris Causa.
In June of each year, the US Campaign for Burma organizes hundreds of "Arrest Yourself" house parties around the world in support of Aung San Suu Kyi. At these parties, the organizers keep themselves under house arrest for 24 hours, invite their friends, and learn more about Burma and Aung San Suu Kyi.
The Freedom Campaign, a joint effort between the Human Rights Action Center and US Campaign for Burma, looks to raise worldwide attention to the struggles of Aung San Suu Kyi and the people of Burma.
St. Hugh's College, Oxford, where she studied, had a Burmese theme for their annual ball in support of her in 2006.
Aung San Suu Kyi is the official patron of The Rafto Human Rights House in Bergen, Norway. She received the Thorolf Rafto Memorial Prize in 1990.
She was made an honorary free person of the City of Dublin, Ireland in November 1999, although a space has been left on the roll of signatures to symbolize her continued detention.
The Bommersvik Declarations
In Bommersvik, Sweden, in 1995 and 2002, two conventions of the Elected Representatives of the Union of Burma took place and the following two landmark declarations were issued;
Bommersvik Declaration I
In 1995, during the first convention that lasted from 16-23 July, the Representatives issued the Bommersvik Declaration I:
“ We, the representatives of the people of Burma, elected in the 27 May 1990 general elections, meeting at the First Convention of Elected Representatives from the liberated areas of Burma, hereby - Warmly welcome the unconditional release of 1991 Nobel Peace laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi on 10 July 1995; Thank all who have worked tirelessly and consistently for the release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the cause of democracy in Burma; Applaud Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's determination, in spite of having spent 6 years under house arrest, to continue to work to bring true democracy to Burma; Welcome Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's return to politics to take up the mantle of her father, General Aung San, in Burma's second struggle for independence;... ”
— The Elected Representatives of the Union of Burma
Bommersvik Declaration II
In 2002, during the second convention that lasted from 25 February to the 1st of March, the Representatives issued the Bommersvik Declaration II:
“ We, the representatives of the people of Burma, elected in the 27 May 1990 general elections presently serving as members of the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma and/or the Members of Parliament Union, meeting at the Convention of Elected Representatives held in Bommersvik for the second time, hereby reaffirm - Our Mandate, Position, and Strategic Objectives - that we will never ignore the will of the Burmese people expressed through the May 1990 general elections; - that the military’s refusal to honor the election results does not in any way diminish the validity of these results..... ”
— The Elected Representatives of the Union of Burma
2007 anti-government protests
Main article: 2007 Burmese anti-government protests
Protests led by Buddhist monks began on 19 August 2007 following steep fuel price increases, and continued each day, despite the threat of a crackdown by the military.
On Saturday, 22 September 2007, although still under house arrest, Suu Kyi made a brief public appearance at the gate of her residence in Yangon to accept the blessings of Buddhist monks who were marching in support of human rights.
On 23 September, Reuters reported that, according to well placed sources, as a consequence of her appearance, Suu Kyi was moved to the notorious Insein Prison (where she was last detained in 2003) a day after her meeting with the monks. This report has been corroborated by a 28 September article appearing in The Australian in which it is mentioned that the head of Burma's government-in-exile, Sein Win, said that Suu Kyi has been at Insein since Sunday. If the reports are true, removing Suu Kyi from her lakeside residence would represent an attempt by the junta to deprive the protesters of focusing on their leader.
On 28 September, diplomatic sources told The Irrawaddy that Suu Kyi was being held at Yemon Military Camp near Rangoon, and that preparations were being made for her to meet with Vice Senior General Maung Aye.
Other sources assert that removal from her home is currently unlikely, as the military has recently blocked off the road with barbed wire barricades and riot police armed with machine guns
Books
Authored
• Letters from Burma (1998) with Fergal Keane ISBN 978-0140264036
• The Voice of Hope (1998) with Alan Clements, ISBN 978-1888363838
• Freedom from Fear and Other Writings (1995) with Vaclav Havel, Desmond M. Tutu, and Michael Aris, ISBN 978-0140253177
• Der Weg zur Freiheit (1999) with U Kyi Maung, U Tin Oo, ISBN 978-3404614356
• Letter to Daniel: Despatches from the Heart (1996) by Fergal Keane, foreword by Aung San Suu Kyi, edited by Tony Grant ISBN 978-0140262896
• Burma's Revolution of the Spirit: The Struggle for Democratic Freedom and Dignity (1994) with Alan Clements, Leslie Kean, The Dalai Lama, Sein Win ISBN 978-0893815806
• Aung San of Burma: A Biographical Portrait by His Daughter (1991) ISBN 978-1870838801, 2nd edition 1995
• Aung San (Leaders of Asia Series) (1990) ISBN 978-9990288834
• Burma and India: Some aspects of intellectual life under colonialism (1990) ISBN 978-8170231349
• Bhutan (Let's Visit Series) (1986) ISBN 978-0222010995
• Nepal (Let's Visit Series) (1985) ISBN 978-0222009814
• Burma (Let's Visit Series) (1985) ISBN 978-0222009791
Edited
• Tibetan Studies in Honour of Hugh Richardson. Edited by Michael Aris and Aung San Suu Kyi. (1979). Vikas Publishing house, New Delhi.
