An Enduring Symbol of Peace During Recent Unrest in Myanmar – Humanitarian Daw Aung San Suu Kyi

Lys Anzia – WNN Features

Update to this WNN story: Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi was officially released from house arrest by the Myanmar government on November 13, 2010.

(WNN)BURMA/MYANMAR: Even after 18 years in and out of house arrest detention since 1989, and 12 years in prison, 62 year old Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, still has confidence and hope. In 1991, three years after her incarceration, Suu Kyi received the Nobel Prize in Peace “for her non-violent struggle for democracy and human rights” in the Union of Myanmar. As Suu Kyi was being kept under house arrest and in detention by the military junta during that time Suu Kyi’s sons accepted the Nobel prize in her absence.

“Her absence fills us with fear and anxiety,” said Professor Frances Sejersted, Chairman of the Nobel Committee in 1991. “But we also have confidence and hope,” he continued.

A year later, in 1992, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi set up a trust to use the 1.3 million dollar Nobel Peace Prize award monies for health and education programs for all Burmese-Myanmar citizens in need.

At the age of fifteen, as Suu Kyi was growing up without her father, the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi came to her, bringing her a deep understanding and commitment to non-violence and fearlessness. Gandhi’s teachings became part of her everyday life as she lived in India, in 1960, during the time when her mother, Daw Khin Kyi, became Burma’s Ambassador to India.

Later as Suu Kyi married the British Tibetan scholar, Dr. Michael Aris, the basic precepts of Buddhist teachings became another integral part of Suu Kyi’s approach to living.

In 1999, under house arrest, Suu Kyi was refused the right by the government of Myanmar to visit her dying husband in London. On March 27, 1999 Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was refused release from incarceration, to visit her dying husband, even though she had not seen Dr. Aris since 1995.

Through the teachings of Buddhism shared by Dr. Aris, Suu Kyi received a special gift, the gift of humility and what she still calls today “a profound simplicity.”

“In the good fight for peace and reconciliation, we are dependent on persons who set examples, persons who can symbolize what we are seeking and mobilize the best in us,” said Professor Sejersted of Suu Kyi in 1991. “Aung San Suu Kyi is just such a person. She unites deep commitment and tenacity with a vision in which the end and the means form a single unit. Its most important elements are: democracy, respect for human rights, reconciliation between groups, non-violence, and personal and collective discipline… During Suu Kyi’s election campaigning in Burma she courageously faced a detachment of soldiers, who lined up in front of her, prepared to fire if she continued to walk down the street, which she did.”

Today Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is still a vital symbol of peace among her people and the world.

“We ordinary people, I believe, feel that with her courage and her high ideals, Aung San Suu Kyi brings out something of the best in us… The little woman under house arrest stands for a positive hope. Knowing she is there gives us confidence and faith in the power of good,” added Professor Sejersted during the 1991 Nobel Prize ceremony.

The recent, Sept 2007, bloody pro-democracy protest in Rangoon between the Tatmadaw – the military police forces of Myanmar – and Burmese Buddhists monks, students and citizens has brought the issues of human rights searingly to the forefront. The government of Myanmar has acknowledged 12 dead and nearly 2,100 arrested, with 700 later released, although other reports indicate that the numbers may be much greater.

The recent 11 Oct, 2007 UN Security Council statement on the Myanmar protest states, “The Security Council emphasizes the importance of the early release of all political prisoners and remaining detainees. It also calls on the Government of Myanmar and all other parties concerned to work together towards a de-escalation of the situation and a peaceful solution.”

“These mass rallies prove that the desire of the majority people is the prevalence of peace and stability in the country and emergence of the new National Constitution,” said a recent 3 Oct 2007 press release from the Permanent Mission of the Union of Myanmar to the United Nations Office, Geneva.

On 2 Oct, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon asked a UN envoy team to return to Myanmar. UN official Ibrahim Gambari met with Myanmar General Than Shwe and also separately with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi at her home in Rangoon. The UN Secretary General has hopes that the government of Myanmar can “make the bold choices” now toward positive change. Ban Ki-moon also said that he was “cautiously encouraged” that Senior General Than Shwe, Myanmar’s top military leader, has made recent statements saying he would meet in person under “certain conditions” with Aung San Suu Kyi.

Suu Kyi’s history with the Union of Myanmar, previously known as the Union of Burma before 1988, is one of deep personal connection. Suu Kyi’s father, General Aung San, acting as transitional Prime Minister, in 1947, was assassinated by the military junta with several members of the transitional cabinet, including Suu Kyi’s uncle Ba Win, closely after Burma became an independent nation. Suu Kyi was only two years old at the time of the deaths – just months following the second Panglong Conference for Burmese independence.

Beset with internal struggles of country division and questions of equal representation of government, the Panglong Conference aided in the transfer of power from the British. During this time the conference attempted to gather all of the regions and ethnic groups of Burma. The second Panglong Conference changed Burma permanently from its status as a colony of British India to an independent Burmese republic.

Since that time Burma has undergone countless struggles as a nation.

“Unity in diversity has to be the principle for those who genuinely wish to build our country into a strong nation that allows for a variety of races, languages, beliefs and cultures to flourish in peaceful and happy coexistence. Only a government that tolerates opinions and attitudes different from its own will be able to create an environment where peoples of diverse traditions and aspirations can breathe freely in an atmosphere of mutual understanding and trust,” said Suu Kyi in a 1996 letter to the Mainichi Daily News.

To see more of this story with video and special reports link to page two below > > >

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