2012 by-elections
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| Daw Su |
On 3 March 2012, at a large campaign rally in Mandalay, Suu Kyi unexpectedly left after 15 minutes, because of exhaustion and airsickness.
In an official campaign speech broadcast on Myanmar state television's MRTV on 14 March 2012, Suu Kyi publicly campaigned for reform of the 2008 Constitution,
removal of restrictive laws, more adequate protections for people's
democratic rights, and establishment of an independent judiciary. The speech was leaked online a day before it was broadcast. A paragraph in the speech, focusing on the Tatmadaw's repression by means of law, was censored by authorities.
Suu Kyi has also called for international media to monitor the
upcoming by-elections, while publicly pointing out irregularities in
official voter lists, which include deceased individuals and exclude
other eligible voters in the contested constituencies.
On 21 March 2012, Aung San Suu Kyi was quoted as saying "Fraud and rule
violations are continuing and we can even say they are increasing."
When asked whether she would assume a ministerial post if given the opportunity, she said the following:
I can tell you one thing – that under the present constitution, if you become a member of the government you have to vacate your seat in the national assembly. And I am not working so hard to get into parliament simply to vacate my seat.
On 26 March 2012, Suu Kyi suspended her nationwide campaign tour early, after a campaign rally in Myeik (Mergui), a coastal town in the south, citing health problems due to exhaustion and hot weather.
On 1 April 2012, the NLD announced that Suu Kyi had won the vote for a seat in Parliament.A news broadcast on state-run MRTV, reading the announcements of the Union Election Commission, confirmed her victory, as well as her party's victory in 43 of the 45 contested seats, officially making Suu Kyi the Leader of the Opposition in the lower house.
Although she and other MP-elects were expected to take office on 23
April when the Hluttaws resume session, National League for Democracy
MP-elects, including Suu Kyi, said they might not take their oaths
because of its wording; in its present form, parliamentarians must vow
to "safeguard" the constitution.In an address on Radio Free Asia,
she said "We don't mean we will not attend the parliament, we mean we
will attend only after taking the oath... Changing that wording in the
oath is also in conformity with the Constitution. I don't expect there
will be any difficulty in doing it."
On May 2nd, 2012, National League for Democracy MP-elects, including
Aung San Suu Kyi, took their oaths and took office, though the wording
of the oath was not changed. According to the Los Angeles Times, "Suu Kyi and her colleagues decided they could do more by joining as lawmakers than maintaining their boycott on principle."
International support
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| Daw Su and ? |
Aung San Suu Kyi has received vocal support from Western nations in Europe,Australia and North and South America, as well as India, Israel, Japan the Philippines and South Korea.In December 2007, the US House of Representatives voted unanimously 400–0 to award Aung San Suu Kyi the Congressional Gold Medal; the Senate concurred on 25 April 2008. On 6 May 2008, President George Bush signed legislation awarding Suu Kyi the Congressional Gold Medal.
She is the first recipient in American history to receive the prize
while imprisoned. More recently, there has been growing criticism of her
detention by Myanmar's neighbours in the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations, particularly from Indonesia,Thailand, the Philippines and Singapore. At one point Malaysia warned Myanmar that it faced expulsion from ASEAN as a result of the detention of Suu Kyi. Other nations including South Africa, Bangladesh and the Maldives
also called for her release. The United Nations has urged the country
to move towards inclusive national reconciliation, the restoration of
democracy, and full respect for human rights. In December 2008, the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution condemning the human rights situation in Myanmar and calling for Suu Kyi's release—80 countries voting for the resolution, 25 against and 45 abstentions. Other nations, such as China and Russia, are less critical of the regime and prefer to cooperate only on economic matters. Indonesia has urged China to push Myanmar for reforms. However, Samak Sundaravej, former Prime Minister of Thailand,
criticised the amount of support for Suu Kyi, saying that "Europe uses
Aung San Suu Kyi as a tool. If it's not related to Aung San Suu Kyi, you
can have deeper discussions with Myanmar."
Vietnam,
however, did not support calls by other ASEAN member states for Myanmar
to free Aung San Suu Kyi, state media reported Friday, 14 August 2009. The state-run Việt Nam News
said Vietnam had no criticism of Myanmar's decision 11 August 2009 to
place Suu Kyi under house arrest for the next 18 months, effectively
barring her from elections scheduled for 2010. "It is our view that the
Aung San Suu Kyi trial is an internal affair of Myanmar", Vietnamese
government spokesman Le Dung stated on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
In contrast with other ASEAN member states, Dung said Vietnam has
always supported Myanmar and hopes it will continue to implement the "roadmap to democracy" outlined by its government.
Nobel Peace Prize
Aung San Suu Kyi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991. The decision of the Nobel Committee mentions:
The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 1991 to Aung San Suu Kyi of Myanmar for her non-violent struggle for democracy and human rights. ...Suu Kyi's struggle is one of the most extraordinary examples of civil courage in Asia in recent decades. She has become an important symbol in the struggle against oppression...
