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"Stay
out of Burma" Interview with Groot-Jijgaarden de Standard, a
Belgian newspaper, July 1999
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GROOT-BIJGAARDEN DE STANDARD: BURMA'S DAW AUNG SAN SUU KYI INTERVIEWED
July, 1999 by Marc Helsen
[Translated from Dutch; excerpted. Publication is from Belgium.]
Ever since August 1998, when her party issued an ultimatum to the junta
regarding the introduction of democracy, the Burmese Government has been
turning up the pressure. The military are trying to isolate Aung San Suu
Kyi as far as possible, as I recently discovered in the capital, Rangoon.
After I had done all the various things it takes to get my interview with
her, I was arrested by the secret police and stripped of all my equipment:
1,000 photos and the report from a five-week-long reportage in Southeast
Asia. I was then expelled as an enemy of the country. "Stay out of Burma,"
Aung San Suu Kyi tells unsuspecting tourists, "you are merely keeping the
present regime in power."
Photo: [AP] Aung San Suu Kyi--" "Stay out of Burma,"
Aung San Suu Kyi tells unsuspecting tourists, "you are merely keeping the
present regime in power."
[ ... ]
[Helsen] Eleven years ago the democratic movement demanded its rights in
Burma. What is the situation today?
[Aung San Suu Kyi] It is very bad. The economic recession has hit the man on the street very hard. There has been a vast increase in prices, and the
standard of living has dropped. Health care, education, incomes, all this
is going downhill. The Burmese people are worse off than ever before. In
addition, there is no political freedom, nobody has rights. The entire
system of government is corrupt. The officials are corrupt, of course, the
military regime likes to point out all the new hotels that are springing up
everywhere, and the new roads and bridges. But that is of no concern to the
people, who are interested in the costs of day-to-day living, their health,
and feeding their children.
Our party has been suffering from tremendous constraints on our freedom and
from persecutions, especially since last year, when we requested the
government to recognize the parliament. The present cabinet will not
recognize the parliament, which was elected, because that would open the
door to democracy, and that is something the military do not want at all,
even though they trumpet the claim that their reason for seizing power in
Burma to begin with was to bring in democracy.
But despite the fact that many of our people are being harassed, and
persecuted, and the fact that so many NLD members are in jail, I think that
the NLD has remained strong. Precisely because the people are behind us. It
is because we are so badly persecuted that we receive such strong support.
At the same time the people are afraid, albeit perhaps not as scared as
foreigners might think. Not long ago one minister in the present government
told a foreign correspondent that the worst thing I had done was tell
people that they had no need to feel afraid. Something like that merely
leads to unrest, he said. Well now, if that is the way they look at things,
then it merely goes to show that our efforts to inspire the public with
courage are proving successful.
[Helsen] It also means that the powers that be are afraid.
[Aung San Suu Kyi] Absolutely, otherwise they would never bring up the
matter. And the claim that our party is more active today than ever before
is proven by the fact that so many of our people are in jail, being
persecuted, or under pressure to cease being politically active.
[ ... ]
[Helsen] Over the last few years the regime has relocated hundreds of
thousands of people. What is the thinking behind this tactic?
[Aung San Suu Kyi] People are still being forcibly rehoused. Sometimes they
need people to go and build a bridge or a road somewhere. Sometimes they
merely want to clean up a business so that it all looks good to tourists.
Or they transform residential areas into agricultural ones. If they need a
parcel of land, for whatever reason, then the people [who live there]
merely have to get out. Often they are dumped in some field, without any
shelter. They just have to make the best of their situation.
[Helsen] Does forced labor still exist?
[Aung San Suu Kyi] Every day Burmese people are being forced to do odd jobs
for the government. In the foreign districts of Rangoon, each week every family has to allot one member to work under supervision. Anyone who fails
to cooperate is subjected to heavy fines. Frequently it is the easiest way
for the local authorities to earn some money.
According to the government,
this system fits in with Buddhist traditions of voluntary labor to benefit
the community. In the prison camps inmates have to work terribly hard as well.
[Helsen] I do not know of many military regimes that voluntarily cede power
to allow democracy to lay down some roots. Will the Burmese pro-democracy
movement not be forced sooner or later to engage in an armed conflict?
[Aung San Suu Kyi] The NLD will never take up arms. After all, if we take
an overview of world history, we see that many military regimes have called
it a day even if there was not already some form of armed resistance. Of
course, a lot of them stay in power, but one of the trademarks of military
regimes is that they do not last, because members of the military have not
been trained to lead a civilian administration.
[Helsen] So you swear by nonviolent opposition?
[Aung San Suu Kyi] Definitely. Nonviolent opposition has led to results in
a large number of countries. It will also be the case here.
