Guest book for messages of condolence to the family of Dr. Michael Aris and Aung San Suu Kyi
To submit messages for the guest book, email them to webmaster@burmafund.org, or fax them to +1 202 667 3651, and please mark them "Attention to Dr. Aris guestbook." Messages will be collected and forwarded to the family. If you do not want your message posted online, please indicate that at the top.
| Dear Mrs Aris,
Please accept my condolences at the loss of your husband. Your courage and determination are a great inspiration to me and to women all over the world. It is people like you who make the rest of us realize that our struggles pale in comparison to those who stand firm in their beliefs under the most terrible conditions.
My prayers are with you and your family. My hope is that soon all that you have struggled for come to fruition. I would love to see a free Burma in this life time.
Thank you again for the lessons in life. Sincerely and with best wishes, Virginia Fierro USA Virginia Fierro Assistant to the Director, Bay Tree 831 459-3739 |
| Dear Family, The democrats and human rights activists of the world are deeply concerned with the loss of your husband and father. Please accept the condoleances of a simple activist in the heart of Europe.
Jef Vermaere, member of the flemish green party "Agalev" ("party for another way of life").
Jozef Vermaere [jef.vermaere@agalev.be] March 29, 1999 |
| Deep sympathy and continue courage Prof. Win Eddy Win [ewin@uwinnipeg.ca] March 29, 1999 |
| Please accept our family's deepest condolences at this
sorrowful time. Know that your family's continuing courage and perseverance is a great inspiration to us and the entire world. "You can blow out a candle, but you can't blow out a fire." All our love and best wishes to you. The Charles Bressler Family Seattle, WA USA |
| Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and Dr. Michael Aris's family, We can't imagine how much your heart is immense of loving for our 45 millions people.
Mya Thwin |
Members and friends of the Burmese Community (UK) were shocked and saddened to hear the news of the death of Dr. Michael Aris on 27 March 1999, at Oxford hospital. We wish to convey our sincere condolences to his wife, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, his sons Alexander and Kim, and other members of the family. Burmese Community (UK) 50 Edensor Gdns Chiswick London W4 2QZ |
| To the family of Dr Aris, Please accept my deepest sympathies on the death of Michael. I and many, many others have been greatly saddened by the circumstances of his death. The courage and determination shown by him and his dear wife, Aung San Suu Kyi, and sons, remains as a beacon of hope and inspiration in this sometimes bitter world. Peace be with you all. Corrie Soumah, Patrick Ryan, Amsterdam |
| The National League for Democracy (Liberated Area) Western Region
Statement of condolences for Dr. Michael Aris, husband of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi March 28, 1999
The National League for Democracy/Liberated Area/Western Region is deeply grieved for Dr. Michael Aris's death on 27th March 1999. We exclusively appreciate Michael Aris's fervent understanding, passionate sympathy and forceful support to our leader's determined struggle for the good of her own people of Burma.
We denounce the State Peace and Development Council of Burma for refusing visa to Michel Airs several times. The military regime, SPDC also has ignored the request made by Pope John Paul, the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the governments of many big countries. That showed how the SPDC lacks human sympathy on a dying person and was the latest example of stupidity and brutality of the military junta.
The NLD/LA (WR) honors Daw Aung San Suu Kyi for her wise decision not leaving her motherland and extraordinary sacrifice for her people. We share heartache with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, her two sons and Dr. Michael Aris's family.
The NLD/LA (WR) members pay tribute to Dr. Michael Aris as a person of patience, perseverance and perception. The people of Burma and we will never forget him.
May you be in peace forever! NLD/LA (WR) India-Burma border |
A tribute to Dr. Michael Aris
From the Water, Research and Training Centre for a new Burma, WRTC. 27 March 1999 Delft Dr. Michael Aris passed away at 5:30 GMT on his 53rd birthday, 27 March 1999. He had contributed so much to our cause in a very special way, set an example for us, what is possible to achieve, even in an extreme case, seemingly impossible for a human being to make it. We respect and thank him for it and he will always be remembered by us for his invaluable contribution to our cause. For us, the Burmese peoples, Dr. Michael Aris is a hero of Burma in his own right; he gave his life to the cause of freedom for Burma just as others who died in the prison, for example Mr. James Leander Nichols. We print this notion on our heart as well as in our memory. When (not if) we win our freedom, we will not forget to celebrate the unswerving courage and commitment of Dr. Michael Aris. Reflecting the past, all series of events going through my mind, make me recite a piece I once read from the book entitled 'Liberty of the mind'. It is this, "The purpose of the attack is the old one: to produce chaos. In the past, each individual was vulnerable, now men and women are vulnerable also in their collectivity. If the materialists had their way, we should be one, in effect, one collective mind to be possessed. The chaos to be produced is not material chaos only, for wars and economic confusion are but means to a more dreadful end. The victory aimed at is an ultimate chaos of the world-mind, insanity by the failure of distinctions and the fantasies of power, a blur of fragmented reason in a spinning, causeless, faithless and ungovernable dust. The victory cannot be achieved as long as the liberties of the mind survive, for it is inconsistent with them. The greatest source of danger is in man's failure to recognise that they, and not overt liberties only, are being attacked, and that the means of attack, are becoming increasingly direct. The battle to be fought is not between party and party or even, at root, between those whose emphasis is upon faith and whose emphasis is upon reason. It is rather, a struggle, transcending all differences but one, for the validity of the human mind, its right to distinguish between good and evil, and its power to make journeys in the light of that distinction. Faith and reason are companions on an infinite journey. There are no limits, except in our human capacity, to the extension of either." Having said that, we are most indebted to Dr. Michael Aris for showing us the way what is possible by simply making his own journey in the light of that distinction. By doing so, he had lived his very life in the most honourable way, if I may say. And to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, we adore and love her more with total respect for the fact that she has conformed her deeds with her own words. We all know that she often remarked, 'her personal plight was insignificant compared to many hundreds of others - many languishing in state jails'. Last week, we overseas Burmese activists have approached international community and have declared our strong, consistent, unfailing and continuous support to her leadership regardless of any decisions she may take for her personal life. Yet again, she was able to extend her faith and reason for us, the Burmese peoples.
