Aung San Suu Kyi(1945 — ?)
Aung San Suu Kyi
Birmanie
9 min read
Militante birmane pour la démocratie, Aung San Suu Kyi a consacré sa vie à la résistance pacifique contre la junte militaire au Myanmar. Prix Nobel de la Paix en 1991, elle a passé 15 ans en résidence surveillée avant de diriger son pays de 2016 à 2021.
Frequently asked questions
Famous Quotes
« Ce n'est pas le pouvoir qui corrompt, mais la peur. »
« La liberté et la démocratie sont des rêves que l'on ne peut pas supprimer. »
Key Facts
- Née en 1945 à Rangoun, fille du général Aung San, père de l'indépendance birmane assassiné en 1947
- Fonde la Ligue nationale pour la démocratie (LND) en 1988, lors du soulèvement populaire contre la junte
- Placée en résidence surveillée à plusieurs reprises entre 1989 et 2010, soit environ 15 ans au total
- Reçoit le Prix Nobel de la Paix en 1991 pour sa résistance non-violente
- Dirige le gouvernement civil du Myanmar de 2016 à 2021, avant d'être renversée et emprisonnée par l'armée lors du coup d'État de février 2021
Works & Achievements
Collection of political and philosophical essays in which she sets out her vision of democracy and non-violent resistance. The eponymous essay is considered her founding text.
Series of weekly columns published in a Japanese newspaper, recounting daily and political life in Burma. These letters were circulated clandestinely and helped sustain international attention.
A lengthy interview conducted in secret during her house arrest, in which she sets out her democratic and Buddhist convictions. A key reference for understanding her political thought.
Political party she co-founded in September 1988 following the popular uprising, which became the main opposition party under the Burmese dictatorship.
First woman to de facto lead the Burmese government, a role equivalent to that of Prime Minister. However, her handling of the Rohingya crisis severely damaged her international reputation.
Anecdotes
In 1989, as Aung San Suu Kyi was marching with supporters in Rangoon, soldiers were ordered to fire on the group. She stepped forward alone toward the rifles, refusing to flee. The commander eventually ordered his men to lower their weapons. This episode illustrates her exceptional courage in the face of the military junta.
During her long years of house arrest, Aung San Suu Kyi learned to play the piano and practiced Buddhist meditation daily. She listened to the BBC World Service to stay informed about the outside world. This inner discipline allowed her to remain morally strong through more than fifteen years of captivity.
In 1991, when the Nobel Committee awarded her the Peace Prize, she was still under house arrest in Rangoon. It was her son Alexander who accepted the prize on her behalf in Oslo. She was not able to travel to Norway to accept her prize until twenty-two years later, in 2012.
Aung San Suu Kyi is the daughter of General Aung San, hero of Burmese independence who was assassinated in 1947 when she was only two years old. Her full name literally means 'a collection of bright victories' in Burmese. She inherited her father's popularity, which partly explains the immense public support she received.
In the 1990 elections, the National League for Democracy she led won 80% of the seats in parliament. The military junta simply refused to recognize the results and kept her under house arrest. This ignored electoral victory became a global symbol of the injustice of authoritarian regimes.
Primary Sources
It is true that we must understand fear in order to overcome it. The fear of losing power corrupts those who wield it, and the fear of power corrupts those who are subject to it.
I ask you not to be discouraged. Our struggle is just and we must continue to move forward with gentleness but with determination.
During the years when I was cut off from the outside world, the Nobel Prize was like a ray of light penetrating my solitude. It reminded me that the struggle for democracy and human rights was not confined to our small country.
Democracy is the only ideological system that takes into account human fallibility, and that provides mechanisms to correct the errors of those who govern.
Key Places
The family home on the shores of Inya Lake, where Aung San Suu Kyi was placed under house arrest for more than fifteen years in total. It became a place of pilgrimage for her supporters, who would come to listen to her speak from the gate.
The former capital and largest city of Myanmar, the scene of the 1988 uprisings and Aung San Suu Kyi's major political speeches before hundreds of thousands of people.
The venue for the official Nobel Peace Prize award ceremony. Aung San Suu Kyi was only present to deliver her acceptance speech in 2012, twenty-one years after the prize was awarded.
The city where she studied (St Hugh's College, Oxford) and where her family lived — her husband Michael Aris and their two sons. She refused to leave Burma to rejoin her family for fear of not being allowed to return.
The administrative capital built by the junta, where Aung San Suu Kyi served as State Counsellor between 2016 and 2021, and where she has been detained since the 2021 coup.
Liens externes & ressources
Références
Œuvres
Freedom from Fear (La liberté de la peur — recueil d'essais)
1991
Letters from Burma (Lettres de Birmanie)
1997
Voice of Hope — entretiens avec Alan Clements
1997
Fondation de la Ligue nationale pour la démocratie (LND)
1988
Exercice du pouvoir comme conseillère d'État du Myanmar
2016-2021
