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full text: Daw Suu's message to FDL



Subject: full text: Daw Suu's message to FDL-AP

FDL-AP CONFERENCE
OPENING CEREMONY MESSAGE 
AUNG SAN SUU KYI, LEADER OF THE NLD, BURMA

The efforts to bring democracy to the Asia-Pacific region have helped us a
great deal. We would like to thank all those who have been working with us
over these last 10 years. Already a decade has passed since the people of
Burma made it quite clear to the whole world that they want a democracy and
they were prepared to make many sacrifices for democracy. Yet, it's not
possible for us to do it alone because the world is so interconnected these
days that we cannot stand alone. No man, no nation is an island unto
itself. This is why we would like to appeal to you to keep up the work that
you have been doing. It is effective.

There are those who say that the efforts of democracy-loving groups and
nations all over the world have had no effect in Burma. This is not so. The
very fact that I'm talking to you now, the very fact that a movement for
democracy is alive and vitally alive in spite of the oppression to which we
have been subjected is proof that your work has paid great results. If you
had not been there to support us, it would have been that much more
difficult for us. We would not have given up our efforts to bring democracy
and human rights to Burma. We would have continued but we would have had to
face greater odds, so please believe that your efforts really do help us
great deal. I am absolutely confident that the year 2000 will see many many
changes which will be for the good of those who are on the side of peace
and justice. 

We do believe that the world is becoming a better place day by day in spite
of some signs to the contrary. Human beings being human beings, there are
often great setbacks, but progress is always there. We believe in the
essential goodness of humanity, but we think there has to be hard work to
bring out this essential goodness. As Buddhists would say in every one of
us, there is a Buddha nature. But it needs hard work to bring this out. In
the same way, we believe that in every society, there are underlying human
instincts that work for democracy, for human rights, for peace and justice.
Please help us to foster these instincts. And please do not ever believe
that work done for the sake of democracy is wasted in any way. Sometimes
the results are not immediately obvious, but the results will come and when
they are obvious then we shall all be able to celebrate together. I would
like to have been able to get together with you to discuss ideas as to how
we can best speed up the democratisation process in Burma, but although we
cannot be together physically we can be together in mind and spirit. And we
can all work together to speed up the democratization process in Burma.

Every day that is delayed is a day more of suffering for our people and for
our country. I know that we are not the only people who are suffering from
lack of justice and from the lack of basic human rights. But we have to do
what we can and we would like to bring democracy, justice and human rights
to Burma. And when we are a democracy, we would like to help others in our
region and in the world to achieve the same kind of rights for which we are
fighting now. I'm sorry about this incessant background*, but this is an
illustration of the way in which we have to work in Burma. In great
difficulty with many obstacles but in spite of that, we do believe that we
shall overcome and quite soon. Thank you very much.

Released October 25, 1999, Seoul.
* (The background noise increases towards the end of the video message)

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A L T S E A N - B U R M A
Alternative Asean Network on Burma
Tel: 66 2 275 1811 * Fax: 66 2 693 4515
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