The Lady: Aung San Suu Kyi

​''Freedom must be demanded and defended, by those who have been denied it,
            and by those who are already free'' - Aung San Suu Kyi

​
​I recently watch a movie named 'The Lady', and was extremely fascinated by the
true story of one of the most determined and well loved political leaders in history.
Michelle Yeoh played the legendary Aung San Suu Kyi,
the Burmese stateswoman and president of the
National League for Democracy (NLD) in Burma.

​​​''The Lady'' begins with the death of Suu Kyi's father Aung San, who founded the modern Burmese army and negotiated the independence of Burma from the British in 1947. He was assassinated by his nationalist rivals U Saw that same year, making him a martyr for the pro-democratic movement. Suu Kyi was two years old.

Burma's independence began with U Nu as Prime Minister of a one-party, military-led state, who ruled with repression and violence for many years. This conflict has still not been resolved today. 

Fast forward to 1990, and Suu Kyi won 59% of the national votes, and the NLD party won 81% of the seats in Parliament. This victory was completely ignored by the military government. Suu Kyi had already been detained under house arrest before the elections and so remained there for 15 of 21 years from 1989 to her release on 13 November 2010. Today, she is one of the world's most prominent political prisoners.

Read More