By Dr. Tayza

It will definitely be not exaggerated to say that any attempt by Burma’s military junta to force through their so called seven-stepped democracy road-maps, whether they are hoax or sincere, without any involvement of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in the process, will be very much like former apartheid regime in South Africa making attempts to form a puppet African government without Nelson Mandela.

Why Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s blessing is that vital for any credible solution to break-up Burma’s political deadlock? Why her assent is so essential for any plausible negotiations for genuine national reconciliation in Burma?

Daw Suu has a very important role in Burma’s politics simply because she enjoys the overwhelming unreserved love and support of her people. People pray everyday for her health whist in detention. People wish for her release. People dream for better lives under her leadership. Whenever she’s released transiently in between her long successive detentions, thousands of people gathered at her house, tens of thousands followed her wherever she went, hundreds of thousands attended her rallies to listen to her speeches. She is the One they adore. She is the One they trust. For them, she is the One and the Only hope they have for their future.

They show their ultimate support for her by giving a record-breaking landslide 85% majority of their votes in the last democratic elections of 1990 in Burma. Even though the military junta refuse to honour the election results, even though the junta claims that 1990 election is just for forming a constitution drafting assembly but not for convening a parliament, even though the Generals say that 1990 election results are no longer relevant as nearly two decades has already lapsed since then, nobody can deny the truth and the legitimacy of the mandate people has given to her since 1990.

And in people’s eyes, she is the most qualified person to lead Burma. Her father Aung San was the architect of Burma’s Independence from colonialism. She is the prodigal daughter of the Father of the modern day Burma. And personally she has very impressive educational qualifications and working experience at international level.

And internationally she is the most loved icon of democracy and human rights around the world. In addition to the Nobel Peace Award, she has so many numerous prestigious international awards for her peaceful actions for improvement of human rights conditions in Burma.

And also from personality point of view, probably because of the traits she inherited from her father, she is very honest, sincere and brave. She never use her position and her popularity for personal benefits. She never use the multi-million dollar worth of prize money from her numerous awards for herself; she just donated them all for human-rights and humanitarian activities around the world. And although she has been incarcerated under house-arrest for so many years away from her sons and family, her determination to fight peacefully for democracy never collapsed. Even when her jailers denied her a last chance to meet her dying husband, she did not broke down, she did not cave in. And although there has been many an attempts and threats to her life in 1990 pre-election period as well as during 2003 Depayin Massacre, she never was shattered such dangerous threats to her live. Her courage is recognised even by her enemies the military junta leaders; they know that she is the one who dares to say the truth about their corruptions and ineptitude to their face.

Although Burma’s bloated army has more than half a million soldiers, these half a million men dare not let one woman have her freedom. It is widely reported that just mentioning her name Aung San Suu Kyi in front of junta leader Sen. Ge. Than Shwe gives him some cold shivers running down the spine with irregular heart beats; and even minor strokes, some say.

And Daw Suu is the only unifying figure in Burma’s mainstream pro-democracy movement which is an absolute symbol of disunity. Burma’s so called mainstream pro-democracy movement has countless number of this and that organizations inside Burma, in border regions and in exile around the world. The situation is not much different among ethnic nationality groups. A cynical saying goes_ two politicians from Burma will form three political parties. But, fortunately, all these disunited democrats and mistrusting ethnic leaders uniformly have a great respect for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

So if the ruling military junta sincerely wants a genuine credible and long-lasting national recondition, they cannot neglect the indispensable role to be played Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in every step of their so called roadmap; to make sure that it is a roadmap to democracy but not to devastation and destruction or deterioration and decline.