Interview with Aung San Suu Kyi

Hello. Hello Da Suu. We are here with about 60 people from the United States. I’m
going to put you on the speaker. Can you hear us now?

We are very honored that you are talking to us and that we are all together.

I’m here with a group of about 60 people. We’re here at Vashon High School. Did you
receive the questions that we sent you?

Yes I did.

Wonderful.

I’d like to have the students ask you. Do you have some time to answer the questions for
us if we ask you one by one?

Yes, of course.

Introductions of leader of Vashon High School Amnesty International Group.

Brooke and Emma.

Students are called up for questions…

Hi – I’m Emma.

Okay, that's fine.

I’m going to ask you the first question. What did you do during your years of house
arrest?

You could say that I concentrated on making myself strong, both physically and
mentally. So I did everything that was necessary to keep me healthy and also to keep me
strong mentally and spiritually which meant a lot of reading, education, a lot of thinking
and also keeping busy around the house which is good for you, to be kept busy.

2. Zoe is going to ask the next question. What is your day to day life like now that
you’ve been free?

Pretty busy. I often miss the days of house arrest. I never seem to get a good night’s
sleep. I’m so busy. But still I think it’s better to be free and busy than under arrest and
leisurely, as it were.

3. Brooke Kipling is going to ask the next question. Do you plan on working with the
military junta and establishing a good working relationship with them?
Of course I plan to go on working with the military junta and establishing a good
relationship with them because unless we do that we will not be able to bring about
peaceful change in Burma. You have to learn to work with people with whom you’re not
agreed on everything. You don’t have to be agreed on everything in order to work with
other people. We do believe that there is a variety of opinion. To put it in a nutshell we
believe in unity and diversity and this is what we are trying to achieve.

4. Now we have Alia Payne here to ask another question. How do you deal each day
with the fear of knowing that your actions may have very serious consequences?

I don’t think you should call it fear, as such. I think it’s a responsibility and I try to
discharge my duties as best as I possibly can. I don’t think fear comes into the matter at
all. If you think of what your duties are then your only concerned with how best to deal
with them rather than what might go wrong, or what the consequences might be. If I’ve
done my best and the results are not as good as I might have hoped, I can only try again.

5. Now we have Rachel Taylor here to entertain another question. I’m wondering where
do you start to accomplish your goals. What are the steps that you take now? What are
the steps you take first to accomplish your goals?

Ahh, well, what steps do you take to accomplish your goals. I think you start with a
conviction. I started with a conviction back in 1988, but everybody has a duty to join in
to help with the process of democratization in Burma because so many people wanted
change and I thought everybody had a duty to join in. So that’s how you start, with a
conviction. Then once you’re convinced then you have to ask the question, “how”, and
then the answers come.

6. The next question is from Zoe Ferguson-Steele. What can we as Americans, or our
American government do to help?

It would be very nice if you could make more people around you aware of the situation in
Burma. That is the most important thing, that the world should be aware of our situation
and of what we are trying to do and of course, as you are a democracy, if Americans are
on our side the American government will have to be on our side too. We can’t get away
from that. That’s the beauty of democracy. So I think that it’s more important to have
the support of the people of America then the government. Because, the American
government changes but the people are always there.

7. Now we have a question from Lauren. We have about 4000 refugees from Burma
here in our state and most are in Seattle so how does the absence of the refuges affect
Burma and what you are trying to do?
There are different kinds of refugees. Some of the refugees are from the ethnic areas and
they have had to leave the country because of persecution, and then some of the refugees
are those who have been working for democracy inside the country and are political
refugees. Now with regard to those refugees who had to leave Burma because of
persecution, especially in the ethnic areas, we think that we lose a lot from losing the
confidence of our ethic people and from losing the unity that comes when they start
leaving the country because there is no confidence in the ability of whoever is in power to
protect them and to give them security. And I think this is more important than anything
else. More than people as a work force, people as a force for unity is more important to
us, and when this force for unity is weakened it hurts us very badly.

8. The next question is from Sam. Do you think it’s realistic for all of the ethnic groups
to get along in Burma given years of tension?

I think it’s realistic. I think we all have to try very hard, and at the moment we seem to
be achieving more unity than we have had for a long time because many ethnic groups
have been in touch with us, the National League for Democracy and we are all agreed on
the need for a true spirit of union. So, I think it is realistic but it won’t be achieved
without hard work on all sides.

9. Next we have a question from Meg. I’m wondering how did you deal with the
separation from your family for so long.

First of all my family were wonderful. They understood what I was trying to do and they
were very kind and understanding, and that is a great help. If they had not given me that
understanding, and they had not been kind about what I had to undergo, then I think it
would have been very difficult for me. And then secondarily of course I had very happy
memories and that helped. There is nothing like happy memories to keep you aware of
the fact that you are very much luckier than many other people and that helps you to cope
with every aspect.

