Aung San Suu Kyi and Burma's Democracy Movement

Introduction: An Unlikely Leader

Both Aung San Suu Kyi and Rosa Parks have become enduring and vivid symbols of the civil rights movements in their respective countries. By refusing to give up her seat to a white person and move to the back of the bus, Parks ignited a firestorm of race-related protests that galvanized civil rights crusades led by later figures like Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. In the beginning, Parks was not a civil rights leader. She was a citizen who had decided to take a stand against the social oppression that was predominant against African-American people.

Like Parks, Suu Kyi did not start out as a leader of the Burmese people. Though she had an influential father, Suu Kyi was living in England with her family before becoming involved in Burma's fight against the military regime. Upon her involvement, however, the petite, quiet woman fought tirelessly on behalf of her home country's democratic movement. She generated publicity for her cause and enlisted international support against the Burmese military junta. Her efforts even earned her the Nobel Peace Prize.

This paper examines Aung San Suu Kyi's role in the political and democratic movements in Burma. The first part examines the political climate in Burma prior to Suu Kyi's arrival. The next part details Suu Kyi's influence, particularly with regard to her work with the National League for Democracy (NLD). The following section evaluates the results of the NLD's efforts and looks at what remains to be done. In the conclusion, this paper recommends courses of action that Western nations could take in helping the cause of democracy in Burma.

Post-Liberation Burmese History

Since achieving limited autonomy from British rule in 1935, Burma has had a tumultuous history of different factions competing for political power. The nationalist movement held sway through the 1940s. After World War II, the nationalist movement was controlled by a group called the Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League. This faction was led by Aung San, whose efforts to fight Japanese imperialism had made him a local hero. Aung San was also the father of Aung San Suu Kyi.

In 1947, Aung San persuaded England to recognize Burmese independence. In the 1948 election, his Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League won a majority of seats for the constitutional convention. However, Aung San and six cabinet colleagues were assassinated by political rivals (Thadithil).

By 1948, independent Burma was under the leadership of U Nu. However, the new democratic government could not address the country's disparate problems, from the rebellious Karen minority to the inflation and corruption that resulted in widespread instability.

In 1962, a military faction headed by General Ne Win took advantage of this instability and staged a coup. The new military government instituted a "Burmese Way to Socialism," a system of governance that closed itself off to foreigners and did not tolerate any form of domestic dissent. The military government silenced many of its critics, the bulk of whom were Buddhist monks and pro-democracy students. The new government also instituted a state-controlled economy (Kurlantzick).

Since then, Burma remained under military rule. The repressive practices fueled protest from a wide swath of Burmese society. In 1988, a dispute between students and a teashop owner escalated into riots lasting several months. As a result, the military government was overthrown by yet another military faction.

This new government instituted important changes. First, it changed the country's name to Myanmar, a change that was not adopted by other countries. It abandoned state socialism in favor of a free market economy. The government was controlled by the official State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC), which oversaw the country's political and military affairs upon the arrival of Aung San Suu Kyi back to her home country in 1988.