Aung San Suu Kyi calls for 'non-violent revolution' in Burma

Published on Monday 15 November 2010 15:44

Democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi yesterday said she was seeking a "non-violent revolution" as she began reviving her political movement, consulting lawyers about having her now-disbanded party declared legal again.

Ms Suu Kyi, 65, was released over the weekend from seven-and-a-half years in detention and house arrest in Burma. On Sunday, she told thousands of cheering supporters at the headquarters of her National League for Democracy that she would continue to fight for human rights and the rule of law in the military-controlled nation.

The Nobel Peace laureate must balance the expectations of the country's pro-democracy movement with the realities of freedom that could be withdrawn any time by the regime. Although her party is officially dissolved, it has continued operating with the same structure. But without official recognition, it is in legal limbo, leaving it - and her - vulnerable to government crackdowns.

The junta recently staged Burma's first elections in 20 years, and in a step that will blunt some of the long-standing international criticism of its conduct, released Ms Suu Kyi a week later.

But having made those ostensible moves toward democratisation after five decades of military rule, it is unlikely to make more concessions - such as restoring the NLD's legal status - without getting something back from Ms Suu Kyi and her party, such as dropping opposition to Western sanctions.

Ms Suu Kyi, who has been detained for 15 of the past 21 years, has indicated she would continue with her political activity but not whether she would challenge the military with mass rallies and other activities. She has been non-committal on sanctions, saying that she would support lifting them if the Burmese people provided strong justification for doing so.

Yesterday, Ms Suu Kyi said she sought "a non-violent revolution" and offered some reassuring words for the military.

"I don't want to see the military falling. I want to see the military rising to dignified heights of professionalism and true patriotism," she said.

The British-educated Ms Suu Kyi also said she did not fear being detained again. "I'm not scared," she said. "I know that there is always a possibility, of course. They've done it back in the past, they might do it again."

Nyan Win, her lawyer as well as a party spokesman, said Ms Suu Kyi met her lawyers and party officials from areas outside Yangon who have been keeping her political network alive during years of repression.

He said Burma's High Court would hold a hearing on Thursday to decide whether to accept a case from Ms Suu Kyi arguing that her political party's dissolution "is not in accordance with the law".The party was disbanded earlier this year under a new law because it failed to re-register for 7 November elections, complaining that conditions set by the junta were unfair and undemocratic.

Ms Suu Kyi's side says the new Election Commission has no right to deregister parties that were registered under a different Election Commission in 1990. The party also contends that the court is legally bound to hear their case.

Full results from this month's elections have yet to be released, but figures so far give a military-backed party a solid majority in both houses of parliament.

Many observers have questioned whether her release on Saturday was timed by the junta to distract the world's attention from the polls, which were described by Western nations as a sham designed to perpetuate control by the military which has ruled Burma since 1962.

The NLD won 1990 elections by a large margin but the regime barred it from taking power.

Nyan Win said Ms Suu Kyi's lawyers are also pursuing a separate legal case against the junta, involving an appeal to the Human Rights Council, a UN body, over her latest 18-month sentence of house arrest which has just ended.