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Stuck in my mind Aung sang Suu Kyi: Flag Bearer of Democracy in Myanmar
Ashik Kabir
We look up to people as role models by their virtue or extraordinary activities they held for the betterment of the world. Our role models also persuade us to overcome all hurdles and create examples of altruism and relentless in order to accomplish a first-class significance for humanity in particular. Aung Sang Suu Kyi is one such exemplary role model who sacrificed everything for the betterment of her country. She proved that if one has an unwavering resolve and remains geared up to face any difficulty to achieve their goals, then soon or later, the results will come.
Much can be learned from her life. She was born on June 19, 1945 in Yangon, Burma. Her father, Aung Sang was the De facto Prime Minister of British Burma and was assassinated in 1947. Her mother Khin Kyi, served as Ambassador to India in 1960. After attending High School and undergraduate studies in India, she went on to study philosophy, politics and economics at the University of Oxford. During that time,she married Dr. Micheal Aris, a scholar in Bhutanese studies. They had two children- Kim and Alexander. She remained in England, India and UK during the 1970s and 1980s.
In 1988, Suu returned to Burma to care for her ailing mother. In 1962, U Ne Win, the Burmese Dictator staged a successful coup d’état, during his rule there were protest everywhere against the oppressive ruler. By 1988, he had resigned his post of party chairman , obviously leaving the country in the hands of military junta. But he stayed behind the scenes and engineered violent responses towards civilian protests. After returning to Burma, Suu saw the pathetic conditions of the civilian in Burma. She started speaking out publicly against the military rule. She raised questions for human rights violations and demanded democracy to be restored to the country. It didn’t take long to the military to notice her activities. In July 1989, the military government put Suu under house arrest and cut off her all communication with the rest of the world. The military government offered her freedom if she left the country. However, she refused the offer and insisted they hand over power to the civilian government and free all the political prisoners. In 1990, an election was held and Suu Kyi’s party the National League for democracy (NLD) won more than 80% of the seats. As predicted, the results were ignored by the military government. She was finally released in July 1995.
However, in September 2000, she was again placed under house arrest by the Military Junta. She suffered more than 15 years of detention , most of which was under house arrest. In May 2002, Suu was released but when in 2003, the NLD clashed in the street with Pro-government demonstrators, Suu was again arrested. In May 2009, just before Suu was about to released from house arrest she was again arrested. This time the reason was for allowing an intruder to spend two nights at her home. The intruder brought the warning that she was going to be a target for an assassination plot.
That year itself, the United Nations declared that Suu’s detention was illegal under Myanmar law. A series of new election laws were introduced in March 2010. One of the laws prohibited convicted criminals from participating in the election and another restricted participation of any candidate who married a foreigner. It was clear that the laws were designed to restrict Suu from participating in the election the following year. To support her, the NLD refused to re-register as a political party under new law. As a result, the military supported party won the election.
Suu was released six days after the election. In November 2011, the NLD announced that it would re-register as a political party. In January 2012, she formally registered to run for a seat in the parliament. In May 2012, she had won her election. She also won re-election as a leader of the party. In the country-wide election of 2015, the NLD had a landslide victory with 378 seats out of 664 seats of the parliament. In March 2016, the party selected the new president, Htin Kyaw, who had been a long time adviser to Suu. In April 2016, a position of State counselor was created for Suu for greater involvement in the country’s affairs. She can rule above the president for her especial post.
In 1991, Suu was awarded the Nobel peace Prize while in prison. She also got the Congressional Gold Medal in 2008, making her the first person in American history to receive the prize while imprisoned. Her husband Dr. Aris, played also an extraordinary role in supporting her. He petitioned across the world to release her from imprisonment. They remained apart from each other and met only five times from 1989 to until his death in 1999. Aris was suffering from terminal prostate cancer.
It can thus be conluded that Aung Sang Suu Kyi is remaining as one of the greatest leaders of our time for her immense sacrifices for the motherland.