| Democrats are released The military government of Myanmar (formerly Burma) has released Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of the country's democratization movement, from house arrest. Since the summer of 1988, the daughter of Aung San, the national hero of the struggle for independence of Burma, has been speaking out against the usurpation of power by the army elite. She first led the movement against the dictatorial regime of General Ne Win, established shortly after Burma gained sovereignty in 1948, then opposed the junta of General Than Shwe, who overthrew his predecessor in the fall of 1988.
A staunch supporter of nonviolent action, Aung San Suu Kyi was inspired by the examples of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, which cannot be said about her political opponents, who drowned the civil movement for democratic reforms in blood. In 1989, she was first placed under house arrest, which lasted until 1995. In 1990, Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) won over 80% in the general elections that the junta risked holding. The generals did not give up power, but Aung San Suu Kyi received the Nobel Peace Prize.
The NLD leader's condemnation of the extreme inefficiency of government, financial instability, indescribable poverty of the population and other “charms” of the military dictatorship led to the fact that in September 2000, Aung San Suu Kyi again found herself under house arrest. The international community demanded her immediate release and threatened to impose various sanctions against the generals. UN Special Envoy Razali Ismail visited Yangon (formerly Rangoon) seven times, and as a result, the head of the Burmese intelligence service, General Hin Nyan, held a series of secret meetings with Aung San Suu Kyi, after which she was allowed to communicate with Western diplomats and NLD comrades, of whom the authorities began to number hundreds release from prison.
Sunday's speech by 56-year-old Aung San Suu Kyi at NLD headquarters and a statement from a government spokesman suggested that circumstances are forcing the parties to cooperate to lift Myanmar out of the crisis, with the government guaranteeing the NLD leader political freedom and personal safety. Alexey SLOBODIN |
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