Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The Daw Aung San Suu Kyi Pages (
www.dassk.org
)
gathers together links to many on-
line features about the Lady and Myanmar, including videos.
Reconciliation & Election
Emerging from house arrest, Suu Kyi addressed a jubilant crowd. 'I'm going to work for
national reconciliation. That is a very important thing', she said, adding, 'There is
nobody I cannot talk to. I am prepared to talk with anyone. I have no personal grudge to-
ward anybody.'
Initially, Suu Kyi's offer fell on deaf ears. However, in August 2011 the regime began
to take a more conciliatory approach. Suu Kyi had talks with President Thein Sein and
the government began to release political prisoners and legalised trade unions. In
November 2011 the NLD announced its intention to re-register as a political party so it
could contest the by-elections of April 2012 - Suu Kyi would be one of 45 NLD candid-
ates.
In the run-up to the poll, Suu Kyi greeted a steady stream of international dignitaries to
Yangon, including US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in December 2011 and UK For-
eign Minister William Hague in January 2012. She also toured the country campaigning
for the NLD, battling exhaustion and ill health. The effort was rewarded by an almost
clean sweep in the April election for the NLD, giving the opposition party an 8% block
in the national parliament.
However, before they could take their seats, Suu Kyi and her NLD colleagues were
faced with a dilemma: whether to swear an oath to 'safeguard' the very constitution they
had been campaigning against. On 2 May political pragmatism won out as all the NLD
MPs made the oath to become lawmakers.
THE SWIMMER
On 3 May 2009 John Yettaw, a 53-year-old Vietnam vet, retired bus driver and Mor-
mon, strapped on homemade flippers and paddled his way across Inya Lake to the
democracy leader's home. Yettaw had attempted a meeting the year before with
Suu Kyi, but had been blocked that time by her two housekeepers. This time,
however, Suu Kyi took pity on the exhausted American and allowed him to stay,
even though she knew such a visit violated the terms of her house arrest.
Speaking to a reporter for the New Yorkerin 2010, she said 'I felt I could not hand
over anybody to be arrested by the authorities when so many of our people had
been arrested and not been given a fair hearing.' When he left two days later,
Yettaw was fished out of the lake by government agents. Following a trial, he was