Mentioned in
• Aung San Suu Kyi (Modern Peacemakers) (2007) by Judy L. Hasday, ISBN 978-0791094358
• The Lady: Aung San Suu Kyi: Nobel Laureate and Burma's Prisoner (2002) by Barbara Victor, ISBN 978-0571211777, or 1998 hardcover: ISBN 978-0571199440
• The Perfect Hostage: A Life of Aung San Suu Kyi (2007) by Justin Wintle, ISBN 978-0091796815
• Tyrants: The World's 20 Worst Living Dictators (2006) by David Wallechinsky, ISBN 978-0060590048
• Aung San Suu Kyi (Trailblazers of the Modern World) (2004) by William Thomas, ISBN 978-0836852639
• No Logo: No Space, No Choice, No Jobs (2002) by Naomi Klein ISBN 978-0312421434
• Mental culture in Burmese crisis politics: Aung San Suu Kyi and the National League for Democracy (ILCAA Study of Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa Monograph Series) (1999) by Gustaaf Houtman, ISBN 978-4872977486
• Aung San Suu Kyi: Standing Up for Democracy in Burma (Women Changing the World) (1998) by Bettina Ling ISBN 978-1558611979
• Aung San Suu Kyi: Fearless Voice of Burma (Newsmakers Biographies Series) (1997) by Whitney Stewart, ISBN 978-0822549314
• Prisoner for Peace: Aung San Suu Kyi and Burma's Struggle for Democracy (Champions of Freedom Series) (1994) by John Parenteau, ISBN 978-1883846053
• Des femmes prix Nobel de Marie Curie à Aung San Suu Kyi, 1903-1991 (1992) by Charlotte Kerner, Nicole Casanova, Gidske Anderson, ISBN 978-2721004277
• Aung San Suu Kyi, towards a new freedom (1998) by Chin Geok Ang ISBN 978-9814024303
• Aung San Suu Kyi's struggle: Its principles and strategy (1997) by Mikio Oishi ISBN 978-9839861068
• Finding George Orwell in Burma (2004) by Emma Larkin ISBN 0143037110
Awards
• Thorolf Rafto Memorial Prize (1990)
• Sakharov Prize (1991)
• Nobel Peace Prize (1991)
• Eleanor Roosevelt Award for Human Rights
• Presidential Medal of Freedom (2000)
• Jawaharlal Nehru Award
• Olof Palme Prize
• Companions of the Order of Australia
Popular media
• She was featured prominently in John Boorman's 1995 film Beyond Rangoon, starring Patricia Arquette. Suu Kyi was played by Adele Lutz, the former wife of the musician David Byrne.
• The jazz saxophonist Wayne Shorter named one of his compositions after her. The piece is best known from the 1997 Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter duet album, 1 + 1.
• The Irish rock band U2's 2001 single "Walk On" was about and dedicated to Aung San Suu Kyi. The multi-artist 2004 compilation album For The Lady, which featured "Walk On", was banned by the junta.[40] During Vertigo Tour concerts in London and Glasgow (June 19 and June 21, 2005 respectively), U2 dedicated performances of "Running to Stand Still" to her. Other artists, including Black Eyed Peas, Coldplay, Damien Rice, and R.E.M. have also publicly supported Aung San Suu Kyi's cause.
• She was featured prominently in the music video for Damien Rice's collaboration with Lisa Hannigan, "Unplayed Piano", which was written for Suu Kyi after a visit to her, from Rice, in July 2004.
• In 2003's MTV Europe Music Awards in Edinburgh, Scotland, she was given the "Free Your Mind" award.
• In a list compiled by the magazine New Statesman in 2006, she was voted as the number one "Hero of our time".
• On 28 August 2007 Jim Carrey released a video on YouTube on behalf of the U.S. Campaign for Burma to raise awareness
Source - Wikipedia
1 comment:
Well written article.
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