Aung San Suu Kyi
“Human beings the world over need freedom and security that they may be able to realize their full potential.”Read more
Biography
Aung San Suu Kyi is an honorary Elder. As she is unable to take an active role in the group because of her ongoing detention in Burma/Myanmar, The Elders place an empty chair for her at their meetings.
As one of the world's most renowned freedom fighters and advocates of nonviolence, Aung San Suu Kyi has been the figurehead for Burma's struggle for democracy since 1988. Born on 19 June 1945 to Burma's independence hero, Aung San, she was educated in Burma, India, and the United Kingdom. Her father was assassinated when she was two years old.
In 1988, while living in London, she returned to Burma/Myanmar to nurse her dying mother and was plunged into political life. Joining the newly-forming National League for Democracy political party, Suu Kyi gave numerous speeches calling for freedom and democracy. Her popularity grew but the military regime responded with brute force, killing up to 10,000 demonstrators in a matter of months. Unable to maintain its grip on power, the regime was forced to call a general election in 1990.
As Suu Kyi began campaigning for the NLD, she and many others were detained. Despite being held under arrest, Suu Kyi and the NLD went on to win 82 per cent of seats in parliament. The regime has never recognised the results.
Suu Kyi has been under arrest for numerous periods since her return to Burma. She was held from 1989-1995 and again from 2000-2002. In May 2003 she was again arrested and placed behind bars after the Depayin massacre, in which up to 100 of her supporters were beaten to death. She moved from prison back into house arrest in late 2003 and has been held there ever since.
On 13 May 2009, Aung San Suu Kyi was rearrested by the authorities in Burma/Myanmar and taken to Insein prison where many other political prisoners are held. She was charged with violating the terms of her house arrest after a US citizen, John Yettaw, swam across the lake to her house. The Elders made a statement calling for her immediate release and describing the new charges as a further illegal attempt by the junta to extend her incarceration.
Aung San Suu Kyi has won numerous international awards, including the Nobel Peace Prize, the Sakharov Prize of the European Parliament, United States Presidential Medal of Freedom, and the Jawaharlal Nehru Award from India.