Banya Hongsar : Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Burma’s hope and leader of the National League for Democracy (NLD) has two battles to face in her short time after release. Firstly, she has to convince the military junta that she is willing to have a dialogue and produce a compromise with the military leaders. Secondly, she has to convince the armed ethnic forces and politicians that she is willing to find a workable model of ‘Federal Union of Burma” that was agreed upon between her father and the ethnic parties sixty years ago.
These two issues will not be easy for Daw Suu and her senior colleagues in the post election period, because the ruling junta still controls the Burmese government. Furthermore, the ethnic-based armed forces and political organizations have limited resources and capacity to pressure the ruling junta to withdraw from the ethnic states and their controlled areas after the cease-fire agreement took place in early 1990s. One’s highest hope is that Daw Suu could convince both the ruling junta and the ethnic-leaders that she is willing to bring peace and national unity among them. Daw Suu also needs the moral and political support from local social and civil rights forces to meet and discuss any durable solutions among all players in the country.
Furthermore, it is Daw Suu who could pressure the ruling junta for dialogue and national unity spirit. Daw Suu claimed that non-violence is her way and her policy to build and restore democracy in the country. The seven ethnic states must be given assurance that the ethnic people will enjoy gradual autonomy under a re-written new constitution based on the foundation of the National League for Democracy’s model. Likewise, the ethnic states and leaders should also be assured by her that all leaders will be willing to build a workable model of a new “Federal Union of Burma” that united the national spirit within new political environment.
Burmese people not only love Daw Suu but also rely on her message. The people rarely listen to the messages of Senior General Than Shwe or other ruling generals. A long time Burma’s observer, Professor Josef Silverstein, wrote about the “Idea of freedom in Burma and the political thoughts of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’ in early year of Burma’s democracy movement, which states, “despite the military’s effort to isolates her presence from the mind of the public, she continues to hold its loyalty because of her courage and because the message she continues to deliver is in the mainstream of Burmese culture and tradition.” Daw Suu’s message is clear stating that she is willing to work with everyone who wants to bring about democratic change in the country, benefitting all, even the soldiers from all armies in the conflicts.
Calling a National Unity Conference must be her priority. A National Unity Conference could instate policies that would cease the current civil war and demand government troops withdrawal from the ethnic states. Finally, Daw Suu must examine the laws currently in place that are unjust and discriminate against the citizens, especially the ethnic people’s social and cultural rights. As a leader of hope, Daw Suu can bring unity among all politicians of all sides to foster tolerance and acceptance within the country.
Daw Suu’s challenge is greater than all other politicians and ethnic leaders throughout the country. She has to convince both sides of politics, along with her own that Burma seriously needs national unity. It is our hope, likewise that she can end the suffering of the Burmese people. The damages done by the ruling junta may be considered beyond repair, but her courage instills hope in us all.
Canberra, Australia.
