Australia, AM-729 (June 6, 1996) 10:15 p.m.
ANNCR: Our next guset is right up there with Ghandi, Martin Luther King and Mandela; I speak, of course, of Aung San Suu Kyi, secretary general of the National League for Democracy and Burma's most famous dissident. It just under a year since she was release from six long yearS of house arrest, now that release was supposed to be unconditional, but her movement remains severely restricted. Of course for years, the military demanded that she leaves the country forever - that was going to be the condition of the release. But her resolve to stay in the country and try to bring democracy to the country remains firm. Not that it is likely to happen over night. The military junta, the State Law and Order Restoration Council, SLORC - wonderful name - remains firmly entrenched, possibly a little more so than when they first incarcerated Suu kyi because of despite being immensely unpopular within burma, the regime has been [...] by the fairly high level of foreign investment in the country, the sort of investment energeticelly endorsed, regrettably, by our austere prime minister Bob hawke. As ASEAN nations are thinking of including Burma into their association; and the countries like u.s. and Australia, despite denouncing the regime and speaking very highly of our guest , do nothing of discouraging the investment in that mineral rich land. Now last night report by Pilger, John Pilger, revealled the widespread use of slave labour by Slorc, to built their road, the rialiways and their [...] business and tourist hotels. Imprisonment without trial for dissidents remains, and, there is brutal harrassment of minority groups. So things are croocked. And the person who people hoped to bring to democracy to Burma, Aung San Suu Kyi, joins me now from her tapped-phone-line in Rangoon. Suu Kyi, it is great pleasure to speak with you to night. the situation does seems bleak. Slorc is, I believe, threatening you to put back under house arrest. Do you feel that the National League is failing in its attempt.
ASSK: I don't know why you called it bleak. It has been quite clear from what happened in the last two week that we have widespread support of the people of burma, that our movement is strong, and we have many people who are commited to democracy. So I do not see that the picture as bleak at all. And I am afraid I can't agree with you about all the investment coming into Burma. Economists and people who have been studying business situation in burma have said that the economy started stagnating at the end of 1994. And that is no longer such an attractive place for would-be investors.
ANNCR: What kind of dialogue are you hoping to achieve, with the slorc, given that the response so far have been to ignored the overture made by your National League ?
ASSK: The aim of dialogue is to find common ground, to find an answer that will be best for the country, that will be acceptable to all political forces concerned. So we have put no pre-condition, we've set no pre-condition. We are prepare to talk about anything that will lead to national reconciliation and a better situation for our people.
ANNCR: there are some time ambiguous signals from the Slorc, there was for instance a recent editorials in the last couple of days which described as you are appropriate [...] ? Are you seeing some sign of movement from their side ?
ASSK: As I understand, that article was not written by anybody in SLORC. It was written by a member of a political group. And I do not think he represent the views of slorc.
ANNCR: So its clutching a straws to read, to read too much into that.
ASSK: Well, of course, it is interesting that the [.....] who print that article, as I understand it, the author of the article, which he has been circulating, whether they could put it in the news paper. So it is interesting that they wanted to print it.
ANNCR: Lets look at the slave labour - apparently is commonplace within Burma, in terms of people known to have support you and the persecution of the minority groups like the Karens. There is a lot of anger within the Burmese populous. Do you believe that there will be more uprising and demonstriations, at the magnitude of 88/89. Indeed do you think it would be wise to have that?
ASSK:I hope that there will be no more of uprisings the kind that happened in 1988, that because the people who suffer as a result. But ofcourse, I am not an astrologer, I do not believe that can fortell the future. So I can not say for sure what will happen and what will not happen. But it is true that people are suffering a lot from the forced labour, and that the people of the country where there is no rule of law suffer from all kinds of frustrations and resentments.
ANNCR: Suu Kyi, is the regime completely impervious to the vast outpouring of support for you and criticism of them from the outside world ?
ASSK: I don't think it is impervious to all that criticism. Otherwise it would not have been so annoyed about it.
