The following speech, translated from Burmese by Thant Myint-U and Lewis Woodworth, was delivered by Aung San Suu Kyi to a meeting held at a pagoda in Myitkyina, Kachin State, on 27 April 1989. Two days later she wrote a letter to the editor from Mokaung in which she spoke of ‘all those crowds who come to support us with such hope and trust. I think this is going to be the biggest cross I have to bear – the feeling that I can never do enough to deserve all that trust and affection.’
We should like to thank you very much for coming and supporting us. We of the National League for Democracy believe very strongly that it is important in our movement for democracy that all ethnic groups in the country work together. It is in trying to help bring together all ethnic groups, all peoples, that we go on these organizational tours and try to visit as many places as possible. In the Kachin State there are many different peoples. Because of this ethnic variety, I think that you already know what problems there are in creating a unified country, what problems must be overcome.
We must all work together if we are all to live together in unity and harmony. I don’t think I need to tell the people of the Kachin State how important it is for us all to be broad-minded and observe good political values. We must have as our goal the building of a real and lasting Union. Only after building this Union can we really work towards peace and prosperity for all. We must all sacrifice our own needs for the needs of others. Without this, it will be impossible to build the kind of Union that we need.
I have heard many times on this trip that people are afraid to become involved in politics, but this has been nowhere true in all of the Kachin State. In some areas people are joining the movement with great courage. In these areas I have seen that the local people are enjoying more political rights. What we have seen on our organizational tours is that in those areas where people are daring to be politically active, they enjoy more rights. Where people are fearful, however, they suffer more oppression. Because of this, if we want democracy, we need to show courage. By this I don’t mean the courage to cause trouble. I must often remind people of this. By courage I mean the courage to do what one knows is right, even if one is afraid. We should do what we believe is right, even if we are afraid. Of course, we cannot help being afraid; we just have to work to control our fear.
In Burma we have a tendency to use threats in raising our children. I should like to ask you kindly not to do this. In our country we threaten children in teaching them to do or not do something, rather than explaining to them so that they understand themselves. This kind of teaching by intimidation is now so prevalent that the rulers who govern us don’t try to explain things to ordinary people, but, instead, use threats to control them. This is part of our culture, one that we should change. Let us teach our children by explaining to them. This is our responsibility; we have a duty to teach the children a sense of justice and compassion. Our young people are very important to me. We need to do more to look after them.
Children’s minds are like a clean slate. That’s why we have a great responsibility in raising them. We must not teach them things that will divide them because of linguistic or ethnic differences; we must teach them so that they understand the idea of the Union. In the Kachin State, for instance, we have Jingpaw, Lisu, Shan, Burmans and other peoples. For all of them to live together in harmony we must teach our children from earliest childhood the concept of national unity, of nationhood.
From my earliest childhood my mother taught me this idea of national unity; not by merely talking about it but by including it in everyday work. For example, we always had people from various ethnic groups living with us. At that time my mother was working with nurses. Nurses from all over the country would come to Rangoon to attend classes on child care. She would invite those from ethnic minorities to stay at our home. Since my youth, then, I was taught to live closely with people from other ethnic groups.
In this way we need to give thought to ethnic groups other than our own. We need to show sympathy and understanding. Without this, progress for the country-will be impossible.
Not thinking only of our own interests can also be applied to economic issues. Not just in the Kachin State, but all over the country, there are people who value their own businesses more than politics. Actually, though, only if there is a good political system will it be possible to reach economic goals. Even if business is doing well, if the political system is unjust, the nation will not prosper. For example, during the era of the BSPP (Burma Socialist Programme Party) there were some people who were very successful in business, but what could they do with their money? In a country like Burma, where the situation was constantly worsening, how could they find prosperity with their money? Quite a few of them sent their children abroad with the money. Just think of how much money the country lost with these young people! What is important is using this money for the good of the whole country, not just for one’s own interest or the interests of one’s family. Please, then, don’t place economics above politics, for it is a fact that all nations that prosper economically are those that also have an equitable political system.
During the Second World War, Germany and Japan practised fascism. At that time, too, the Germans and Japanese were very disciplined people, they were brave and they valued education. Yet however disciplined, however brave, however educated they were, because of their political philosophy and their political systems their countries were really not able to develop. Despite initial victories in the war, they eventually lost. Fascism is not an ideology that benefits the majority. With this kind of ideology a country can never truly develop over the long run.
