Back to store
When I met Aung San Suu Kyi, in Rangoon in February of 1999, I promised her husband I would do everything possible to get his wife the “freedom to lead.” The US Campaign for Burma and Human Rights Action Center (HRAC) joined forces over ten years ago to give this movement more force.
Helping this cause is not easy. Few know where Burma is. Even fewer can pronounce Aung San Suu Kyi’s name. But the facts are impressive. She won the Nobel Peace Prize; she won as the candidate of her party, the National League for Democracy, with 82% of the vote. Her protest is non-violent. She could easily leave and live a grand life, traveling the world to receive awards, appropriate doctorates, etc. Instead she stays with her people as a prisoner. But unlike other leaders of her sort, she is not yet the Mandela of Asia. Nor the Gandhi of Burma. And yet, torture and rape remain state policy of the military and there are more villages destroyed in Burma than in Darfur. But no one notices.
We’ve all been inspired by the recent and courageous movement for democracy inside Iran. We’ve been horrified by that oppressive government’s response. This has been the status quo inside Burma for nearly two decades. What will it take for people to get outraged at this oppression?
