Aung San Suu Kyi gave the following interview to Dominic Faulder of Asiaweek on 1 July 1989, nineteen days before she was placed under house arrest.
Q: How would you describe the present situation?
A: Obviously, I am the main target – and I have been for some time. But now it’s come out into the open. It’s the same with the National League for Democracy. The attacks have been aimed at us because we have the greatest support among the people. Some people think that if we just sit tight and wait until the elections, we’re bound to be elected. But it’s not as simple as that. Day by day we’re losing more and more of our basic political rights – whatever political rights we had. The SLORC (State Law and Order Restoration Council) is totally ignoring all the complaints we’ve made about injustice and unfairness – totally ignoring them. Which is why we’ve got to say what’s really happening.
Q: Have you studied the new election rules?
A: Yes, I went through them quite carefully. They haven’t paid any attention to all the suggestions that must have poured in. We made a large number which were totally ignored. We have also asked for special provisions to do with the transfer of power, and they haven’t touched on that at all.
Q: Assuming there are elections, what do you think will happen afterwards?
A: We don’t know; this is the problem. Whoever is elected will first have to draw up a constitution that will have to be adopted before the transfer of power. They haven’t said how the constitution will be adopted. It could be through a referendum, but that could mean months and months, if not years. That’s why provisions for the transfer of power are so important. Unless we know how it will take place, we can’t really trust the SLORC to set up a democratically elected government.
Q: But the opposition itself hasn’t reached agreement on a draft constitution.
A: With more than two hundred parties it’s not easy to draw up a constitution acceptable to everybody … Why can’t the SLORC begin a dialogue instead? It’s the political way to solve political problems. I suspect they can’t because U Ne Win hasn’t given them the green light. He won’t hear of the SLORC starting a dialogue with anybody. So they say they can’t talk to those parties that attack them, only to those that don’t. Why didn’t they say that before? It’s just an excuse. And we say, ‘SLORC is not doing this or that. Will they please try to do it?’ – when poor SLORC doesn’t have the authority to do anything at all.
Q: Poor SLORC?
A: Yes, poor SLORC. Any organization totally under the thumb of a dictator can be described as poor. They have to act under his orders. I don’t think there will be free and fair elections so long as U Ne Win is at the helm of power.
Q: Do you think the authorities will move against you?
A: I suppose they’ll try. They’ve been trying that all the time with false propaganda about me – all sorts of nonsense. Things like I have four husbands, three husbands, two husbands. That I am a communist – although in some circles they say I am CIA. They have been trying to get prominent monks to say I have been insulting the Buddha. They can say I’m married to a foreigner – but I’ve always admitted that freely – I’m not trying to hide that.
Q: Is it difficult to get the people to listen to you?
A: No, the people want freedom. The only thing is that they have become used to being frightened. On 19 June [1989] a foreign photographer was taking pictures of me and he was harassed. Some of the people with me were astonished that he spoke back. I said: ‘But that’s normal for people who’ve come from a free society.’ Fear, like so many things, is a habit. If you live with fear for a long time, you become fearful. This is why I think when people say I’m so brave, perhaps it’s just that I’m not used to being frightened.
Q: You have put political reform before economic development. But material well-being is one of the SLORC’s pre-conditions for holding elections.
A: What I am saying is that people shouldn’t be sidetracked by all these so-called economic reforms from the fight for democracy. If we don’t change the political system, we’re not going to progress economically either. A government that cannot guarantee basic human rights certainly won’t be able to guarantee any economic rights.
Q: What will you do if the League is elected to power?
A: I suppose I’ll play a role in the government. It’s something I would have to do. I can tell you the next government is not going to have an easy time. After twenty-six, twenty-seven years of having to suffer silently, the people are going to speak out. No government will be able to bring about reforms fast enough to please everybody. People are going to give the next government a very uncomfortable time.