Luxembourg, 22/10/2013 (Agence Europe) - On 22 October, Aung San Suu Kyi from Burma, received the 1990 Sakharov Prize, 23 years after the European Parliament awarded it to her, while she was under house arrest. The president of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz, described Suu Kyi as, “a great symbol of freedom and democracy”. He also pointed out that between the time when she was awarded the prize and when she actually received it, 23 years of suffering and oppression had passed and that she was a symbol of the idea that the dictatorship would be beaten, no matter how long it took, “You struggled, you suffered and you won.”
Suu Kyi said that she was “proud” to receive the prize, which she considered as a symbol of what they should do in the continued struggle for democracy in her country. She underlined the importance of the international community and for it having made progress to a level that Sakharov wanted. She told MEPs that there was still a lot to do but that they were making progress and that she was counting on the support of the European Parliament.
In the face of her country's ethnic and religious diversity and the difficulties involved in national reconciliation, she said that they had to find unity in diversity and that it was only through this that they would be able to define their future. She also said that they needed the support of the European Parliament to encourage them when they were carrying out positive action and that they had a common heritage and were all united by common values. She did not mention her country's Rohingya Muslim community, one of the most persecuted communities in the world but made a point of refusing to condemn any specific community.
Suu Kyi highlighted the EU's economic strength and said that it had a lot of money and influence but that this would only be helpful if it was used efficiently in supporting democracy in Burma and emphasised that they needed to go beneath the surface because superficial changes were not enough.
During her speech, and also the day before at the foreign affairs committee, Suu Kyi stressed the importance of amending the constitution and again called for international pressure to be exerted. She also underlined the importance of being able to think freely; human rights; and the lack of investors' confidence, due to the political and economic situation in the country and the lack of infrastructure. (CG/transl.fl)