...In awarding the Nobel Peace Prize for 1991 to Aung San Suu Kyi, the Norwegian Nobel Committee wishes to honour this woman for her unflagging efforts and to show its support for the many people throughout the world who are striving to attain democracy, human rights and ethnic conciliation by peaceful means.—Oslo, 14 October 1991
Nobel Peace Prize winners (Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the Dalai Lama, Shirin Ebadi, Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, Mairead Corrigan, Rigoberta Menchú, Prof. Elie Wiesel, U.S. President Barack Obama, Betty Williams, Jody Williams and former U.S. President Jimmy Carter)
called for the rulers of Myanmar to release Suu Kyi in order to "create
the necessary conditions for a genuine dialogue with Daw Aung San Suu
Kyi and all concerned parties and ethnic groups in order to achieve an
inclusive national reconciliation with the direct support of the United
Nations."
Some of the money she received as part of the award helps fund
London-based charity Prospect Myanmar, which provides higher education
grants to Myanmar students.
Organizations
- Freedom Now, a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit organization, was retained in 2006 by a member of her family to help secure Aung San Suu Kyi's release from house arrest. The organization secured several opinions from the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention that her detention was in violation of international law; engaged in political advocacy such as spearheading a letter from 112 former Presidents and Prime Ministers to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urging him to go to Burma to seek her release, which he did six weeks later; and published numerous opeds and spoke widely to the media about her ongoing detention. Its representation of her ended when she was released from house arrest on 13 November 2010.
- Aung San Suu Kyi has been an honorary board member of International IDEA and ARTICLE 19 since her detention, and has received support from these organisations.
- The Vrije Universiteit Brussel and the Université catholique de Louvain, both located in Belgium, granted her the title of Doctor Honoris Causa.
- In 2003, the Freedom Forum recognized Suu Kyi's efforts to promote democracy peacefully with the Al Neuharth Free Spirit of the Year Award, in which she was presented over satellite because she was under house arrest. She was awarded one million dollars.
- In June of each year, the U.S. Campaign for Myanmar organizes hundreds of "Arrest Yourself" house parties around the world in support of Aung San Suu Kyi. At these parties, the organizers keep themselves under house arrest for 24 hours, invite their friends, and learn more about Burma and Aung San Suu Kyi.
- The Freedom Campaign, a joint effort between the Human Rights Action Center and US Campaign for Myanmar, looks to raise worldwide attention to the struggles of Aung San Suu Kyi and the people of Myanmar.
- The Myanmar Campaign UK is a UK based NGO (Non Governmental Organisation) that aims to raise awareness of Myanmar's struggles and follow the guidelines established by the NLD and Aung San Suu Kyi.
- St. Hugh's College, Oxford, where she studied, had a Myanmar theme for their annual ball in support of her in 2006.
- Aung San Suu Kyi is the official patron of The Rafto Human Rights House in Bergen, Norway. She received the Thorolf Rafto Memorial Prize in 1990.
- She was made an honorary free person of the City of Dublin, Ireland in November 1999, although a space had been left on the roll of signatures to symbolize her continued detention.
- In November 2005 the human rights group Equality Now proposed Aung Sun Suu Kyi as a potential candidate, among other qualifying women, for the position of U.N. Secretary General. In the proposed list of qualified women Suu Kyi is recognised by Equality Now as the Prime Minister-Elect of Myanmar.
- The UN' special envoy to Myanmar, Ibrahim Gambari, met Aung San Suu Kyi on 10 March 2008 before wrapping up his trip to the military-ruled country.
- Aung San Suu Kyi is an honorary member of The Elders, a group of eminent global leaders brought together by Nelson Mandela.Her ongoing detention means that she is unable to take an active role in the group, so The Elders place an empty chair for her at their meetings.The Elders have consistently called for the release of all political prisoners in Myanmar.
- In 2008, Myanmar’s devoted human rights leader and Nobel Peace Prize, was welcomed as Club of Madrid Honorary Member.
- In 2011, Aung San Suu Kyi was named the Guest Director of the 45th Brighton Festival.
- In June 2011, the BBC announced that Aung San Suu Kyi was to deliver the 2011 Reith Lectures. The BBC covertly recorded two lectures with Aung San Suu Kyi in Myanmar, which were then smuggled out of the country and brought back to London. The lectures were broadcast on BBC Radio 4 and the BBC World Service on 28 June 2011 and 5 July 2011.
- In November 2011, Suu Kyi received Francois Zimeray, France's Ambassador for Human Rights.
- In April 2012, British Prime Minister David Cameron became the first leader of a major world power to visit Aung San Su Kyi and the first of a British prime minister since the 1950s. In his visit, Cameron invited San Su Kyi to Britain where she would be able to visit her 'beloved' Oxford, an invitation which she later accepted; no specifec date has been confirmed but the month is thought to be June 2012.
- In May 2012, Suu Kyi received the inaugural Václav Havel Prize for Creative Dissent of the Human Rights Foundation.
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