Daw Suu's Letter from Burma #8 (199

[carol@xxxxxxx]

Mainichi Daily News, Monday, September 8, 1997

WISDOM, STRENGTH DEFINE TRUE LEADERS
"Veterans"

Letter from Burma (No. 8) by Aung San Suu Kyi

	I would like to define the word veteran as "experienced" rather than as
"old."  There are people who have lived beyond the biblical three score
years and 10 without having gained the wisdom that comes of encountering a
vast range of human foibles and fancies as well as the benefits of joyful
human contact.  One would expect to mellow in one's mature years, to gain in
understanding and in compassion, to realize that while for the sake of
stable society laws have to be carefully formulated and strictly upheld
(tempered of course by mercy) those who seek to condemn others on an
individual basis should first ask themselves that invaluable question: who
can be confident that he has the right to throw the first stone?  According
to Buddhist teachings, those who vaunt their own virtues and belittle those
of others are wicked; to seek to inflate one's moral rectitude is the sign
of a mind that is far removed from true goodness.  This is somewhat similar
to the Christian story of the Pharisee whose self-righteousness was so much
less pleasing to God than the humble man who said: "Lord have mercy upon me,
a poor sinner."
        Veterans, in my interpretation of the word, should have learned from
their experience that there is still much to do to make this world a better
place to live in and that despite their years they still have a duty to do
what they can.  Such are the kind of veterans about whom I would like to
write today, political veterans who have not forgotten what it was that they
struggled for in their youth and who are determined to do their utmost to
contribute toward the building of a society that is the dream of their
countrymen.
        The Burmese struggle for independence could be said to have begun as
soon as the last king of the  Konbaung Dynasty, Thibaw, was deposed by the
British and sent away to exile in India.  Sporadic rebellions arose, led by
men who would be king.  It is not always easy to determine which by personal
ambition but what is certain is that they did not manage to mobilize enough
public support for their cause to throw the alien conquerors out of their
country.  It was only in the twentieth century, when  a new generation of
modern educated young men realized the importance of systematic political
association emerged, that the real movement for independence could be said
to have begun.
        Those first political veterans, those who began with the
organization of an apolitical, religious society the Young Men's Buddhist
Association (frankly emulative of the Young Men's Christian Association) are
no more.  But there are still a number of second generation veterans of the
Burmese independence movement to be found today, hoary old men who have not
lost their patriotic fire or their zest for political struggle.  They are
men who defied the might of the British empire, who fought against the
oppression of the fascist Japanese Imperial Army during the war, who
grappled with the problems of nation building after independence, who
suffered imprisonment and exile under military dictatorship and who, now
largely in the eight or even ninth decade of their lives, are still
determined to do their level best to realize the dreams of liberty and
justice that spurred them on half a century or more ago.  It is as though
they have drunk of the elixir of political youth.
        Let me introduce you to a few of these veterans.  There is Bohmu
Aung, one of the famous Thirty Comrades who received training from the
Japanese army at the beginning of the second world war.  He is truly a son
of the soil, a leader of peasant farmers and a member of the Dohbama
Asiayone, the "We Burmese" association which was founded in 1930 after
serious riots between the Burmese and the Indian laborers who had been
brought into the country by the British administration.  Bohmu Aung also
spent a few years in a monastery which provided him with a firm foundation
in traditional Burmese Buddhist education.  After the war, he became a
leading member of the Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League, which negotiated
independence for Burma with the British government. After the country
regained independence in 1948, he held such key posts as speaker of the
lower house of Parliament and defense minister.  After the military coup of
1962, he was imprisoned for a number of years and later he went into exile
in Thailand to fight for the restoration of democracy in Burma.  In his
sixties he returned to the country as part of an amnesty package.  One would
have imagined that after such a colorful, checkered career he would be more
than content to spend his twilight years reminiscing about the past and
watching his grandchildren grow up.  Not so.  Bohmu Aung, now 88, knows that
his duty towards his country will end only when his life ends.  He and other
indomitables of his ilk meet regularly to examine the present political
situation and to discuss what they could do the alleviate the troubles of Burma.
        Among Bohmu Aung's staunch colleagues are such veterans as Thakin
Chit (the prefix 'thakin' indicates that he was a member of the Dohbama
Asiayone), 89 years old and the last survivor of the party which went to
London to sign the Aung San-Attlee agreement that paved the way to
independence for Burma.  Then there are Thakin Khin Aung, Thakin Chit Maung
and Thakin Thein Pe, all octogenarians, all equally committed to playing
their part in building the Burma that is the dream of all right thinking
citizens.  There are some relatively younger members of the group of
veterans, such as Boh Aung Naing and Boh Nyo, one time members of the armed
forces, and Dr. Maung Maung Kyaw, a well known student leader during the
early years of Burmese independence.
        These stalwart veterans take a lively interest in what is the
present political scene and they write to the State Law and Order
Restoration Council (SLORC) whenever it seems to them necessary that the
military junta be reminded of the needs of the nation.  Such communications
usually result in a reprimand (most un-Burmese, reprimanding men of such age
and standing) from the powers that be put that does not deter our old
soldiers who will never die nor fade away from the annals of Burmese
political life.
        The last time our veterans wrote to SLORC was on August 5, 1997.
They pointed out the present political, economic and social ills of our
country and proffered the opinion that the only way of resolving these
various problems would be to adopt a spirit of understanding, forgiveness
and reconciliation and to put the good of the whole nation above personal
considerations and the interests of one's own organization.  To that end,
the veterans suggested that negotiations be conducted as soon as possible
with representatives of the National League for Democracy (NLD), which
received the mandate of the people in the elections of 1990. It was
specifically mentioned that I should be included in the negotiations.
        The predictable reaction of the authorities was to summon our
veterans to demand why they had made such a recommendation, to accuse them
of displaying favoritism towards the NLD, to ask them whether it was not
high time they stayed out of politics and kept quiet and to warn them that
action could be taken against them.  Keep quiet! How can our veterans keep
quiet when our country is in such dire straits?  They have a tradition to
maintain, they remain cheerfully indomitable.  May they live to be 120 years.