What a week it has been in ol' Burma. Now known as Myanmar, this isolated Southeast Asian nation has been ruled by an unscrupulous military junta for the last twenty years. Although they remain in power, their control is beginning to slip..
Last Friday, the Generals released Aung San Soo Kyi after keeping her in prison or under house arrest for 15 of the past 21 years. In 1990, she and her party captured power in free and fair democratic elections. Shortly thereafter, the military stepped in and launched a reign of repression to squelch democracy and deny Soo Kyi's legitimate victory. In an act of shocking callousness, the ruling elite did not even allow her to see her dying husband before his death. Despite suffering years of anguish and mental cruelty, Soo Kyi has valiantly and movingly remained committed to non-violence. Instead of retribution or a call to arms to overthrow the nation's oppressors, she immediately called for national reconciliation.
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Aung San Soo Kyi is a true hero in the footsteps of Gandhi, Emilio Aguinaldo and Martin Luther King, and she deserves full worldwide recognition and support in her quest -at age 65 (a very young 65) - to rehabilitate her country.
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It has been a week of joy for Myanmar. Hopefully, there will be many more to come.
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(Photo: Aung San Soo Kyi)
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J Roquen