Aung San Suu Kyi, whose father negotiated Burma’s independence from the UK, was born in 1945.
Disillusioned by the state of politics in her home country she began to protest for in the increasing move for democracy in 1988. A practicing Buddhist, she took her lead from Mahatma Gandhi and decided that the best form of protest was non-violent demonstrations.
The Consequences for Aung
After being educated and married in Britain, Aung San Suu Kyi returned to Burma in 1988 to care for her elderly mother. She won the 1990 election with a landslide victory but has never been allowed to take control of the country. Since this time she’s been kept under house arrest which has had a devastating effect on her personal life.
Although she was released in 1995, it was made clear that if she left the country, she wouldn’t be allowed back. When her husband, a British citizen, was diagnosed with prostate cancer, the military junta refused him a visa and he died in 1999 without ever seeing his wife again.
Refused contact with party supporters or international visitors, Aung San Suu Kyi was put under house arrest again and has been a virtual prisoner since the turn of the millennium.
The Recent Protests
Current protests began last month after the military rule’s economic policies sparked unrest among the mass population.
More recently, at least 2,000 Buddhist monks marched through the streets of Rangoon with a focus on the call for the end of military rule and the restoration of a democratically elected government. One march has involved up to 10,000 demonstrators in Mandalay, with other protests taking place in five townships across the country.
In an unprecedented event, the Buddhist monks were allowed through a roadblock to Aung San Suu Kyi’s house. When she came out of her house to meet them, her emotions overflowed as she struggled to hold back her tears.
Is Violence Better?
Despite the obvious success stories with Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Aung San Suu Kyi hasn’t really fared as well. She has managed to raise some awareness of problems in Burma, but despite 17 years of house arrest, she’s hardly become a household name. Generations after Gandhi and King, they are known the world over, taught in schools and are synonymous with successful peaceful protests, but little is known of Aung San Suu Kyi in comparison.
She hasn’t yet managed to change her country’s direction but has suffered immense personal tragedy and suppression for what seems like little gain.
Is this really what she feels is the best way to protest? More to the point, why don’t the governments of developed countries step in to resolve the situation as they’ve tried to do in the oil-rich Middle East?
Aung San Suu Kyi undoubtedly deserves credit for sticking to her principles but whether a more proactive approach would bring quicker results only time can tell. Think of the Iraqi people rising up to pull down the statue of Saddam Hussein. A change in tactics doesn’t necessarily mean a move away from her Buddhist principles.