After the war, both Germany and Japan adopted democratic institutions. By introducing democracy, these countries have also gone on to become two of the most prosperous nations in the world. This shows clearly that only with an effective government and equitable political system can a country really progress. We as citizens still need to be more self-disciplined; we still need to be more courageous, but in addition, we also need a proper form of government. So far we haven’t even reached the zero level. If we want democracy, we need to reach that zero level. Only by so doing can we begin our work. Now, though, however hard we try, we cannot really work for our country freely.
There are those who say they would rather not be involved in the movement for democracy, but when the elections come, they will vote on the side of democracy. This is not enough. We still need to work towards free and fair elections. We have to work hard if we want our basic freedoms. Only if we have these freedoms can we continue to progress after achieving democracy. Will people who are not involved now become involved after we gain democracy? If people are still unwilling to take part in public life after we achieve a democratic government, that government will not be a stable one.
But let me ask about the real meaning of democracy. Those who want popular government should also become involved in politics. They should have individual political ideas. They should have positive attitudes and a willingness to sacrifice. Without this there is no way we can win. It has been more than forty years since Burma gained independence. If we ask what progress has been made in these more than forty years, only depressing answers appear. When I visited Myitkyina over thirty years ago, there was no problem of electricity – it was always available. Now there is not even enough electricity and we find power in short supply. So we see that in these past thirty years and more there has been not only no progress but actual decline. We must ask ourselves, then: Why has this decline occurred? Most will answer that it is because the BSPP was bad. I won’t argue with that, but we must ask again: Why was the BSPP able to last so long, then? I think the answer to this has to do with the people at large. Because we, the citizens, simply stood by and watched, the system was able to last as long as it did. When the time came to take up independence, I think that the BSPP gained control of the government because the citizens failed to carry out the duties of citizenship. If we want a stable democracy in the future, every single one of us must bear this responsibility conscientiously. We must be willing to sacrifice. We must all understand that there is great merit in sacrificing for others and that by so doing we live the full life.
It’s not by living to the age of ninety or one hundred that one lives the full life. Some people live well until they are ninety or one hundred without ever having done anything for anyone. They come into the world, live, then die without doing something for the world. I don’t think that this is living a full life. To live the full life one must have the courage to bear the responsibility of the needs of others – one must want to bear this responsibility. Each and every one of us must have this attitude and we must instill it in our youth. We must bring up our children to understand that only doing what is meritorious is right.
Early in the Second World War, Germany and Japan were still victorious, but only because the people at home worked self-sacrificingly. When they no longer sacrificed their own self-interest, they were unable to win the war. As an example, during that war the people of Great Britain made great sacrifices and, because of that, from a position of weakness Britain was able to grow stronger and defeat the enemy. That’s why, if we walk along the right path, we are sure to gain the victory over whatever enemy. Therefore, people of the Kachin State, act with courage; don’t give too much thought to economics. Now is not the time to be concentrating on economics, but rather on politics. One must always act according to the season and the situation. At this time we have the historic responsibility to rebuild our nation. In this country we must work for the establishment of a just form of government. It is not our historic responsibility at this time to go into business. After establishing democracy, we may have new responsibilities in the economic sphere, but at this time work towards democracy. It is not part of our work to fight anyone. Nowadays many charges are laid against political parties; often charges are made that political parties are trying to split the army from the people. That is not true at all. Actually, it was to bring together the army and the people that the movement towards democracy was initiated. When my father founded the armed forces, he founded them as the armed forces of the people. At that time the people cherished strong feelings of love and sympathy towards the armed forces. It was with these feelings that the people were able to rise in revolt against the Japanese army of occupation. I should like to see again such a close relationship between the army and the people – the army as an organization standing behind the people with love and sympathy.
We are working so that there may be this kind of organization, so we need to be careful about these charges, which are being made only to hinder our movement and cause division between the people and the army. We need to be extremely careful that our attitudes are proper and just. The people must also develop courage, but this courage they must strive to keep controlled by ideas of good and right. If we can’t control our courage with such ideas, then there may be danger for others and for ourselves.
At this time there is very great need for all our ethnic groups to be joined together. We cannot have the attitude of ‘I’m Kachin’, ‘I’m Burman’, ‘I’m Shan.’ We must have the attitude that we are all comrades in the struggle for democratic rights. We must all work closely together like brothers and sisters. Only then will we succeed. If we divide ourselves ethnically, we shall not achieve democracy for a long time.
We won our independence [in 1948] through the unity of the various nationalities. So because of that this independence can be one that lasts and is of benefit to the people at large. I conclude by asking all the ethnic groups to remain united and to continue to work together.