Interview

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BURMANET: INTERVIEW WITH DAW AUNG SAN SUU KYI
July 18, 1995      C. Fink

(These comments and observations come from a private 15 minute
interview in Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's house on the afternoon of
July 18th.  Like all other foreign journalists who have
interviewed her, I was photographed and videotaped by the
"guards" who were on duty at the gate.  Aung San Suu Kyi has held
two press conferences and many private interviews with
journalists in the days since her release.  Every day she also
meets with representatives of various embassies, NLD party
members, and other close friends. At 3pm every afternoon, she
climbs up a step-ladder inside her gate to give a ten minute
speech in Burmese to Burmese citizens who have come to see her.
The crowd, which numbers several hundred each day, respond with
delight to her jokes and willingly agree to her pleas for both
support and restraint.)


     Despite her busy morning of meetings with NLD party members,
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi looked vibrant and full of energy when she
met with me at 1:30 this afternoon.  The fresh flower clipped
into her neat bun suggested her unfailing optimism, although the
political dilemmas she is facing would dishearten virtually
anyone else in her position.  The SLORC has not made any further
moves to release political prisoners nor have they lifted
regulations on political activities or relaxed censorship.  While
many observers have commented on her frequently stated
willingness to negotiate with the SLORC on almost any issue, her
demeanor and many of her comments indicate that she will not rest
until democracy is restored.
     In talking about her future political activities, she
insisted that she would not do anything clandestinely.  She
believes in honesty and openness and expects the same from the
SLORC.  She commented, with a laugh, that SLORC officials used to
lie to her, but she told them "you must stop, because you are
committing a sin and I don't believe you, so you don't get
anything out of it."  Now, she says, they are more truthful with
her, and she sees this as a very positive first step.
     Nevertheless, she has informed SLORC officials that she will
be having foreign embassy staff checking her house for bugs, so
the SLORC better quickly remove any they have planted.  The
person she talked to insisted that SLORC had not hidden any
secret microphones in her house, but she said that she was just
warning them so that they would not be embarrassed later.
     Moreover, she told the officials that if they put her in
Insein Prison, they could do whatever they wanted to her, but as
long as she was in her own house, she would do whatever she
wanted.  She added, "I ask them questions, not the other way
around.  I am not afraid of them."
     Nevertheless, she is clearly being cautious.  She has only
left her house for a few private visits and has not even been
downtown yet.  She noted that others had told her of the many
highrises that are being built downtown, and she hoped that
"Rangoon does not become like Bangkok."
     She went on to discuss the criticism U Aung Shwe received
for expelling her from the NLD before the 1990 election.  She
said that she felt very sorry that others had blamed him, because
he had done exactly what he had to do. "If he had not kept the
party going, I would not have had any organization to come back
to."
     As for the Burmese students abroad, she urged them not to
come home yet.  She said that she knows how anxious they must be
to return home and live in peace, but nothing in Burma has
changed yet.  They must continue their work abroad, but they must
also be patient.  They should not set their expectations too
high, for "the road ahead is still a long one."  They must
neither do anything extreme nor "put their feet up" and wait for
democracy to happen.  More specifically, she suggested that they
improve their fluency in English, as fluency in English is
essential in today's world, and they should also read more
serious books.
     She asked the ethnic groups to congratulate the SLORC for
releasing her, but to make it clear that this is only the first
step.  They should adopt a position of "cautious optimism".  She
reiterated her appeal for all groups to put aside their
differences for the time being and to work together for the
restoration of democracy.  They must all be united if democracy
is to be achieved.
     When asked where she found her energy and determination, she
replied that her father was her main inspiration.  Her father,
she said, had worked tirelessly for the people and never for
himself.  She believes that as his daughter, she can and must
live up to his example.  With so many people putting their trust
in her, she feels that she cannot let them down, and that
encourages her to work even harder.  Others, she noted, have
suffered much more than her, having had to spend years in jail
and experience many forms of torture.  She clearly feels a
responsibility to these people and all others to continue to work
fearlessly for true peace and democracy.
     Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has the intelligence, integrity, and
political saviness necessary to lead and unite the country.
Whether she will ever have a chance is another question.  The
fact that the SLORC has still made no official announcement
concerning her release is cause for alarm.  Most local residents
remain wary, convinced that the SLORC is up to no good.  The
constant presence of plainclothed military intelligence staff
photographing those who show up at Aung San Suu Kyi's gate has
scared many supporters away.  Some fear a crackdown after all the
journalists leave.  No one believes that the SLORC will willingly
let her assume a top leadership position.  The inscrutability of
SLORC policy remains a critical problem.  Just as no one
predicted her release, no one knows what the SLORC intends to do
next.  In the meantime, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and other opposition
members will resume their political work, operating under the
conviction that one day democracy will be theirs.

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