Aung San Suu Kyi was released from house arrest today and met by a delirious crowd of many thousands risking retaliation from the military to greet her. Burma’s leading spokesperson for freedom, democracy and peace, she has been detained off and on since 1989.
Known to her friends as “Suu,” she is the leader of the National League for Democracy party and daughter of Burmese democracy leader Aung San, occupies the place in the hearts of the Burmese people that Mahatma Gandhi did in the hearts of Indians.
Her definition of freedom is “freedom from fear,” which leads her to believe that she was freer under house arrest than most people are who have what they consider freedom.
There’s no telling how Suu’s release was related to the rising light upon the planet or what the impact of those increased energies will have on her success in the coming months of bringing democracy to Burma. The conventional explanation of her release is that it is a public-relations gesture in the face of steadily-increasing international pressure for her release.
More than 2,000 political prisoners continue to be detained in Burma/Myanmar and there is no word from the authorities whether they intend to release them or not. Political commentators in Burma generally do not believe that Suu’s release indicates any intention on the authorities’ part towards extending democracy.
Suu became legendary when she faced down Burmese soldiers with drawn weapons in Rangoon during protests against the imposition of martial law. She lived with her husband, Michael Aris, in Britain before returning to Burma in 1988 to look after her ailing mother.
While there she became involved in Burmese resistance to the government and, as the daughter of General Aung San, an outspoken advocate of democracy, she felt compelled to make her voice heard in support of the human rights.
When her husband became ill from cancer in 1999, the junta offered to release her to join him but she believed that she would never be allowed back into Burma and refused to leave.
Suu received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 for her work on behalf of Burmese democracy.
My hope is that in the altering climate of the planet as we approach Ascension, Suu will succeed in bringing democracy to Burma as dictators around the world lose their ability to deny freedom to their people.