ENGLISH DEYEA NEWS

By LALIT K JHA / WASHINGTON : Thousands of miles from her home on Rangoon’s Inya Lake, some influential supporters of Aung San Suu Kyi gathered in Washington to celebrate her 63rd birthday on Capitol Hill.

Speakers at a special ceremony held by the US Congress described Suu Kyi as a symbol of freedom the world over and said that she was not alone in her fight to bring democracy to Burma. Millions of people are with her, they said, urging the people of Burma not to lose hope and to continue their struggle.

Speakers at this special event, which was attended by invited guests, hoped that Suu Kyi would celebrate her next birthday as the rightful leader of Burma¬a position which has been denied her by the ruling junta since 1990, when her party won a landslide victory in the country’s last general elections. The event was organized by the Burma Fund, the US Campaign for Burma and the US Congressional Human Rights Caucus.

“The generals who are holding her in custody may believe that by detaining her, they have silenced her and that the world will forget her. Our gathering here and functions being held in Burma and throughout the world today prove how wrong the Burmese generals are,” said Sein Win, the Burmese Prime Minister in exile.

“The fact that the people of Burma are continuing their struggle for democracy and the world is continuing to respond to her appeals and supporting the movement for democracy in Burma shows that Aung San Suu Kyi will never be silenced just because she is kept under house arrest,” he added.

The Burmese junta’s extension of her detention beyond the limit permitted even by its own law was, Sein Win said, evidence of the true nature of the ruling generals, whose image has been damaged beyond repair.

“The world now knows the cruelty the generals have imposed on her over the past 20 years. So this is not a time for sadness but to celebrate the birthday of a lady who cannot be intimidated or silenced by the generals,” he said.

Representing the Bush Administration was Eleanor Nagy, the deputy director of the State Department’s Office of Mainland Southeast Asia. Nagy said the US would continue to raise the issue of Suu Kyi’s detention at international gatherings, including the upcoming G-8 Summit and the next United Nations General Assembly session.

“It is deplorable that the ongoing detention of Aung San Suu Kyi, the regime’s inadequate response to the cyclone, and the sham referendum continue to block the will of the Burmese people,” Nagy said.

Speaking on behalf of the US lawmakers, Congressman Rush Holt said: “We must not only continue to honor this fine outstanding champion of non-violent transition to full democracy, but we also have to keep the pressure on.”

Observing that Suu Kyi is more than a symbol of democracy, he said there are millions of people who depend on her success. “Of course, her success depends on our action,” Holt added.

Recollecting his first meeting with Suu Kyi 13 years ago in Rangoon, Kenneth Wollack, president of the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs, said it was a “life changing” experience.

“As we all know, she possesses remarkable determination, intelligence and courage. Perhaps one of her lesser known qualities are her sense of humor in the face of severe, unimaginable hardship,” Wollack said.

Judy Vanrest, executive vice president of the International Republican Institute, said her organization would continue to work for the restoration of democracy in Burma and the release of all political prisoners, including Suu Kyi.

Terming Suu Kyi’s birthday as a “bitter sweet day” for her supporters worldwide, T. Kumar from Amnesty International said now is a crucial time for the people of Burma.

“We should think of going after China, the main supporter of the junta,” he said. “The second culprit in the neighborhood is India; again, we should go after India. We should redouble our effort to go after China in particular and India as a second target.”

Asserting that Suu Kyi remains the leader of the Burmese democracy movement, Carl Gershman, president of the National Endowment for Democracy, said that there can be no solution to the Burmese crisis without her involvement in it.

He also alleged that the Burmese generals are using the suffering of the country’s people to consolidate their power. “It is something which rogue regimes do,” he said.

Gershman also referred to last year’s Saffron Revolution, the largest popular revolt against military rule in two decades. He rejected the idea that the uprising had failed: “It was not a defeat; they crushed it,” he said.

“I believe the Saffron Revolution has changed fundamentally the situation in Burma. It has awakened the entire population. It has delegitimized the regime,” he added.