Aung San Suu Kyi
Aung San Suu Kyi (; ; born
19 June 1945 in
Yangon (Rangoon), is a
nonviolent pro-
democracy activist and leader of the
National League for Democracy in
Myanmar (Burma), and a noted
prisoner of conscience. A devout
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 repressive
military dictatorship.
One of her most famous speeches is the "Freedom From Fear" speech, which begins:
Aung San Suu Kyi, the daughter of General Aung San, was born on the 19 June 1945.
Aung San, Suu Kyi's father, who negotiated Burma's independence from the
United Kingdom in 1947, was
assassinated by rivals in the same year. She lived with her mother (Khin Kyi) and two brothers (Aung San Lin and Aung San U) in
Rangoon. One of her brothers, Aung San Lin, died in an accidental drowning when Suu Kyi was eight. Meanwhile, Khin Kyi gained prominence as a political figure in the newly-formed Burmese government. Aung San Suu Kyi was educated in English Catholic schools for much of her childhood in Burma. Her mother Khin Kyi was appointed as Burmese ambassador to
India in
1960, and Suu Kyi followed her there, graduating from
Lady Shri Ram College in
New Delhi in
1964.
Aung San Suu Kyi continued her education at
St Hugh's College, Oxford, obtaining a
B.A. degree in
Philosophy, Politics, and Economics in
1967. Upon graduation, Suu Kyi furthered her education in
New York, and worked for the
United Nations. In
1972, Suu Kyi married
Michael Aris, a scholar of
Tibetan culture, living abroad in
Bhutan. The following year, in
1973, Suu Kyi gave birth to her first son, Alexander, in London. In
1977, she had her second child, Kim.
Aung San Suu Kyi returned to Myanmar in 1988 to care for her ailing mother. In that year, the long-time leader of the
socialist ruling party, General
Ne Win, stepped down, leading to mass demonstrations for
democratisation, 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.
In
1990, the military junta called
general elections, which the National League for Democracy won decisively. Under normal circumstances, she 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 and partly led to Aung San Suu Kyi's winning the
Sakharov Prize that year and the
Nobel Peace Prize the following year in 1991. Her eldest son Alexander accepted the
Nobel Peace Prize on her behalf, his acceptance speech is linked in the
External links section of this document. 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.
She was released from house arrest in July 1995, although it was made clear that if she left the country to visit her family in the
United Kingdom, she would be denied re-entry. 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 their children, who remain in the United Kingdom.
She was repeatedly prevented from meeting with her party supporters, and in September 2000 was again put under house arrest. On
6 May 2002, following secret confidence-building negotiations led by the
United Nations, she was released; 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, her caravan was attacked in the northern village of
Depayin by a government-sponsored mob, 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. She was imprisoned at
Insein Prison in Yangon. After receiving a
hysterectomy in September
2003, she was again placed 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 the prisoner 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 for 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. General Secretary
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.
International supporters
In
1997,
Herbie Hancock and
Wayne Shorter named a song after her, on their duet album,
1 + 1.
In 2001, Irish rock band
U2 released the single "
Walk On", which was written about and dedicated to Aung San Suu Kyi. The album
For the Lady, which features "Walk On", was banned by the junta.
During concerts in
London and
Glasgow (
June 19 and
June 21 2005 respectively) U2 dedicated performances of "Running to Stand Still" to Aung San Suu Kyi. Other artists such as
Coldplay,
R.E.M., and
Damien Rice have also publicly supported Aung San Suu Kyi's cause.
In
2003's
MTV Europe Music Awards, she was given the "Free Your Mind" award.
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, several countries from around the world held protests outside Myanmar embassies, 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.
She is featured prominently in
John Boorman's
1995 film
Beyond Rangoon, starring
Patricia Arquette.
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.
In a list compiled by the magazine
New Statesman in 2006, she was voted as the number one "Hero of our time".
The
Vrije Universiteit Brussel, located in Belgium, has granted her the title of
Doctor Honoris Causa.
St Hugh's College,
Oxford, where she studied, had a Burmese theme for their annual ball in support of her in 2006.
*
Myanmar*
Aung San*
Pro-Aung San Suu Kyi Userbox*
Tatmadaw*
National League for Democracy*
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi Website, created by supporters from the
Free Burma Coalition*
The Burma Campaign UK website*
Myanmar Agrees to Release Aung San Suu Kyi: Source*
An extensive story of her life*
World Dharma Online Institute dedicated to furthering Aung San Suu Kyi's "Revolution of the Spirit"
*
The Voice of Hope Alan Clements in conversation with Aung San Suu Kyi
*
Sunday Herald article about her ongoing detention*
The Nobel Peace Prize 1991*
Nobel Prize press release*
The Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech of Aung San Suu Kyi's son Alexander Aris*
"Freed Burmese Democracy Leader Proclaims 'New Dawn'" by Seth Mydans, for
The New York Times, May 7 2002, A3 (only abstract available)
*
On the role of Buddhist meditation and contemplation in Aung San Suu Kyi's politics*
Nobel Laureates Call for Suu Kyi's Release -
IFEX*
Damien Rice's page promoting his effort to have Aung San Suu Kyi released and also promoting the CD single
Unplayed Piano by Rice and fellow singer Lisa Hannigan
*
Article 19 Campaign for Aung San Suu Kyi*
Diplomacy Monitor-Aung San Suu Kyi
