Daw Aung San Suu Kyi Released from Detention in Burma
By Maureen Aung-Thwin
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“I am a fervent believer in national reconciliation. I believe that this is the path we should take. Let me openly tell the people here that I have no grudge against the people who kept me under restriction. I believe in human rights and the rule of law. I will always strive for this. I don’t harbor hatred of anyone.” (Public address, November 14, 2010) © Mizzima News -
“The Universal Declaration of Human Rights begins by saying that everyone is born with inherent dignity. This dignity must be upheld. The dignity commensurate with these rights must be upheld.” (Daw Aung San Suu Kyi holding a sign to the crowd that reads in Burmese “I also love you the people,” November 14, 2010) © Mizzima News -
“I take this opportunity to honor those of our colleagues and comrades who have given their lives to the cause for democracy; to honour our colleagues and comrades who are still in prison. Let us pray that they will be released as soon as possible.” (Public address, November 14, 2010) © Mizzima News -
“Our door is always open to all those who wish to work for democracy. This has always been our principle and remains so.” (Press conference at NLD headquarters, November 14, 2010) © Mizzima News -
“It is the requirement of my work that I remain healthy until we achieve democracy. After that, I will indulge in becoming an old lady.” (Night of release from house arrest, November 13, 2010) © Mizzima News -
“These problems are not going to be resolved overnight. We've all got to learn the meaning of reconciliation. We don't want conflicts to be resolved through armed battles. It has always been our policy. We want them to be resolved through dialogue and reconciliation and I am very, very saddened that our country is still at a point where conflicts are to be resolved through force of power.” (Supporter reading about release in local newspaper, November 14, 2010) © Mizzima News -
“Whether the NLD is perpetuated is not the issue, the issue is the perpetuation of the people. We would like to have a democracy network throughout the country, throughout the word, by the people – for the people. From the beginning, we have not worked for the perpetuation of this party, alone, but to attain democracy and to uplift the morale and qualities of the people.” (Crowds of supporters, November 14, 2010) © Mizzima News
The Open Society Foundations welcome the release of Nobel laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. Although Daw Suu was effectively shut out of recent elections, we call on the Burmese junta to now support genuine steps to political reform by entering into a real dialogue with Daw Suu and ethnic leaders. As Aung San Suu Kyi has said, "I will continue to work for national reconciliation among the people, among all of us. There is no one that I cannot work or talk with; if there is a will to work together, it can be done. If there is a will to talk to one another, it can be done. I will take this path.”
We hope that her release will be a small step towards national reconciliation. Aung San Suu Kyi has been under detention by Burma's junta for 15 of the past 21 years. On November 14, she made her first public statements in seven years.
Below are photographs from Open Society grantee Mizzima News, taken during Daw Suu's first few hours of release as well as excerpts from her public address and press conference at the National League for Democracy’s headquarters in Rangoon.
Until June 2017, Maureen Aung-Thwin was special advisor to the Burma Program at the Open Society Foundations.