Voices
them physically. This woman personified the heart and the spirit of
the long, winding road that Burma
has tread to democracy.
In my adult years, Suu Kyi’s
imprisonment lasted well over a
decade. Forced to be a prisoner in
her own home, Suu Kyi is known
worldwide as a champion for the
core principles of democracy.
Nobody embodied the fight for
a people to choose their government the way she did. And it is
clear that “The Lady” is not done
fighting after her much awaited
release in 2010, declaring recently
her willingness to run for Burma’s
presidency: “... As a political party leader, I also have to have the
courage to be president.”
Suu Kyi went on to state that
her political party would work
to remove an existing clause in
the Burmese constitution barring her from the presidency. Her
words signal a new era in a country that is still waking up from
the tight grip of five decades of
military rule.
Could anything be more politically dramatic than watching her
take the place of the very regime
that placed her under arrest, separated her from her family and
barred her from taking office even
ANUSHAY
HOSSAIN
HUFFINGTON
10.21.12
after winning landslide elections?
She is arguably one of the most
romanticized political figures of
modern times.
However, it is what Suu Kyi is
not saying that may be the most
telling of the kind of leader she
would be. In reality, how will “The
Lady” rule? Burma’s ethnic minorities may hold some clues.
This summer, ongoing tension
between Burma’s Muslim population, the Rohingyas, who are denied citizenship and legal rights
by the government, reached new
heights as social media helped
propel the issue to
global attention.
Religious and
Why is
ethnic violence
the world
displaced almost
being silent
80,000 people from
about Aung
their homes beginSan Suu Kyi’s
ning in June, and to
silence? We
make matters worse,
clearly have
neighboring Banglaidolized this
desh has closed off
woman to the
entry of Rohingya
point of no
refugees fleeing the
return.”
violence in Burma.
Burma’s president suggested that the Muslim
minority should be physically
moved out of the country, while
the prime minister of Bangladesh,