RANGOON – The release of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi is still being celebrated in Burma but fears about her safety or re-arrest are running high among her supporters.
The Nobel laureate was released on Saturday after seven years in detention but many are concerned her freedom could be short-lived if the country’s oppressive army rulers decide to wield their power.
In a country where distrust of the military runs deep, her supporters would have every reason to be concerned.
Suu Kyi’s motorcade was attacked in May 2003 by pro-junta thugs in the town of Depayin while on a countryside tour. She was placed back under house arrest, which the regime called “protective custody”.
“The Depayin incident is still haunting us,” said Hla Thein, a retired teacher. “To be honest, I doubt we can expect any meaningful changes following her release but we are all worried about her.”
Suu Kyi spent 15 of the past 21 years in detention because of her fight against military dictatorship in Burma.
She already appears to be on a collision course with the generals, using her first major speech on Sunday to call for freedom of speech in a country where all media are strictly monitored by censors and urging supporters to stand up for their rights.
In an interview with the BBC aired yesterday, she called for a “peaceful revolution” in the country of 50 million people.
“A non-violent revolution – let’s put it that way,” she said. “Because a great change means a revolution whether it’s violent or non-violent. And we would like a non-violent, peaceful, revolution.”
There is little doubt the military junta sees her as the biggest threat to its power. Suu Kyi has twice been freed and twice re-arrested since she was first placed in detention in July 1989.
She was greeted by thousands of supporters when she was released on Saturday and she appears not to have lost her charisma.
Although she will play no official political role following a November 7th election boycotted by her party and won convincingly by a pro-military party, few think she will fade from the spotlight.
Her National League for Democracy party, which won a landslide victory in 1990, was disbanded by the regime in September because of its boycott.
She told her lawyer in October to take a case to the Supreme Court to have it declared still in existence. Yesterday, she met two of her lawyers, Nyan Win and Kyaw Hoe, who are to go to the court in the capital, Naypyitaw, on Thursday to argue the case. Her supporters expect her to push for reform but know there are limits to how much she can do in a country tightly controlled by the military and governed by a new constitution designed to keep her in check. – (Reuters)