ANNCR: Yes. What's an interesting response, but the annoyence is not thus far, expressed in terms of the movement towards reconciliation ?
ASSK: I think it is in general very very difficult for an authoritarian regime to budged from the position they have taken, especially for authoritarian military regime, I think, there is a certain rigidity in their outlook. So I do not think you've got to expect immediate response to whatever happens. I think it takes time for the situation to really [...] in.
ANNCR: Of course you know quite a lot about military mind. Your father, considered the father of modern Burma, was himself general; that he saw the risk of military gaining too much power.
ASSK: I am not sure that I know that much about military mind. But I do know a lot of military people. Of course my father and many of my colleagues in the NLd, the Chairman U Aung Shwe, the Deputy Chairman U Tin Oo and U Kyi Maung and the Secretary U Lwin. They are all ex-military officers, but, they are all the kind of people that you would call the officer and gentleman. So let us say that I know one kind of military mind, that of those are both officers and gentleman.
ANNCR: Is there within, is Slorc utterly monolithic ? or is it possible to detect within in it, .. suttleties .. perheps ... factions ... some of those might be more amenable to your arguments.
ASSK: We believe that people are individuals. And looking from our point of view, we do not see slorc as monolithic. We think there must be individuals within Slorc, with the independently way of thinking. But it is possible that they all think that their interest lie in one direction. And perhaps that does limit the way in which it you think.
ANNCR: NOw, you return to Burma in 88 to look after your mother. Until then you live a happy and a comparatively comfortable life, your academic husband and two kids. Do you have any sense that in 88 what is going to happen to your life ? Were you infact, consciously preparing yourself, staying in Burma and leading the democracy movement ?
ASSK: No, when I came to Burma in April 1988, I have prepared myself for a long stay looking after my sick mother. Because, although I knew that she was very ill, we do not quite know for how long there is going to go on for, whether she get better of whether it will be just long drawnout process of dying. So I was prepare to stay on in Burma for many many months. But I certainly do not think that there going to be a democracy movement.
ANNCR: Now, of course, on your return you faced death quite literally. Given the magnitude of the task, with the great personal danger, did you ever consider, just, surrenderering into leaving Burma and giving up the struggle ?
ASSK: No, of course not. Because, I am not the only person in the struggle, there are others with me. I have friends, I have colleagues, who are very honorable and who have suffered much more than I have and who have made great sacrifices, I would never think of abandoning them.
ANNCR: Now you gave to your first democracy speech, in front of-it was immense- some half million people. In August 88. Why did you decided to give speech then, why choose that moment. What was the factor in considerations ?
ASSK: This is the time when the whole country was in [momentum]. The people of Burma had decided that they want to change. We were, there were a group of us who are trying to to make sure that tremendous outpouring of the energy was channelled in to the positive direction, in a positive way. So it is just part of our asset to channel all this energy, in the positive way.
ANNCR: Now you are under house arrest from 89 to until last year. Now mandela's time in prison wasn't exactly wasted - it was very productive time in many ways. Were your years of incarceration comparably fruitful ?
ASSK: Well, I was only in the detention for six years. So I cannot claim that I achieve as much as mr mandela did because he was under the detention for 27(years). But I think of those years as very fruitful, yes.
ANNCR: What would you do during those years, Suu Kyi.
ASSK: Well, I followed very strict time table; self discipline was very important. I thought that if i have to live for alone for years and years, I did not know for how long I would be kept under house arrest, I better start learning to live with myself. So I follow a strict time table everyday; meditations are very important; and regular exercise; a lot or reading; a lot listening to the radio - that my only contact with the outside world.
ANNCR: What could you read ? Do you allowed to read whatever you wish or did house arrest involve the censorship of your reading material ?
ASSK: Not exactly. My husband at one time was allowed to send me books. I don't think they kept like any except an issue of the time magazine which my photograph on the cover.
ANNCR: Probably no great loss, I guess. The Your approach to slorc clearly echo or, resemble, the Ghandi's non-violent civil unrest policy. How much does the Ghandi influence you ?
