Text: NPR.org, June 16, 2012; USCampaignforBurma.org; Wisdom Quarterly
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| Worldwide protests, such as this one in Japan, were needed to gain Daw Suu's liberty (AFP) |
Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, the pro-democracy opposition leader of Burma (Myanmar), spoke in Norway today, formally accepting the peace prize she was awarded in 1991 while under house arrest by the authoritarian forces that led a coup and have held Burma hostage ever since. Her supporters portrayed the moment as a belated victory for democracy and human rights.
Introducing Suu Kyi, Norwegian Nobel Committee Chairman Thorbjorn Jagland hailed her as a champion of mankind, whose words give hope to the world. He added that his committee was right to award her the prize, and that thanks to people like her, democratic states will always prevail over autocratic ones.
"The democracies of the world should not despair today when they see authoritarian regimes outpacing their economic growth," Jagland said. "This is temporary [and] the regimes will be broken apart by inner contradictions if they do not reform themselves."
When Suu Kyi was awarded the prize in 1991, she was still under house arrest. So her [British] husband Michael Aris and two sons, Kim and Alexander, accepted the prize for her. More
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