Biography of Burmese Opposition Lea

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  Burmese Pro-Democracy Activist 
  Aung San Suu Kyi  

Biography of Aung San Suu Kyi, Burmese opposition leader
Source:ABC News, New York City









                                                                              




  Birthdate
  June 19,1945 

  Birthplace
  Rangoon,
  Burma 

  Education
  Oxford
  University, BA
  in philosophy,
  politics,
  economics,
  1967 







                       AUNG SAN SUU KYI had settled in to a quiet life
                       as the mother of two and wife of a British professor
                       when a return trip to her native Burma in 1988 turned
                       her life around. Nine years and one Nobel Peace
               Prize later, Suu Kyi stands as Burma's adored national
               champion of democracy and human rights.
                   Her current role as a democracy activist is fitting. Suu
Kyi's
               father, Gen. Aung San, led Burma's struggle for independence
               from Britain in the mid-1940s. His daughter was 2 years old
               when enemies assassinated him in 1947, the year before
               Burma finally won its freedom. Tales of her father's heroism
               inspired Suu Kyi, charging her sense of idealism and
               responsibility to the Burmese people. Even as a young woman
               living thousands of miles away in England, she knew the day
               might come when her country would need her: In a 1971 letter
               to her husband-to-be, she worried that "national considerations
               might tear us apart." 

                 "The struggle for democracy and human rights
                 in Burma is a struggle for life and dignity. It is a
                 struggle that encompasses our political, social
                  and economic aspirations. The people of my
                   country want the two freedoms that spell
                 security: freedom from want and freedom from
                                   fear."
                                Aung San Suu Kyi 


                    That time came in March 1988, when Suu Kyi returned to
               Burma to care for her dying mother. Four months later, Gen.
               Ne Win, the head of Burma's brutal socialist government,
               stepped down and a massive pro-democracy movement was
               born. Suu Kyi joined in, speaking at hundreds of rallies and
               helping to found the National League for Democracy.
               Determined nonviolence became her strength as she
               repeatedly faced down rifles with calm fearlessness. Her
               popularity swelled and supporters began to reverently refer to
               her as "the Lady." 

                   "Suu is one of those rare individuals who
                   symbolize not just the courage of human
                 beings, but the courage of an entire country. ...
                  There's an almost mystical identity between
                        her and the Burmese people."
                  David Arnott of the Burma Peace Foundation, Los Angeles Times,
                                December 1991 


                    Though soldiers refused to fire at Suu Kyi, they killed and
               tortured thousands of other protesters. The military regained
               control of the country in September, forming the State Law and
               Order Restoration Council. When their vicious slander
               campaign against Suu Kyi failed to stop her, they placed her
               under house arrest in July 1989. International pressure to
               release her began in 1991, when she was awarded the Nobel
               Peace Prize. Companies pulled their business out of the
               country, and human-rights groups worldwide denounced the
               ruling military junta. Suu Kyi's captors finally relented in July
               1995.
                   Despite her freedom, which is still tightly restricted,
battles
               continue to rage in Burma. Faced with the military's refusal to
               negotiate and a demoralized democracy movement, Suu Kyi
               now hopes that international pressure, namely sanctions and
               tourist boycotts, will be the key to political changes in her
               homeland.   

Source ABC News, New York City