ASSK: I don't think Ghandi has influenced my practical politics to that extent. I think he has influenced me spritually, if you like. But what we are doing here now in Burma, we do as political party, as a political organization. The National League for Democracy is a legal political organization, a democratic party and we take our decision as a democratic party. So I am simply implementing the policy of a party.
ANNCR: And what about Buddhism. How important is Buddhism to you ?
ASSK: It is very important. As I mentioned just now, meditation means a great deal to me during my years under house arrest. Buddhist meditation, I think is very important, because it teaches you some awareness and the self discipline.
ANNCR: Now in those years some would argue, some believe that the organization you have - the National League for Democracy - was inevitably weakened. It is now strong enough now to exert real significant pressure on Slorc?
ASSK: We would like to think that we get stronger and stronger by the day. It is difficult to assess exactly what are the strengths at the moment. I think one can never tell, except for retrospect, how strong one is at a particular period.
ANNCR: I don't want to dwell on this, but here have been great discussion here to day about the scale of masscre in Burma. What do you believe the death tall was in during the military crackdown ?
ASSK: I believe it was in four figures. But I cannot say exactly what the numbers were. Because we have not been given a chance to collect a data.
ANNCR: Now, I'm told that your name, which is beautiful to say, but even more beautiful in translation that it to mean a bright collection of strange victories. Are your parents obviously prescient ?
ASSK: Well, I think, I don't know whether they were thinking of the meaning of name I suppose. Aung San is my father's name, but it just is not my Sir name. In Burma we don't have family names. My name is pretty unusual. Because there is man's name, Aung San is a much mascular name at the beginning; and Kyi at the end is part of my mother's name; Suu in between represent my grandmother's name, and also represent the day of week on which I was born.
ANNCR: Well, of course, your birthday is rapidly approaching. I understand that we should be singing happy birthday to you on the June the 19th.
ASSK: (laugh) I didn't realized that you knew my birthday.
ANNCR: Oh no. We know a great deal about you out here. You've got great numbers of fans and supporters. What can we usefully do here in Australia to help your cause, Suu Kyi ?
ASSK: We really want the world to be aware of what has been going on in Burma, and to think of us, not just as a something in the news but as people, there are people in Burma who are suffering, who are struggling for democracy. Our main strength in the country, inside, is the support of our people people here. But we are great believers in the international community. Because the time has past thet we can afford to live isolated. We do believe in the no man in island are unto himself - No nation in the island are into itself.
ANNCR: I am looking for some guidence from you. Do you wishes to continue to oppose the investment from our country ? Take the issue of tourism. The junta is announced this is the year of tourism. You surely would not want to encourage that.
ASSK: We are certainly not supporting the "Visit Myanmar 1996", which it begin only on the 18th of November. Apparently it is supposed to go on until the end of the tourist season, which will be somewhere around the April 1997. Certainly we do not want to support that and we would like the international community to demonstrate the solidarity with our struggle by not supporting the "Visit Myanmar 1996".
ANNCR: Well, I think all the listeners to this program here by make the promise of the fact that standing up all over Australia, with hand on hearts. Now, let me ask .....
ASSK: (laughs) You can't see them(the listeners) doing that. Can you ?
ANNCR: Well - er - actually, I hope they are, Suu kyi, I hope they are. Now what about your children ? Contact with them possible ?
ASSK: I do speak to my younger son who is at home quite regularly. The other one is at the university. So the contact is not so easy. My husband and younger son were at home ring up every week.
ANNCR: Of course, every time you pick up the phone, you be aware that others are listening.
ASSK: Oh Yes. That this isn't worried me. that doesn't worry my family either.
ANNCR: It just like having [...] extended family, I guess.
ASSK: Well, lets just put it as extended family. I do not look upon them as [...] It would be really nice, really nice, friendly family.
ANNCR: Well, look, happy birtyday for the 19th and I am much grateful for your time.
ASSK: Not at all, thank you for your good wishes.
No comments:
Post a Comment