Aung San Suu Kyi,also calledDaw Aung San Suu Kyi (born June 19,,Rangoon, Burma [now Yangon, Myanmar]),politician and opposition leader of Myanmar, daughter of Aung San(a martyred national hero of independent Burma) and Khin Kyi (a prominent Burmese diplomat), and winner of the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1991.
Aung San Suu Kyi was two years old when her father, then the
de facto
prime minister of what would shortly become independent
Burma, was
assassinated. She attended schools in Burma until 1960, when
her
mother was appointed ambassador to India. After further
study in
India, she attended the University of Oxford, where she met
her future
husband, the British scholar Michael Aris. She and Aris had
two
children and lived a rather quiet life until 1988, when she
returned
to Burma to nurse her dying mother, leaving her husband and
sons
behind. There the mass slaughter of protesters against the
brutal and
unresponsive rule of military strongman U Ne Winled her to
speak out
against him and to begin a nonviolent struggle for democracy
and human
rights in that country.
In July 1989 the military government of the newly named
Union of Myanmar (since 2011, Republic of the Union of
Myanmar) placed Suu Kyi under house arrest in Yangon
(Rangoon) and held her incommunicado. The military offered
to free her if she agreed to leave Myanmar, but she refused
to do so until the country was returned to civilian
government and political prisoners were freed.
In 1998 she announced the formation of a representative
committee that she declared was the country’s
legitimate ruling parliament.
In May 2009, shortly before her most recent sentence was to
be
completed, Suu Kyi was arrested and charged with having
breached the
terms of her house arrest after an intruder (a U.S. citizen)
entered
her house compound and spent two nights there. At the time
of her conviction, the
belief was widespread both within and outside Myanmar that
this latest
ruling was designed to prevent Suu Kyi from participating
in
multiparty parliamentary elections (the first since 1990)
scheduled
for 2010.
The government parties faced little opposition in the
November 7, 2010, election and easily won an overwhelming
majority of legislative seats amid widespread allegations of
voter fraud. Suu Kyi was released from house arrest six days
after the election and vowed to continue her opposition to
military rule.
Government restrictions on Suu Kyi’s activities were
further relaxed during 2011. She was allowed to meet freely
with associates and others in Yangon and by midyear was able
to travel outside the city.
U.S. relations with Myanmar improved with landmark visits by
both
President Obama to Yangon University in November 2012 and by
President
Sein to Washington in May 2013. On both occasions, the
leaders spoke
of the warming of relations between the two countries.
Peace as a goal is an ideal which will not be contested by
any
government or nation, not even the most belligerent.
“Aung San Suu Kyi “
I’m very proud of this group. You made me look for more information about Aung San Suu Kyi. She is a fantastic leader that I didn’t know, even have two friends from Myanmar. I just watched on Netflix the documentary “They call it Myanmar”, which explain history of the country and also talk about her struggle for democracy, the price she had paid etc. I’m thinking with you didn’t present that I never would know. Thanks. The documentary is also in http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyDaas3hQqE.
This is something new for me, I have not been familiarized with her struggle. I’m glad to learn more. Thanks!
I too, did not know much about Suu Kyi and am glad I was able to learn more through your presentation and blog post. It is always encouraging to see strong female leaders, especially since in this case it seems Suu Kyi sacrificed her home life in order to promote peace.