CPTC2

Let Us Hear from Aung San Suu Kyi
By Aung Zaw October 24, 2007
The US Ambassador to the United Nations, Zalmay Khalilzad, has called for the creation of "circumstances" that would allow detained Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi to have direct contact with the outside world, including the possibility of talking to the UN Security Council.
That’s not a bad idea. Whether or not before the Security Council, now is an optimum time to hear from Suu Kyi—even if it’s just a three-minute statement.
Many people inside and outside Burma would like to hear from Suu Kyi. The Oxford University educated daughter of Burma’s national independence hero Aung San would undoubtedly make a good impression and deliver an articulate speech.
It’s important to know where she now stands, following the regime’s bloody crackdown on the September demonstrations. Significantly, the state-controlled media have been referring to her by her full name (although not for the first time) and have asked her to agree to conditions set by junta leader Snr-Gen Than Shwe. Some publications run by Burmese journalists have called for dialogue.
What Suu Kyi thinks about these developments remains unknown, however. She should be allowed to make her stance publicly known.
There have been many rumors since her current term of house arrest began in 2003. I was recently told that Suu Kyi was distressed to learn about the deaths and brutal crackdown on monks. She felt sad and sorry to learn the news.
The world witnessed with pleasure the sight of Suu Kyi greeting monks at the gates of her home on September 21.
U Ohbasara, one of the monks who led the peaceful march to Suu Kyi’s house, told The Irrawaddy over the phone last week that she had asked the monks to carry on their peaceful march. “She was in tears,” the monk said. “She told us she wanted to enjoy freedom.”
There were also rumors that she was taken from her house after the monks had gathered there.
When UN special envoy Ibrahim Gambari visited Rangoon at the height of the crisis, she met him twice but there was no public statement from her. During her first term of house arrest, from 1989 to 1995, Suu Kyi managed to send out occasional messages to the outside world through UN envoys and her late husband Dr Michael Aris. Her many admirers were comforted to learn that she remained healthy and that her spirit remained strong and determined to continue her struggle.
Over the last four years, however, there has been little news from Suu Kyi, let alone any indication of where she stands vis-à-vis this ongoing political stalemate. In 2004, a diplomatic source disclosed that she had sent a personal letter to Than Shwe, proposing a dialogue. It could have been a sign that Suu Kyi was ready to forgive what had happened in Depayin the year before, when government thugs attacked her convoy, killing some of her supporters.
Despite the occasional signals emerging from her sealed-off Rangoon home, and the rumors and speculation about her state of mind, health and political stand, the regime has been able to cut her off from the outside world, while stepping up its diplomatic offensive. With her aging “uncles” now in ineffective control of the National League for Democracy, the need to hear from Suu Kyi remains vital.
Suu Kyi, the politician, may not be perfect or shrewd enough to deal with the manipulative generals, but she remains a beacon of hope in Burma.
Among the latest rumors surrounding Suu Kyi was a report that a black sedan had driven up to University Avenue and had taken her to meet some high ranking officials. Thura Shwe Mann, the regime’s number 3, was said to have wanted to meet her to sound out her views and had asked his aides to take her to government house.
Just after the crackdown, some western diplomats and sources in Rangoon told me that Suu Kyi no longer wanted to participate in party politics, but would be happy to be a figurehead and a force for national reconciliation. No one would confirm that these ideas emanated directly from Suu Kyi, however.
Rumor also has it that Suu Kyi has no interest in meeting Brig Gen Aung Kyi, who was appointed “liaison minister” between her and the regime. She has seen several “liaison officers” come and go in the past—handymen in uniform who paid house calls to fix the air-conditioning or television reception. She probably regards this latest appointment as a farce.
"It would be terrific for her to be in circumstances to come to the United Nations and to address the Security Council or other organs of this state," Mr Khalilzad told the New York Sun.
"We would like for her to be released, we would like for her to be able to be in circumstances that she can consult with her party members, with her leadership of the political movement, with experts, to be unencumbered and able to travel."
The generals would certainly be delighted to allow her to leave the country, for then they would be able to bar her from returning. When her husband died in 1999, they asked her to leave but hinted that they would not let her back in. Suu Kyi declined to leave the country for fear that she would never be allowed to return.
However, it is not a bad idea to propose hearing from her at this time of political crisis. This is surely something that UN envoy Ibrahim Gambari could arrange on his next visit to Burma, planned for early November. It is important that we all hear her voice and learn where she stands. The one-sided story and propaganda we get from the regime, and the unconfirmed rumors, are not enough.