10. The next question is from Valentina. What is life like for a typical Burmese citizen?

Insecure. I think that the one thing we all feel … insecure. The rich..the poor feel
insecure because they don’t have enough. The rich feel insecure because they do not
know how long they can cling on to their riches. This is what happens in a country where
there is no rule of law, and where the basic rights of a citizen are not respected.
Insecurity is the worst thing and the most obvious thing about life for a typical Burmese
citizen.

11. Now we have a question from Emma. I’m wondering what inspires you to do all of
the amazing things that you are doing.

I think my father had something to do with it. I was very small when my father died. I
was about two years old so I don’t really remember him. But, I was brought up to think
of him as an honest man. I was not brought up to think of him as a great hero, but as an
honest man who did the best he could for his country. So I felt that one must be honest
and one must try do the best that one can for his country, and when in1988 the people of
Burma rose up asking for democracy, I felt it was my duty to do what I could to the best
of my ability and to try to be honest in whatever I did.

12. Next we have a question from a different Emma. Do you care if we refer to the
country as Burma, or do you prefer the world use Miramar, or is it beside the point?

I do like to hear the country referred to as Burma. For this reason, that it was Burma
before it was changed to Miramar, and the name was changed without any reference to
the will of the people. This was changed by what was known as the State Law and Order,
…umm…wait a minute I’ve forgotten the name, …State Law and Order Restoration
Council, while they changed the name without finding out what the will of the people
was, and I did not think it is right to change the name of a country without referring to the
wishes of the people. That’s why I like to call it Burma and I still refer to it as Burma
and I wish that as many people as possible would refer to it as Burma.

13. This is Alix here, and I have a question about the 2,203 political prisoners. What is
the best way for us to convince the junta to release these political prisoners that are still in
jail today? Sanctions? Letters? Any other suggestions of how we can help get them out
of the prison?

There isn’t just one best way. I think there are many ways for us to convince the junta to
release political prisoners. Any ways that you can think of, not just the ones that have
been used now such as letters or sanctions, or demonstrations in your home or in front of
embassies and so on. I think you as young people will be able to think of new ways that
we haven’t thought of before and we’d be very very happy to hear what your ideas are on
this topic.

14. Our next question is from Charlotte. I was wondering if you are pleased with the
level of action performed on your behalf.

On my behalf and personally I am very pleased of course because I’ve been given a lot of
support, but on behalf of all of us who are struggling for democracy in Burma, I have to
ask for more support because we do need more and more and more because we have a lot
of work to do to put it shortly we need all the help we can get.

15. Now we have a question from Miriam. I was wondering who some of your heroes
are and who inspires or influences you?

Well I have real life heroes as well as fictional heroes. Let me talk about one of my real
life heroes who is Desmond Tutu. I think he’s a great man. I think he’s a great human
being. And, to be a great human being is really more important than to be a great man, I
think. I guess my fictional hero is somebody that I think Desmond Tutu would approve
of. This is a character in Les Misérables, Jean Valjean. He too was a great human being
and I think those are the people, are the ones who really help the world to move along in
the right direction.

16. Now we have a question from Emma. How much have you done publicly to
denounce the military or to help weaken them?

I hope that I haven’t done anything to hurt them. I don’t know whether I have ever
denounced the military as such. I think I have only denounced some of the things they
have done. I do not wish to weaken the military but I wish to strengthen them in the right
way. I’ve always said that the best thing for Burma is to have a fine professional army
that is strong in the protection of the people’s rights.

17. Our next question is from Valentina. Do you think the western world has been
involved enough in Burmese affairs, or do you see need for greater commitment from the
UN or the EU or the US?

The rest of the world has been very helpful. We would welcome greater commitment
from anybody at all, from the United Nations, or the EU or the USA. What we would
love most of all is for the international community to coordinate the efforts because if the
efforts are coordinated it would be much more effective than if each country or
organization simply went its own way.

18. Now we have our final question from Emily. We heard that you occasionally could
speak with your attorney while under house arrest. What were some of the first things
you would ask your lawyer during arrest?

Well, one sure thing I’d usually asked him is what was happening outside that was in
accordance with the law. Although he was a lawyer, and ever time I met my lawyer, we
had to discuss a lot of legal matters. There were so many things happening that came to
me not in accordance with the law and these were the point on which I questioned my
lawyer because we want to act in accordance with the rule of law.

Now before we all hang up can I ask you one question in return. Could you tell me what
your 3 most favorite books are???