Surprise!
- Daw Aung San Suu Kyi harassed
Democratic Voice of Burma April 3 2003
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and group have set off today to Chin State to rally people. They left Rangoon early this morning and the vice-chairman of NLD, U Tin Oo and about 20 youth members of the NLD joined her.
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and group are now in Pwintphyu, Magwe Division and they are expected to stay the night there. From the first day of the trip, they are being harassed and hampered by local authorities, said U Lwin, the spokesman of the NLD as follows:
U Lwin : At 5.30am, Daw
Aung San Suu Kyi's car left. At 4.30am, U Tin Oo's car left. U Tin Oo's
car is now in Pwintphyu. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's car is still heading there.
There is the difference of one hour between the two cars. U Tin Oo's car
is in Pwintphyu. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's car will be there at 4pm, I suppose.
In Pwintphyu, Magwe Division party organising
members will welcome them. Tomorrow, they will be at Gangaw in Magwe Division.
Members there are also preparing to welcome them. Whatever it is, the
people of Pwintphyu and Gangaw are having special chances more than other
people to not only to meet with her but also to discuss with her. I have
to say they are very lucky.
DVB : After Gangaw, are they continuing to Chin State?
U Lwin : After Gangaw, they will start enter Haka, the capital of Chin State. You have to travel hard to Haka from Gangaw. It is easy to say. They have to climb up and down the hills. Originally, they had no roads. They only started to build them recently. They are quite high. It is worse than the roads in Shan State. It is a slow process. They will get there when it is dark. There are no big villages on the way.
On the way from Rangoon to Pwintphyu, local authorities have been harassing and hampering them. Just before we went on air, U Lwin told us as follows:
U Lwin : When they entered Aunglan (Allen), the local fire brigade blared out loud music to drown out her speeches and the same thing happened when they entered Taungdwingyi. They entered Magwe and when they were at Minbu, the same thing happened. They might have arrived at Pwintbyu at 4pm and about 2000 people welcomed them. The local fire brigade blared out loud music and prayer chants. They invited people to come and say prayer.
DVB : During previous trips, they did the same things. Didn't you co-ordinate (consult) with authorities concerned before you started this trip?
U Lwin : Yes. The journey is far and we co-ordinated with local authorities three days in advance. We told them where we would go and where we would rest. We also requested them to inform local authorities concerned not to harass or hamper us like the previous trips before they set out the journey. They promised us that these kinds of things would not happen and the like.
DVB : Despite the promise, they are being harassed at the beginning of the trip. What do you think?
U Lwin : They have to report the discussions to the higher authorities. The higher authorities say that these kinds of things should not happen. When it did happen, it could be that people responsible are not doing their jobs. Or maybe they are not able to communicate with their followers within three days. There must be some defects. I still don't know. I have reported it to people and departments concerned about what had happened.
DVB : Do they reply (react) to your reports immediately?
U Lwin : They haven't done it yet because they have to go from one tier to another, step by step. Although, the authorities did their best to harass and obstruct them, local people welcomed Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and group warmly. They will go on to Gangaw tomorrow and continue the journey to Haka, Chin State. U Cin Shin Htan, the chairman of Zomi National Congress (ZNC) welcomed her trip to Chin State and expressed his support and the support of Chin people as a whole.
AUNG
SAN SUU KYI GETS ROUSING WELCOME FROM 35,000 PEOPLE IN KALE
Democratic Voice of Burma April 8 2003
We have learned that the leader of the democracy movement, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, and her party held a mass rally in Kale of Sagaing Division this morning. People from townships along the Chindwin River had come to Kale and were waiting for her arrival. National League for Democracy (NLD) Spokesperson U Lwin, said a large number of people were there in Kale.
Speaking at the rally, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi called for unity and also urged women to play a role in the efforts for democracy. U Lwin said Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and her party were welcomed not only by NLD members but also by members of other parties. U Lwin Over 35,000 to 40,000 people welcomed them in Kale, which is quite a big city. In addition, there is a big village near Kale, called Tahan village, which is in Sagaing Division but inhabited by a large number of Chin people. These Chin nationals performed Chin traditional dances to welcome her. It was a lively event. There are NLD members as well as members of the Zomi National Congress in Kale. In addition, members from many other townships also arrived beforehand to give her an enthusiastic welcome. What I mean is that people from about eight townships along the Chindwin River, including Monywa, in Sagaing Division were there for a welcome. End of recording
That was NLD spokesperson U Lwin who also said the success of Chin State tour was much more than expected.
DVB Correspondent Khin Maung Soe Win interviews a resident of Kale to report about the mass rally held there.
Khin Maung Soe Win - As soon as Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and her entourage reached the plains after successfully touring the highlands of Chin State, residents of Kale in 15 cars and 30 motorcycles went straight to the base of the highlands to welcome her. DVB contacted a resident of Kale to enquire about it.
