Perhaps not everyone can pronounce her name, but ask a layman for the most recognisable face of Burma and chances are it would be Aung San Suu Kyi, the country’s most famous political prisoner.
Today, Suu Kyi – the world’s only Nobel Peace Laureate yet to claim her prize in Norway – celebrates her 60th birthday under house arrest in Burma’s capital Rangoon.
But she is not alone, say her many supporters. Despite having spent almost 10 of the past 16 years locked up, support for her has waned little.
Like Nelson Mandela who was incarcerated on Robben Island during the darkest days of apartheid South Africa, Suu Kyi shines like a beacon of hope for the people of Burma. There, some 300,000 people have signed a petition demanding for her release.
If events to celebrate her birthday today in places such as Oslo, Sydney, Washington D.C. and Bangkok are anything to go by, her appeal has effectively gone global, too. And for good reason.
“I am deeply concerned for Aung San Suu Kyi and the more than 1,000 political prisoners who have remained steadfast and true to non-violent principles,” said Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who was a key campaigner against apartheid in South Africa.
Archbishop Tutu contends that “apathy in the face of systemic human rights abuses is amoral. One either supports justice and freedom, or one supports injustice and bondage. Their silenced voices are the most eloquent persuasion that the time to stand firm for their freedom is now.”
This recognition for Suu Kyi as the symbol of – and many argue, only chance for – democracy and stability in Myanmar must irk the military government, the State Peace and Development Council, which runs the country.
After all, Suu Kyi’s party, the National League for Democracy, has the legitimacy to rule the country when it won more than 80% of the seats in Burma’s general election in 1990. But it was denied the right to form the government when the military reneged on its promise to hand over power.
Today, despite Suu Kyi’s incarceration, the struggle for a free Burma continues.
With the junta’s tight control over information – individual ownership of mobile phones is banned, for instance, and Internet is virtually inaccessible – there’s little way of knowing whether she is aware of what is happening around the world today in her honour.
But it is conceivable that she would approve of the momentum that is building up within Asean.
If ground-breaking political action can be seen as birthday gifts, then it is arguably the elected members of parliament from Burma’s closest neighbours who have packed the biggest surprise presents for Suu Kyi this year.
A group of MPs from Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand and Cambodia have formed the Asean Inter-Parliamentary Caucus for Myanmar (AIPMC) as part of a campaign to raise awareness among legislators in their own countries of the situation in Burma and put pressure on the junta to free Suu Kyi and restore democracy.
Led by Datuk Zaid Ibrahim, head of the Malaysian caucus, they are asking that Burma, which is scheduled to take over as chairman of Asean by rotation next year, be denied the position unless Suu Kyi is released and other conditions are met.
This demand – in the Asean context – is surely unprecedented. But Zaid says it could mark the start of a new period of maturity and self-confidence within the region.
There should be a minimum standard of conduct that Asean members have to meet, says Zaid, who insists that this action does not violate the regional grouping’s “non-interference” principle.
For many years the international community had called upon Asean to take the lead in addressing the situation in Burma. These caucuses can be seen as rising to that challenge, he says.
To have legislators throughout the region come together at both national and regional levels on an issue of human rights and democracy is encouraging not only for Asean, but for each individual country, says Zaid.
The AIPMC says despite “constructive engagement” with Burma since its admittance into Asean in 1997, little progress had been made towards democracy and genuine national reconciliation.
“As elected parliamentarians, we should be pro-active and robust in our approach. We have a responsibility to ensure democracy takes root in this part of the world, and change can only take place if friends of Burma say and do something when they see things are wrong,” says Zaid.
In the foreword to Burma Women’s Voices for Freedom, a book about the struggles of women in Myanmar, to be launched today, Suu Kyi writes: “the struggle for democracy is about the simplest and most fundamental things in life like love, security and happiness. It is about how we want to live our lives.”
She says: “Democracy for us concerns matters people in freer countries often take for granted. It is about our jobs and our children’s education; it’s about the house we live in and the food we eat; it’s about whether or not we need to get permission from somebody else before we are allowed to visit our relatives in the next village; it’s about whether or not we can reap our own harvest and sell it to the person we want to sell it to.”
The compelling, and often touching, women’s testimonies published in the book suggest that some of the most basic of rights are denied to many people in Burma.
In her determination not to be silenced by the army, one woman in Burma symbolises the struggle for such “simple and fundamental things.”
In calling for Suu Kyi’s release, Asean and the world are also asking for freedom for the people of Burma.