Message from Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, (r)

[altsean@xxxxxxxxxx]

Subject: Message from Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Sep 1999

Released courtesy of World Voices Campaign & Burma Campaign UK
MEDIA NOTE: PLS CREDIT WORLD VOICES CAMPAIGN & BURMA CAMPAIGN UK

"FOR US, EVERY DAY IS A SPECIAL DAY FOR DEMOCRACY"

Statement by NLD Secretary General Aung San Suu Kyi
September 1999

I'd like to thank all of you for gathering here today to support our
movement for democracy in Burma. As I am sure most of you are aware, the
situation here has been deteriorating by the day. Since the National League
for Democracy called for the convening of the People's Parliament last
year, the military authorities have increased their oppression and tried
their best to break up the movement for democracy.

At this very moment, people are being arrested all over the country,
supposedly for the part that they are taking in trying to make the 9th of
September 1999 a day for democracy. I myself am not aware why the 9th of
September should be a special day for democracy. For us, every day is a
special day for democracy. But if the whole world were to rally around and
help us to achieve our goal, which is basic human rights and democratic
rights for the people of Burma, we shall get there much faster than we
would on our own. We rely on our allies all over the world to help us,
because we are involved in an issue that is a human one. It is not
particularly a national issue. It is a national issue because it has to do
with democracy in Burma. But it is (also) a human issue because democracy
is linked to human rights, and human rights concerns everybody all over the
world.

We of the National League for Democracy hesitated before endorsing the
movement for economic sanctions several years ago. We felt that we wanted
to give the military authorities a chance to prove that they were sincere
in their claim that they too were working for democracy. However, as it
became obvious that the military authorities were not interested in
bringing democracy to Burma, but simply in strengthening their own
position, and using economic means to strengthen their position, we decided
that economic sanctions were necessary.

We would like the world to know that economic sanctions do not hurt the
common people of Burma. When Burma was opened up to what they called the
market economy a decade ago, it did not open a door for the common people
of Burma. What it did was to give the military authorities and those
connected with them a chance to consolidate their economic position in the
same way in which they had consolidated their power base. This is why we
think that economic sanctions are good and necessary for the fast
democratization of Burma.

We would like the European Community, the United States, and the rest of
the world to be aware that sanctions do help the movement for democracy in
Burma. And we would like them to be aware of the fact that unilateral
sanctions are better than no sanctions at all. The best, of course, are
multilateral sanctions, and we would like the whole international community
to join in a movement aimed at bringing democracy soon to Burma.

We need to get democracy soon because our people are suffering by the day.
Prisoners of conscience in the prisons of Burma are just not serving out a
particular sentence. With many of them, it is as though they were serving a
death sentence. Conditions in Burmese prisons are so bad that without
sufficient medical aid, our prisoners are liable to die before the time is
right (served). Because of that, the need for democracy in Burma is very
urgent for some of us. And it is urgent for the rest of us too, not just
for those of us who are dying in jail, because Burma itself is like a huge
prison with a military dictatorship holding the keys and locking us away
from freedom. That is why we would like to call upon all of you to help us
open the door of our prisons and to join the democratic world in spreading
human rights around the world.

In Burma, we believe that we have to work for our own liberty, and we are
determined to do so. We are not depending on the international community to
bring democracy to Burma. We are simply asking for the assistance in
bringing democracy to Burma quickly. It is only natural that the more help
we have, the sooner we shall reach our goal. For this reason, we welcome
all international help, and we urge all of you to keep in mind that this is
a time of great suffering for the people of Burma.

This is a time when the military authorities are more oppressive than they
have ever been. This is a time when all those who believe in human rights
and democracy should rally together to help the oppressed. I would like to
thank you once again for gathering here to show your support and
solidarity. And I hope very much that this support will be increased as the
days go by, and that before too long, we shall all be able to celebrate the
victory of democracy in Burma.

Thank you.

For further information, pls contact The Burma Campaign UK <bagp@xxxxxxxxxx>


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