Letter from Burma: Vaclav Havel (by Aung San Suu Kyi)

Mainichi Japan

January 30, 2012

By Aung San Suu Kyi

When I decided that the first Letter from Burma of 2012 should be about the late Vaclav Havel, I wondered how I should entitle the article. My thoughts immediately went to the little red heart he usually drew as part of his signature. Perhaps I should write about him as "The Heart President" or "The Heart Leader" or "The Dissident with A Heart" or "The Intellectual with A Heart?" In the end I decided that the name Vaclav Havel alone was more potent and meaningful than any fancy title I could think up.

Photo: Vaclav Havel (internet)

It was during the first year of my house arrest, 1989, that the name of Vaclav Havel became familiar to me. The Velvet Revolution, the Civic Forum, the electoral victory that turned the premier dissident of Czechoslovakia into the first President of the newly democratic republic: I learnt about it all from my small portable radio and shared in the euphoria of political transformation in that far off land. However, I did not realize at that time that Vaclav Havel would become a personal friend.

Songs Dedicated to Aung San Suu Kyi

A collection of songs for Burmese democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi

(1) The Girl From Rangoon


The Girl From Rangoon Video 


(2) A Song for Aung San Suu Kyi





A Song for Aung San Suu Kyi (Video)

Victims of the military dictatorship

The more i see the happiness of people who are enjoying their freedom, the more i feel for those whose freedom was taken away.....


If children are leaders of the future, I could not imagine how these less fortunate kids will lead it..?????

unlike other kids, they have no right to study peacefully

victims of forced relocations ordered by Burmese military government

the military troops burned down villages like this..living villagers with no place to call home..

Ethnics(minorities) have been targeted due to the military government's ethnic cleansing policy

Letter from Burma: Keepers of Conscience (Written By Aung San Suu KYi)

Photo: Aung San Su Kyi (Internet)

(Mainichi Japan) February 6, 2011

Is the story of Pinocchio still popular with children? It is when such questions arise in my mind that I am made acutely aware of the peculiar gaps in my contact with the outside world. Had I been in constant touch with my grandchildren or even with other people's grandchildren over the years, I would have known the answers. Fortunately a few days after Pinocchio had floated into my head, I had a meeting with the children of the United States Embassy staff in Rangoon. The oldest was around twenty while the youngest was a three month old Japanese-American baby boy whose sleeping face had a pout of concentration that made him resemble a Sumo wrestler planning his next mountain shaking move. Among the in-betweens were a fair number who were acquainted with Pinocchio through the Walt Disney Film. Most of them thought Jiminy Cricket was the most interesting character in the story. This pleased me as the main reason for my sudden recall of the Pinocchio story was the top-hatted, umbrella-toting cricket rather than the puppet brat.

A Bike Ride for Burma's Political Prisoners

Source: http://www.assknetwork.org/knowledge-centre/report/311-jag-completes-bike-ride-for-burmas-political-prisoners.html

Jag Completes Bike Ride For Burma’s Political Prisoners

 Jag Dojkovski, Fundraising Assistant at Burma Campaign UK, has completed her 2,000km bike ride for political prisoners in Burma, arriving in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic. Jag was cycling one kilometre for every political prisoner in Burma. She was also seeking to raise £2,000 for campaigning for the release of political prisoners. In the event she smashed her fundraising target, with donations so far totalling £3,330.

“Right now I just feel pure relief, I'm so glad I made it,” said Jag Dojkovski. “It was a real challenge, both physically and mentally, but when I found it hard to keep going, I thought of the amazing people from Burma I have met, who have been through so much to win freedom for their country, and that kept me going." 

The Most Restricted

According to today's news release from the Committee to Protect Journalist (CPJ), an International Media Watchdog Group, journalists in Burma remain among the most restricted and censored in the world.

The special report was written by Shawn W.Crispin from CPJ. The writer mentioned that although Burma's new government has promised reform, authorities continued to censor and imprison journalists.Those who report for critical, exile-run media remain at great risk. Journalists' phones were tapped and they were all under constant surveillance.

"No foreign national journalists are legally accredited to work for international news organizations in Burma, and those who parachute in on assignment are often expelled for violations of the no-work terms of tourist visas", the report says.

The Norway-based Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) announced that 17 journalists who worked for the agency are currently detained in Burma, some of them with life-long sentences.

The exile Tibetan leader, Dalai Lama, is willing to visit Burma early next year for religious purposes. Although Burmese government may have no problem to approve visa to any other monks to visit Burma, it is not an easy decision for them to approve for Dalai Lama.The fact that Burmese government relies heavily on Chinese investment and diplomatic support could hinder the visa approval.
One of the famous abbot Ashin Nyanissara from Burma has approached the government for permission and hopes to get approval as early next year, the Wall Street says. “As a religious leader in Myanmar, I have the right to invite all Buddhist religious leaders around the world,” he told Wall Street. “I must invite His Holiness.”


The world's famous spiritual leader, Dalai Lama, often expresses his supports to Burmese democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. When she was released from house arrest in November 2010, Dalai Lama sent in a message from Japan saying: "I welcome the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and extend my appreciation to the military regime in Burma. I extend my full support and solidarity to the movement for democracy there and take this opportunity to appeal to freedom-loving people all over the world to support such non-violent movements".


Let's see how the result will come out.

Source: Wall Street Journal published on December 14,2011.