Peace and love the weapons of choice for Burmese freedom fighter

You have the right to hope only if you work hard to realise your goals."

This was Aung San Suu Kyi's closing remark at her Ideas at the House event held at the Sydney Opera House this week to mark the first public appearance in Australia of the the Burmese opposition leader, chairperson of the National League For Democracy's (NLD) and Nobel Peace Prize winner.

The occasion also served as a formal ceremony for the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS) and the University of Sydney to each award Daw Aung San Suu Kyi with an honorary degree. UTS originally awarded her degree in 1996, but she was unable to personally accept it as she was under house arrest enforced by the then-Burmese military junta.

Also a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC), Aung San Suu Kyi sees these accolades not only as personal achievements, but "signs the world was with us, that we had not been forgotten in our struggle" in her and the NLD's continuing work towards establishing democracy in Burma, also known as Myanmar.

Aung San Suu Kyi is the daughter of the revolutionary Bogyoke Aung San, who was assassinated in 1947, when his daughter was two years old. He was the major driver for Burmese independence from British Colonial Rule as the President of the Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League and founder of the modern Burmese army.

She was her father's 'favourite child' – a great source of strength for her.

"My mother was anxious that I don't forget him," she says, and has always felt an obligation to continue the work he had started.

In 1988, she spearheaded demonstrations for the democratisation of the Burmese government. Ne Win's 26 year dictatorship ended in July of that year, and the next month saw massive pro-democracy uprisings, including the famous 8888 Uprising, occurring on August 8, 1988.

She founded the NLD in September of that year, basing her politics on the Gandhian principle that nonviolence is the most effective method of political reform. "What we want is a society where differences can be settled without violence. My party is committed to nonviolence."

However, on July 20 1989, she was placed under house arrest; offered freedom if she never returned to Burma, but refusing to accept that proposal. The house arrest lasted for 15 years, ending in December 2010.

Aung San Suu Kyi has a remarkable attitude towards her life and how she's lived, stating she doesn't believe she has made sacrifices, but choices. She said: "If you're giving up something for something that means more to you, then you're not really giving up; it's a choice."

This week, she reflected on her need to maintain single-mindedness in order to try to free her fellow Burmese people from the oppression of military rule. She openly acknowledged to her family that her political work was the most important aspect of her life, and their support was absolute. She has never had any doubts about her work. "I always used to think that if only one person remained in Burma who wanted democracy, I would remain."

This week's appearance at the Opera House took the form of a conversation, conducted by Australian journalist Hamish Macdonald, who pointed out that Aung San Suu Kyi has achieved a great sense of power and influence among her people, although she has never been the official president.

This, she says, is because of her honesty. She has never given false promises or distorted facts and that while 'honest politics' may be widely seen as a contradiction of terms, it is an "absolute necessity."

She cites an experience of travelling abroad (in a country she deliberately doesn't name) and seeing journalists surprised that she actually answered their questions. Aung San Suu Kyi doesn't believe in using press conferences and interviews as an opportunity to deliver pre-prepared responses to questions.

During her formal address, she spoke of Burma's future. From the outset, she says, she and her colleagues opted to work towards establishing democracy rooted in strong institutions and respect for human rights. The third pillar for Burma's future is the national reconciliation of its people as one union, without violence. Aung San Suu Kyi believes hate and fear are the two motives for violence, and meeting with the various groups and determining what their fears are is the only solution for achieving reconciliation. "As long as there is hate and fear, there cannot be reconciliation, there cannot be a sorting out of differences; violence comes out of hate and fear."

In 2012, the NLD continued its work by choosing to contest the Burmese by-election, in which the party won 43 of the 45 contested seats. The NLD's election platform was based on three planks: rule of law, internal peace, and amendment of the constitution.

Aung San Suu Kyi wished to concentrate on rule of law, as decades of authoritarian rule had oppressed the people with 'law and order', which in Burmese means "crouched", "crushed", and "flattened". Deliberate flaws in the country's constitution see the judiciary placed under the total authority of the executive, while "internal peace" calls for an end to internal conflict between ethnic groups.

The NLD's third plank of reform aims to amend the constitution because, according to Aung San Suu Kyi, "this constitution is preventing our country (Burma) from becoming a truly democratic nation.

"The provisions to amend the constitution are among the most rigid you will see anywhere in the world," she says. More than 75 per cent of the legislature must vote in favour of a reform. Additionally, members of the military represent 25 per cent of the Burmese lower house. Therefore, for an amendment to be passed, the military must also be in favour of it.

However, the army's un-elected Commander-in-Chief appoints the members representing the military, and can be changed at any time. Essentially, he has the power to decide whether a constitution amendment is to occur. "How can you call a constitution democratic when it can be amended or not amended in accordance with the will of one man who is in an unelected post?" she asks.

Aung San Suu Kyi and the NLD have recently held public meetings in Burma to raise awareness about the need to amend the constitution, and she believes once people understand the situation, the majority will wish for the constitution to be amended or completely rewritten.

Under the current constitution, Aung San Suu Kyi can't become the president of Burma because she has no military experience – and the military is only open to men. Elsewhere, the constitution states that there should be no discrimination on the basis of gender, but if it's not amended she will be unable to contest the presidency at the 2015 election, which is her intention.

She also spoke of the need for security within society, saying: "If people don't feel secure, how can we expect them to sit down and calmly settle their differences?" The military rule hasn't provided this security, and according to Aung San Suu Kyi, the current Burmese government doesn't have independence, transparency, and responsibility.

In answer to an audience member's question of what are the most important things to teach her unborn daughter, Aung San Suu Kyi replied "peace and love", which she says are "all the things we need in this world, really, if this is to be a world where we can be safe, and happy".

In closing, she said: "Peace and love is something to which every human being should work. If we all put peace and love at the top of our list of choices, then I think we would all be very much happier. You may think this is very idealistic and not possible, but of course it is possible. Many of my colleagues have put peace and love above everything else. Not love just for themselves and their families; love has to work a lot wider than that.

"Love needs to be expressed in action. You must teach your little girl to work towards peace and love not just for herself but also for the world in which she lives.

We have known people that have put that as the top importance in their lives, and have successfully brought more peace and love to the world. That is how justice comes, how harmony comes, and how progress comes."

Possibly the most striking thing Aung San Suu Kyi said throughout the event was her one-word answer to her "interviewer's" question of what is the biggest challenge facing the world today.

"Greed."

Source: http://www.news.myanmaronlinecentre.com/2013/11/30/peace-and-love-the-weapons-of-choice-for-burmese-freedom-fighter/