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For the vast majority of Burmese, the Lady possesses the true spirit of her father, Burma's national hero General Aung San. From him she inherited the backbone she has become famous for and the traditional obligations of seeking conciliation and mutual respect between adversaries. She has toiled relentlessly on the task of building a democratic Burma and has given up her own liberty in the interests of her fellow Burmese.
For Burma, there can be no proper consideration of a democratic system while she, and some 2,100 fellow political prisoners in Burma, remain isolated from the political culture. Her service is the epitome not only of a leader of a nation, but of the very basic tenets of freedom and democracy itself. It is the richest irony that she, as arguably one of the freedom icons of our generation, is subjected to such treatment while the dictatorial military talks of democracy to the world and to its people.
All in Burma are aware that Aung San Suu Kyi's historic exemplars eventually achieved their goals. Both Mahatma Gandhi and her father General Aung San took their nations from colonialism to independence, forging a foundation of an open society along the way.
From Gandhi she takes her commitment to nonviolence, from her father she draws the power of integrity that takes shape in what she calls “profound simplicity.”
Although these spiritual and political figureheads are significant, Suu Kyi has her own political ideology that orbits a central commitment to defending human rights and human dignity at all times.
In her famous book “Freedom from Fear” she argues that fearlessness is the core of her political thinking. She says it is not power that corrupts, but fear. Fear of losing power corrupts those who exercise it. Fear of the scourge of power corrupts those who are subject to it. Fearlessness is the best reaction to state violence. In conclusion she writes, “Truth, justice and compassion are often the only bulwarks against ruthless power.”
With such qualities, it is clear that Burma needs Aung San Suu Kyi. Moreover, the region and the world need her, for Burma – a strategically and economically important state – is already facing failed-state status and peers over the edge of complete oblivion and chaos under the heavy-handed incompetence of its rulers, the generals.
For the regime, Suu Kyi is seen as a dangerous force. Yet some even in the military must be thinking she is their only chance at a sustainable exit strategy, for they know she will not engage in recrimination or revenge. She is also the only real leader who can gain the immediate support of the international community and be the catalyst for rebuilding Burma.
It may be that it is not just those in the democracy movement who recognize her as the sole savior of the state of Burma.
If the generals analyze the situation with intelligence and foresight – though admittedly these are not qualities they have displayed in the past – they might arrive at the conclusion that her release is vital for their own future.
If, on the other hand, the dictators fail to accept a “tripartite dialogue” between themselves, the ethnic groups and the National League for Democracy, it will surely bring down the regime together with its farcical seven-step roadmap to democracy.
Burma’s generals must therefore enact the immediate release of the Lady and all political prisoners in favor of national reconciliation. It is a rare confluence of views that have seen the international community from the United Nations Security Council, the United States, the European Union and the Association of South East Asian Nations taking the same view on the question of Burma’s Aung San Suu Kyi.
The United Nations, European Union and ASEAN, for their part, must work to persuade China to cooperate in finding a way to release the Lady. Regional players should urge the military regime to abandon its recalcitrant anti-dialogue policies in the interest of reconciliation.
To succeed in establishing a win-win equation, the military must recognize Suu Kyi as the ideal – indeed the only relevant – dialogue partner for national reconciliation in Burma.
Her release might be the best birthday gift Burma has ever had.
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(Zin Linn is a freelance Burmese journalist living in exile in Thailand. he is working at the NCGUB East Office as an information director and is vice-president of Burma Media Association, which is affiliated with the Paris-based Reporters Sans Frontiers. He can be contacted at uzinlinn@gmail.com. ©Copyright Zin Linn.)
