Buddhist ceremony for Suu Kyi's hus

[koko@xxxxxxx]

Subject: Buddhist ceremony for Suu Kyi's husband 


Friday, April 2, 1999 Published at 11:29 GMT 12:29 UK


World: Asia-Pacific

Buddhist ceremony for Suu Kyi's husband

Dr Aris had not seen his wife for three years

More than 1,000 people gathered at the home of the Burmese opposition
leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, on Friday, for a religious ceremony to honour her
late husband, Dr Michael Aris.
Chanted rites were led by 53 Buddhist monks.



Simon Ingram reports on the one-hour long ceremony
Professor Aris died in Britain from prostate cancer last Saturday.

Refused visa

The Burmese authorities had refused to grant him a visa to visit Aung San
Suu Kyi in Burma, after he had been diagnosed with the terminal disease.

The military government said it did not have the medical facilities to care
for a terminally ill patient, and urged Mrs Suu Kyi to travel to Britain,
promising she would be allowed to return to Myanmar.



Aung San Suu Kyi refused to visit the UK
Mrs Suu Kyi decided against travelling to the UK to see her husband before
he died, because she said she did not believe a guarantee that she would be
allowed to return to Burma afterwards.

Dr Aris, an Oxford University academic, had not seen his wife, with whom he
had two sons, for three years before his death.

After Dr Aris died, Mrs Suu Kyi said she had been privileged to have had a
"wonderful" husband who had always given her understanding.

She also turned down an offer from the government to help her travel to
England for the funeral on Thursday.

Security forces made no attempt to stop the hundreds of mourners who entered
the compound to attend Friday's Buddhist rites ceremony, although police
took their names and addresses.

Diplomats

The ceremony marked the seventh day of mourning for Dr Aris.

Ambassadors and other diplomats from the United States, European countries
and Japan attended.

The only South-East Asian nation to send a diplomat was the Philippines,
which had urged the Burmese Government to grant Dr Aris a visa.

Other mourners included veteran members of Burma's pro-democracy movement,
and members of parties representing some of the country's ethnic groups.



Suu Kyi: Husband was "wonderful"
Kyi Maung, former Vice Chairman of Mrs Suu Kyi's political party, the
National League for Democracy (NLD), was also there.


Aung San Suu Kyi made no public statement at the ceremony, nor did she speak
to supporters, although she did shake hands with several diplomats.

Mourners brought bouquets and wreaths and signed books of condolence.

'Support still strong'

Mrs Suu Kyi is locked in political stalemate with the Burmese Government,
which has said that more than 10,000 NLD members have voluntarily resigned.

She says that many of the resignations were bogus or coerced under threats
from soldiers, and that support for her party is still strong.

The death of Dr Aris was also marked in Bangkok, where dozens of exiled
Burmese students held their own Buddhist rites ceremony, and chanted
anti-government slogans outside the Burmese Embassy.