Description

This paper deals with the democracy movement in Burma, namely the National League for Democracy (NLD) and its leader, Nobel peace prize laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. Starting with a brief introduction into her biography and the Burmese history, it focuses especially on her outreach to the outwards world and its effects. It draws on her writings and their reception especially in the west and illustrates that while gaining much attention in western media, concrete steps to change the situation in Burma have not been effective. Although economic sanctions have been but in place, the human rights situation in the country remains devastating. Furthermore, foreign investment in the formerly isolated country has become one of the main pillars for the military junta's reign, while the sanctions primarily hit the already poor population.