Wednesday, November 16, 2011
What Is Worth Fighting For
Thursday, November 3, 2011
What Is Worth Fighting For
Aung San Suu Kyi Aung San Suu Kyi is the world famous icon for freedom and democracy in Burma (now called Myanmar). No one else from Burma can say that they have done more for democracy there than Suu Kyi. Her father was one of the people who negotiated for independence of Burma from the British and also the founder of the Burmese Independence Army. Her mother was appointed as the Ambassador to India in 1960. She went to work in the UN till 1971. The following year she went to work in Bhutan and that is where she met her husband, Michael Aris. They got married in 1972 and had two sons - Alexander Aris in 1973 and Kim in 1977. Both sons are British citizens. In 1997, her husband was diagnosed with prostrate cancer and died two years later on his 53rd birthday on March 27. The military government of Burma refused to let him visit his wife during the last four years of his life. Instead, they allowed Suu Kyi to leave, but she did not because she was afraid that if she left they would not let her return. This is one of the thing that made her fight for democracy because they did not let him visit her during the last four years. On August 8, 1988, or 8888 as it is known in Burma, students let a big protest for democracy. They were shot at by the soldiers and thousands were killed. After this is when the National League for Democracy was formed in Rangoon. Aung San Suu Kyi is the General Secretary of the party. Aung San Suu Kyi has been under house arrest for more than 15 of the 21 years she has been back in Burma. She was released from house arrest on 13 November 2010. After her mother died in December 1998, she told the people of Burma that she would continue to fight for democracy in that country till she died just as her parents had. For her fight for democracy, Aung San Suu kyi has won many international awards, including the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991, a Congressional Gold Medal in 2008, the Mahatma Gandhi Award for Peace and Reconciliation in 2009, etc... Aung San Suu Kyi believed, like Gandhi that Peace could be achieved without violence. Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Aung_San_Suu_Kyi&printable=yes , http://www.burmacampaigan.org.uk/index.php/burma/about-burma/about-burma/a-biography-of-aung-san-suu-kyi , http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1991/kiy-bio.html |