YANGON (Myanmar): She is known simply as The Lady. She lives in isolation in her old family home on a quiet lake in the northern part of the city. Armed guards make sure she doesn’t leave. Her only known visitor is the doctor who checks on her monthly. She is said to spend her time meditating and reading. The world’s only imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize winner, Aung San Suu Kyi has spent nearly 10 of the last 16 years under house arrest or behind bars. There is no sign that Myanmar’s brutal military regime plans to free her any time soon.
Myanmar, formerly called Burma, has been under military rule since a coup d’etat in 1962. In 1988, amid violent protests, the army massacred thousands of pro-democracy demonstrators in Rangoon, now called Yangon, and other cities, leading to another coup.
The new military leaders held national assembly elections in 1990 in which the National League for Democracy, which Suu Kyi helped found, won 82 per cent of the seats. But the junta refused to hand over power. A committee of generals has run the country ever since. The United States and other nations imposed economic and political sanctions aimed at securing Suu Kyi’s freedom. But they have helped cripple the economy, and the dictatorship headed by Sr. Gen. Than Shwe remains firmly in command. Once one of the wealthiest nations in Southeast Asia, Myanmar is now one of the poorest.
The country is mostly isolated from the outside world. There are none of the McDonald’s, Starbucks or KFC outlets here that have become ubiquitous in Southeast Asian cities. Instead, workers crowd into dilapidated buses carrying shiny, metal cylinder lunch boxes with separate trays for their rice, curry and vegetables. Women commonly walk down the streets of central Yangon carrying goods on their heads.
Secret police and a network of informers watch over the populace. Listening to overseas radio broadcasts or watching foreign shows on satellite television can result in seven years in prison. Foreign journalists are rarely allowed to visit.
Dissidents are arrested in the middle of the night and vanish into the prison system. There are more than 1,300 political detainees, rights groups say, including other leaders of Suu Kyi’s party. Members of the public interviewed for this article asked not to be identified out of fear for their safety.
Around the world, Suu Kyi (pronounced Sue Chee) is celebrated for her advocacy of non-violence to achieve democracy. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said on Thursday that instead of being under house arrest, she should be “out amongst the people and her supporters, pushing for stability and … democratization of her society.”
Those who know Suu Kyi describe her as charming, brilliant and idealistic. Slender and graceful, she dresses in traditional Burmese attire and often wears a flower in her hair. The daughter of beloved independence leader Aung San, she is widely admired for her principled stand and self-sacrifice.
Suu Kyi believes the military should honour the results of the 1990 election and transfer power to the National League for Democracy, which she heads as general secretary. She has repeatedly demanded the release of political prisoners, including leaders of her party.
Although she projects a sense of calm, she can be exacting and formidable. “This is a very tough lady,” said a Western diplomat who has met her numerous times. “She is very focused. She is willing to put up with a lot to defend the principles that she sees as important. Compromise is not necessarily a term she is comfortable with.” —Dawn/LAT-WP News Service
