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Daw Suu's Letter Wins Award



Mainichi Daily News, Thursday, September 5, 1996

MAINICHI WINS AWARD FOR BURMA COLUMN

	The Mainichi Shimbun won the Nihon Shimbun Kyokai (Japan Newspaper
Publishers & Editors Association) Award on Wednesday for carrying the series
"Letter from Burma" by Burmese dissident leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
	The series has been carried in the Monday morning editions of the Mainichi
Shimbun and in the Mainichi Daily News since Nov. 27 last year.
	Suu Kyi, secretary-general of the National League for Democracy, sent the
following message to Mainichi readers, expressing her joy over the
Mainichi's winning of the prestigious award.

MESSAGE TO MAINICHI READERS

	The news that the Japanese Newspaper Association had decided to present
this year's Association Award to the Mainichi Shimbun for the series "Letter
from Burma" gives me a very special joy.  The thought that I played a part
in winning this prestigious award for a newspaper which I have come to
regard with much affection and respect fills me with a profound sense of
satisfaction.  Indeed, I can say with absolute sincerity that no award given
to me personally afforded me greater joy or satisfaction.
	My main purpose in consenting to the proposal of the Mainichi Shimbun that
I should contribute a regular weekly column was to brig little-known aspects
of the Burmese situation to the attention of the Japanese public.  Now,
thanks to the initiative and efforts of Mr. Hiroshi Nagai and the generous
spirit with which the Mainichi Shimbun was prepared to share the series with
other newspapers, "Letter from Burma" is appearing in several countries.  It
has enabled me to reach out to many peoples of the world, to try to make
them understand what is really happening in our beautiful land where
injustice and cruelty, fear and poverty, behind a facade of rich golden
vistas and friendly, smiling people.
	There have been times when, due to pressure of work, I have been obliged to
write my weekly "Letter" in such a rush I was barely able to look it over.
Later, sometimes days or even weeks after a "Letter" had been dispatched, I
would discover careless mistakes, sloppy constructions or infelicitous
expressions that could have been avoided had I been in less of a hurry.  I
would like to apologize to the Mainichi Shimbun and my readers for my
inability to give consistently to the writing of the series the time and
attention that it truly deserves.
	I can only conclude by offering my heartfelt congratulations to Mr. Takashi
Kawachi, the staff of the Mainichi Shimbun and Ms. Keiko Tosa, whose
brilliance in translation has contributed so much to the popularity of the
series among the Japanese readership.  May there be many more awards for all
of you.

Aung San Suu Kyi

* * *

Note:  Although we try to post Daw Suu's Letter from Burma every Monday, the
most recent one (No. 39) got lost in cyberspace.  (It was subsequently
posted by Zarni.)  If anyone out there is missing any of Daw Suu's letters,
let us know and we will be happy to forward them to you.

Carol + Aung Thu