[Helsen] Burma is attracting a great many tourists. Their numbers are
rising each year. What should such people know before they buy their air
ticket?
[Aung San Suu Kyi] What is their main reason for coming here? Are they
coming here to have a good time? To take a vacation? There are plenty of
other destinations where you can take a relaxing break. People should think
about the political consequences of their trip to Burma. Do they wish to
support the military regime? Travel agents and airlines are definitely not
in the hands of ordinary people. The vast majority of income from the
tourist industry goes to the military regime and its supporters. That is
why we do not encourage tourism in Burma -- far from it!
[Helsen] Back to your fellow citizens. How poor is Burma?
[Aung San Suu Kyi] Forty percent of our children are chronically
undernourished. The number of children that never goes to school is rising.
Deaths among children are also on the increase, and more mothers are dying
in childbirth. If you take a look at the statistics, you see that the
country is becoming poorer and poorer. Food prices go up every day. The
people are eating less and less.
[Helsen] What drives you in your struggle for democracy?
[Aung San Suu Kyi] We do not believe that the present regime is benefiting
our country in any way. We will not secure peace, gain security, or make
progress. We are merely going backwards, while the rest of the world is
forging ahead. That is why we need an honest, transparent administration.
That would not provide total security, because there are problems in democratic countries, but it would be a first step. And we are convinced
that the way to progress points in the direction of democracy. Without
democracy life will not improve for us.
[Helsen] Are you receiving enough support from Asian and European countries?
[Aung San Suu Kyi] We can expect little assistance from Asian countries,
because many of them have a regime that is not much of a stickler itself
where respecting human rights is concerned.
[Helsen] Could foreign investment improve the situation of the common
Burmese citizen?
[Aung San Suu Kyi] Not under the junta. Because we do not know what happens
to the money. The government does not give any explanations and the profits
disappear into the pockets of the members of the government and their
families.
[ ... ]
[Aung San Suu Kyi] Let me put it this way. The majority of Burmese leaders
today are extremely rich. Twelve years ago they were not at all well off.
Let that be an indication.
[Helsen] To a foreigner, the junta looks like a set of criminals who are
solely bent on filling their pockets. How would you describe them?
[Aung San Suu Kyi] The people in power today are a few senior generals who
rule thanks to the Army. Their only interest is in hanging on to power, not
in what they could do for this country. That is why they do not wish to
talk with us -- because they are clinging on to power, and negotiations
could only move in the direction of democracy. If you investigate the
state the country is currently in, then you cannot conclude anything other
than that the government is giving nothing to the inhabitants of its
country. Power brings luxury. That is one of the reasons why we are opposed
to investments in Burma, which merely help the top members of the military
to make more and more money.
[Helsen] Some monks also told me that they had to look out for informers,
who are infiltrating their monasteries, dressed as monks.
[Aung San Suu Kyi] The military intelligence services are omnipresent. I am
certain that they are also active in the monasteries.
[Helsen] Do you not fear that Burma, with all its ethnic minorities, would
not succumb to anarchy under a democracy?
[Aung San Suu Kyi] No, why should it? Before the military seized power,
Burma had a democracy and was far better off than it is now. Of course,
problems will arise, but I believe that in a free society, where people are
allowed to have opinions and where we can express our differences of
opinion, we are capable of forming a stable union of Burma, without lapsing
into violence. Our differences should be our strength. But I have never
said that it will be easy.
[Helsen] If the military loses its grip, will the people not take their
revenge?
[Aung San Suu Kyi] Some of them, perhaps, but they will not be the
majority, and the NLD will never encourage them to do so.
[Helsen] Everywhere I go I hear that you have a good sense of humor. Do you
also use that as a weapon?
[Aung San Suu Kyi] [laughing] No. At least not that I am aware of. But I
think that humor is necessary to survive in our situation. many of my
colleagues like a good laugh as well.
[Helsen] I come from Belgium. What do you think of when I say "Belgium?"
[Aung San Suu Kyi] [roaring with laughter] Of Asterix and Obelix!
[Helsen] Do you have a message for the people in Belgium, or for Europeans
in general?
[Aung San Suu Kyi] Yes, certainly. Belgium occupies a key position in
Europe. We would like to see your fellow countrymen become more aware of
what is going on in our country today. Of course, they should have the
final word in Brussels. We would like to see Brussels realize that nobody
can survive on an island, and do everything it can to change the situation
in Burma. For us, the Burmese people, it is a question of life or death! We
need change, and fast. I hope that Brussels sends out a strong signal in
favor of the restoration of our democracy and the freeing of political
prisoners. Unfortunately, passing UN resolutions is not enough; they also
have to be implemented.
Link: Aung
San Suu Kyi
Link: Interviews
with Aung San Suu Kyi
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