AP-Suu Kyi Addresses Myanmar Women

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Saturday June 19 3:26 AM ET

Suu Kyi Addresses Myanmar Women

BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) - Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi urged Myanmar's
women to fight for democracy in a statement released today to mark Women of
Burma Day - also Suu Kyi's 54th birthday.

Suu Kyi, the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize winner, was under house arrest from
1989-95 for her role in trying to restore democracy to Myanmar, also known
as Burma, which has been ruled by the military since 1962.

``There is a great need for our women of Burma to use their capabilities to
bring democracy and human rights to our country,'' Suu Kyi said in a
statement received in Bangkok.

``It is no longer possible even for housewives to keep out of politics
because politics has invaded the traditional domain of housewives,'' Suu Kyi
said, pointing to increasing costs for commodities, education and health.

Suu Kyi and many economists have blamed the military government for economic
mismanagement that has plunged the resource-rich country into poverty.

The military spends nearly half the government's budget on defense, while
its appropriations for health care and education have steadily dwindled
during the past decade.

Suu Kyi spent today giving food to Buddhist monks as she customarily does on
the 19th of each month to honor her late father. Aung San, her father and
Myanmar's independence leader, was assassinated by political rivals on July
19, 1947, along with six members of his Cabinet.

In Bangkok, more than 20 women from Myanmar protested against military rule
in front of their country's embassy. Dressed in traditional Myanmar sarongs,
they chanted anti-military slogans.