May Dr. Michael Aris soon reach Nibbana. May Daw Aung San Suu Kyi be peaceful and strong by the power of triple gem.
Dr. Khin Ni Ni Thein President and founder of the WRTC Fax. +31-15-214 39 22 E-mail <nin@ihe.nl> http://wrtcburma.org Dhamma dana (This is the Burmese traditional way of participating in the funeral by means of donating Dhamma on behalf of the person passed away by those family and friends who are left behind.)
Five Precepts 1. Kill not - for pity's sake - lest ye slay; The meanest thing upon its upward way.
2. Give freely and receive, but take from none; By greed, or force, or fraud, what is his own.
3. Bear not false witness, slander not nor lie; Truth is the speech of inward purity.
4. Shun drugs and drinks, which work the wit abuse; Clear minds, clean bodies, need no Soma juice*.
5. Touch not thy neighbour's wife, neither commit; Sins of the flesh unlawful and unfit.
by Sir Edwin Arnold in 'The Light of Asia'. *Soma - name of the plant avestan haoma, the juice of which was the most important ingredient to form the beverage. |
| My deepest condolences to the friends and family of Dr.
Aris. May the depth of his compassion be a lesson to us all on how large the human heart can be. My prayers are with him, his children, his wife, and the people of Burma.
[namaste@apex.net] |
| March 29th 1999 To Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and Dr Michael Aris' family, Vietnamese democrats and human rights activists at home and abroad are shocked and saddened by the loss of your husband and father. Please accept our heartfelt condoleances, and know that we are beside you in this sorrowful time. We are also profoundly shocked by the inhumanity of the Burmese military junta in refusing a last visit to Dr Aris. Your family's dignity and courage in face of such cruelty puts the regime to shame. We admire the painful decision you took in refusing to leave your homeland at this crucial time. We share the sufferings of your family and people, and wholly support your struggle for human dignity and democracy in Burma.Your determination and perseverance is an example to us all. You have shown us that there is a light at the end of the tunnel, not only for Burma but also for Vietnam. Thank you for giving us the strength to go on. Vo Van Ai President
25 rue Jaffeux, 92230 Gennevilliers, France Tel. (33.1.) 47.93.19.01 - Fax : (33.1.) 47.91.41.38 queme@compuserve.com |
| My condolences to his family for his untimely death, and
appreciation for all he has done in his life. Bala [bala2@pc.jaring.my] |
| To Daw Aung San Suu Kyi
Dear Friend
We at the International Women's Rights Action Watch- Asia Pacific express our great admiration for the bravery and courage of the late Dr Michael Aris and of yourself. We are deeply saddened at the circumstances of the tragic loss of a beloved that you have suffered and wish to convey to you that we are with you at this moment and share your pain and that of your sons Alexander and Kim. We pray that peace and strength be with. You have our love and support .
Shanthi Dairiam International Women's Rights Action Watch Asia Pacific (IWRAW Asia Pacific) 2nd Floor Block F Anjung Felda Jalan Maktab 54000 Kuala Lumpur Malaysia Tel: 603-291 3292 Fax: 603-298 4203 email: iwraw@po.jaring.my |
| The St. Antony's College JCR is deeply saddened to hear of
the passing of Dr. Michael Aris on March 27, 1999. The students of St. Antony, although aware of Dr. Aris' important contribution to the Burmese democracy movement, knew him first as an academic and individual. His contribution to the academic and social community of St. Antony's was widely recognised and enjoyed by all. Dr. Aris, who acted as Dean of Students, was greatly admired for his kindness, his academic contribution, and an unparalleled commitment to his family, Burma and its people. On behalf of the students of St. Antony's College, I would like to express the deepest condolences to his wife, Aung San Suu Kyi, his sons Alexander and Kim, and his family. With respect, David Eaves JCR President St. Antony's College |