Unidentified female - It was so gratifying and heartwarming. Quite a number of people welcomed her in front of U Do Htaung's NLD elected representative from Kale-1 constituency home. But, she could not stop. She told the people to follow her to Kale because she had no time to stop there. She said she had not slept for three days and nights because of frequent car problems and that too many places still remain to be covered. So, we followed her.
DVB - Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's speech, which lasted a little over 30 minutes,was delivered in front of Dr Thein Win's NLD elected representative from Kale-2 constituency residence on Bogyoke Street. This was what Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said.
Unidentified female
She said she was happy and thankful for the love and respect people had
shown her. She was also quite frank about some things that made her unhappy
with the government. She said democracy once attained must be maintained
with discipline and only then would democracy be a success. If the people
who maintained democracy were irresponsible then the democracy attained
would be worthless in essence. She said there
was nothing she could do without the support from the people. She then
asked the people to tell her openly whether they were afraid. When the
people said, "Yes, we are afraid," she said it was natural to
be afraid but it would not help achieve anything. She said people must
try to be free from fear. It was not possible for her and her colleagues
to succeed if they had to walk alone in front without the people following
them.
DVB - Although there was no visible interference by authorities, members of No 17 regional military intelligence unit climbed atop a fire engine and videotaped the people. In addition, they also demanded and took away the name list of young people who had been providing security for Daw Aung Suu Kyi.
There are many military units in Kale, and the Military Operations Command there had issued an order asking military families to buy food for two days and restricting them to go out.
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and her entourage were welcomed with traditional Chin dances in Kale.
Poor drink
from hope's wellspring
By Kimina Lyall, * SE Asia correspondent in Sinbyugyun - The Australian
April 10 2003
Wherever Burma got its reputation as a tropical country, it was not here. At this time of year Sinbyugyun, just west of the country's centre, is as hot, dry and dusty as an Australian hamlet in drought. Last week, on an otherwise typical sweltering summer's day, hundreds of sand-poor local farmers here left their fields and crowded Sinbyugyun's main dirt road, sitting on their haunches holding little more than a fan and some leaves and flowers of offering.
For their first time in their lives, they were waiting for a glimpse of the woman they hope can quench their long desire for democracy -- Aung San Suu Kyi.
On her seventh journey across the country since she was released from house arrest almost a year ago, the Nobel peace laureate passed through here, about 600km north of Rangoon, on her way to remote Chin state, in Burma's far northwest.
I stumbled across the scene in this nondescript village ballooning with dust and excitement, becoming the first foreign journalist to witness, albeit unofficially, Suu Kyi's rallying cries in her native countryside.
It was hard to tell what delighted the villagers more: Suu Kyi's imminent arrival or the presence of a foreign witness to their plight. "Please tell your Prime Minister," said one man. Tell him what? He held open his hands. "Tell him."
Here, the locals had little more than nothing. The sandy soil from their seasonally dry river- beds sustains them only in part, with crops of cotton, nuts and sunflowers. What they sow, their Government reaps.
One man said he needed 3000 kyat ($5.85) a month to educate each of his five children. That's one basket of his produce at local market rates. But he is not allowed to take his beans to the market, and is instead forced to sell to government officials, who give him 300 kyat per basket. "It is no good," he shrugged. "If I do not sell it to them, they will take my land."
By the time she finally arrived, the National League for Democracy leader was almost crushed by the crowd's pressing euphoria. he flowers of offering had browned in the sun and the few locals lucky to be present for a short audience with her were suddenly stone-silent with awe. They found their voices again when she took to a balcony to speak, competing for airspace with loudspeakers set up by the local authorities belting out songs urging the people to repel "enemies".
"If you want to be free of this kind of harassment, you have to fight for democracy," she yelled at the cheering crowd of perhaps 1000 people, about half the town's population.
The NLD plans these trips in secret, announcing them quietly the day she leaves Rangoon. Locals learn about the itinerary from Radio Free Asia -- the official Burmese media never mentions Suu Kyi by name -- and word of mouth.
We learned it their way, driving through Burma's countryside noticing dozens of people sitting in the hot sun, proudly displaying their pale rust-coloured NLD shirts and peacock badges. When we stopped to ask what they were waiting for they said: "Her."
In Sinbyugyun, one woman said the crowd gathered at 7am for what turned out to be a 20-minute midday visit. They knew to wait, she said, because "the village chief told us not to. He said, 'you are not allowed to go out to see Aung San Suu Kyi tomorrow'."
It is quiet rebellions like this that Burma's generals cannot extinguish. Since her release from house arrest last year, Suu Kyi has visited all but the country's far north and far south, but there are no signs of democracy talks promised by the junta.
Little sign either of political freedom for any of Burma's 48 million people, or foreign visitors for that matter. In Sinbyugyun, after Suu Kyi had left, we were grilled about our presence by a plainclothes "immigration officer" who spoke only a little English.
"Did you talk to her?" he demanded. "What did she say?"
Actually, Suu Kyi's few words in English were one of the rare signs of optimism in this hope-starved nation. "There will be change," she said. "Because the people want it."