Freed Aung San Suu Kyi calls for dialogue with junta

Aung San Suu Kyi

Aung San Suu Kyi

Burmese democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi addressed her supporters and the press at the headquarters of her National League for Democracy party this morning, calling for their support, and for dialogue with the generals.

She told her supporters that she needs their help in her efforts to bring change to Myanmar. “I’m not going to be able to do it alone,” she said. “You’ve got to do it with me. One person alone can’t do anything as important as bringing change and democracy to a country.”

She said she was willing to have a dialogue with the country’s ruling military junta. “I am for national reconciliation, I am for dialogue. Whatever authority I have, I would like to use toward that end. And I hope the people will support me,” she said.

The 1991 Nobel Peace Prize winner has spent some 15 of the past 21 years under house arrest for her opposition to authoritarian rule in Burma.
She called for the release of the more than 2,100 political prisoners still being held by the regime, saying no one in the country could feel truly free until they were all unconditionally released. “If my people are not free, how can you say I am free? We are none of us free.”

Suu Kyi told reporters her release by the military regime was unconditional, and that she was free to travel the country without restriction.
She also hinted that her stance on international sanctions may be softening. “This is a time for Burma when we need help. We need everybody to help in this venture – Western nations, eastern nations, all nations.”

When asked what she meant by dialogue with the Junta, she said “I think we have to sort out our differences across the table, talking to each other, agreeing to disagree or finding out why we disagree and trying to remove the sources of our disagreement if we possibly can.”

However, she did confirm that her party, who had boycotted the recent elections, would now be looking into allegations of vote-rigging and would publish a report.