Introduction

Aung San Suu Kyi was born on June 19, 1945, Rangoon, Burma [now Yangon, Myanmar]).
Shes a politician and opposition leader of Myanmar, daughter of Aung San (a martyred national
hero of independent Burma) and Khin Kyi (a prominent Burmese diplomat), and winner of
the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1991.
Aung San Suu Kyi was two years old when her father, then the de facto prime minister of what
would shortly become independent Burma, was assassinated. She attended schools in Burma
until 1960, when her mother was appointed ambassador to India. After further study in India, she
attended the University of Oxford, where she met her future husband, the British scholar Michael
Aris. She and Aris had two children and lived a rather quiet life until 1988.
Return to Burma
Suu Kyi returned to Burma from abroad in 1988, amidst the slaughter of protesters rallying
against Burmas dictator, U Ne Win and his iron-fisted rule. She began speaking out against him,
with democracy and human rights at the fore of her struggle. It did not take long for the junta to
notice her efforts, and in July of 1989, the military government of Burma - which was renamed
the "Union of Myanmar" in 1989placed Suu Kyi under house arrest and cut off any
communication she might have with the outside world.
The 66-year-old spent most of the last two decades in some form of detention because of her
efforts to bring democracy to military-ruled Burma.
In 1991, a year after her National League for Democracy (NLD) won an overwhelming victory
in an election the junta later nullified, she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
The committee chairman, Francis Sejested, called her "an outstanding example of the power of
the powerless".
She was sidelined for Burma's first elections in two decades on 7 November 2010 but released
from house arrest six days later.
As the new government embarked on a process of reform, Ms Suu Kyi and her party rejoined the
political process.
On 1 April 2012 she stood for parliament in a by-election, arguing it was what her supporters
wanted even if the country's reforms were "not irreversible".
She and her fellow NLD candidates won a landslide victory and weeks later the former political
prisoner was sworn into parliament, a move unimaginable before the 2010 polls.
Highlights of her interview to the media is given below:
"The basis of democratic freedom is freedom of speech. If we want to get what we want, we
have to do it in the right way."
"Democracy is when the people keep a government in check. Please do not give up hope. There
is no reason to lose heart."
"Even if you are not political, politics will come to you."
"We would like to form a network of people working for democracy" and open a dialogue with
"those who are in a position to do something, to change the situation in Burma for the better."
Asked what she would say to Burma's top military leader General Than Shwe, she said:
"I think what we are looking for is dialogue, so I'm not just thinking about what I have to say to
him. I think what we have to think about is what we have to say to each other." She added that
she would like to discuss issues "relevant to the interests of Burma's people."
"I may be detained again," Suu Kyi said. "I just do what I can do at the moment."
"We have to work together," she said. "That is the main message. Those inside the country have
to work together and also those supporters outside."
Several days after her release, Suu Kyi said:
"I'm not going to be able to do it alone. You've got to do it with me. One person alone can't do
anything as important as bringing change and democracy to a country."