Aung San Suu Kyi Asks Burma For Full Participation

Upon release from years of house arrest, Aung San Suu Kyi has begun a balancing act. Recognizing calls by the people for great change, and recognizing the authority of the military junta, Suu Kyi is urging everyone to the negotiating table.

The recent elections, which the government claims as a great success but which are seen elsewhere as greatly flawed, is a top item of her agenda: “I am challenging the decision of the authorities that they can dissolve a party just like this because this is against the law,” said Suu Kyi in a CBC.ca interview.

But she is not prepared to be a one-woman show. “If you want democracy, you have got to be prepared to accept the responsibilities of democracy,” she says. "If you are talking about a government of the people, for the people, by the people, the people have to be actively involved. Nobody can avoid politics. …

“The whole country is vulnerable to government crackdown. What I would like to see happen is for both sides to be able to sit down and talk to each other and work out a solution acceptable to both sides. To all sides, really. There are more than two sides to the situation in Burma because we must never never forget the very important rule of our ethnic peoples.”

Getting used to being around other people after so many years of being on her own, she is just as determined to bring about a real democracy as ever. “We do need great changes in Burma, and I would like to bring these about through non-violent means. I do what I can while I’m free. If they arrest me again then I’ll do what I can while I’m under arrest.”