From DEBRA@OLN.comlink.apc.orgMon Sep  4 09:23:07 1995
Date: Sat, 02 Sep 1995 08:11:00 +0100
From: Debra Guzman <DEBRA@OLN.comlink.apc.org>
Reply to: beijing-conf@tristram.edc.org
To: beijing-conf@tristram.edc.org
Subject: WCW: Opening Keynote Address by Aung San Suu Kyi

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## author     : carol@gol.com
## date       : 01.09.95

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Opening Keynote Address by Aung San Suu Kyi
Nobel Peace Prize Laureate
to the NGO Forum on Women
Beijing '95
31 August 1995

It is a wonderful but daunting task that has fallen on me to
say few words by way of opening this Forum, the greatest
concourse of women (joined by a few brave men!) that has
ever gathered on our planet.  I want to try and voice some
of the common hopes which firmly unite us in all our
splendid diversity.

But first I would like to explain why I cannot be with you
in person today. Last month I was released from almost six
years of house arrest.  The regaining of my freedom has in
turn imposed a duty on me to work for the freedom of other
women and men in my country who have suffered far more -- an
who continue to suffer far more -- than I have.  It is this
duty which prevents me from joining you today.  Even sending
this message to you has not been without difficulties.  But
the help of those who believe in international cooperation
and freedom of expression has enabled me to overcome the
obstacles.  They made it possible for me to make a small
contribution to this great celebration of the struggle of
women to mould their own destiny and to influence the fate
of our global village.

The opening plenary of this Forum will be presenting an
overview of the global forces affecting the quality of life
of the human community and the challenges they pose for the
global community as a whole and for women in particular as
we approach the twenty-first century.  However, with true
womanly understanding, the Convener of this Forum suggested
that among these global forces and challenges, I might wish
to concentrate on those matters which occupy all my waking
thoughts these days: peace, security, human rights and
democracy.  I would like to discuss these issues
particularly in the context of the participation of women in
politics and governance.

For millennia women have dedicated themselves almost
exclusively to the task of nurturing, protecting and caring
for the young and the old, striving for the conditions of
peace that favour life as a whole.  To this can be added the
fact that, to the best of my knowledge, no war was ever
started by women.  But it is women and children who have
always suffered most in situations of conflict.  Now that we
are gaining control of the primary historical role imposed
on us of sustaining life in the context of the home and
family, it is time to apply in the arena of the world the
wisdom and experience thus gained in activities of peace
over so many thousands of years.  The education and
empowerment of women throughout the world cannot fail to
result in a more caring, tolerant, just and peaceful life
for all.

If to these universal benefits of the growing emancipation
of women can be added the "peace dividend" for human
development offered by the end of the Cold War, spending
less on the war toys of grown men and much more on the
urgent needs of humanity as a whole, then truly the next
millennia will be an age the like of which has never been
seen in human history.  But there still remain many
obstacles to be overcome before we can achieve this goal.
And not least among those obstacles are intolerance and
insecurity.

This year is the International Year for Tolerance.  The
United Nations has recognized that "tolerance, human rights,
democracy and peace are closely related.  Without tolerance,
the foundations form democracy and respect for human rights
cannot be strengthened, and the achievement of peace will
remain elusive." My own experience during the years I have
been engaged in the democracy movement of Burma has
convinced me of the need to emphasize the positive aspect of
tolerance.  It is not enough simply to "live and let live":
genuine tolerance requires an active effort to try to
understand the point of view of others; it implies
broad-mindedness and vision, as well as confidence in one's
own ability to meet new challenges without resorting to
intransigence or violence.  In societies where men are truly
confident of their own worth women are not merely
"tolerated", they are valued.  Their opinions are listened
to with respect, they are given their rightful place in
shaping the society in which they live.

There is an outmoded Burmese proverb still recited by men
who wish to deny that women too can play a part in bringing
necessary change and progress to their society: "The dawn
rises only when the rooster crows." But Burmese people today
are well aware of the scientific reasons behind the rising
of dawn and the falling of dusk.  And the intelligent
rooster surely realizes that it is because dawn comes that
it crows and not the other way round.  It crows to welcome
the light that has come to relieve the darkness of night. It
is not the prerogative of men alone to bring light to this
world: women with their capacity for compassion and
self-sacrifice, their courage and perseverance, have done
much to dissipate the darkness of intolerance and hate,
suffering and despair.

Often the other side of the coin of intolerance is
insecurity.  Insecure people tend to be intolerant, and
their intolerance unleashes forces that threaten the
security of others.  And where there is no security there
can be no lasting peace.  In its "Human Development Report"
for last year the UNDP noted that human security "is not a
concern with weapons -- it is a concern with human life and
dignity." The struggle for democracy and human rights in
Burma is a struggle for life and dignity.  It is a struggle
that encompasses our political, social and economic
aspirations.  The people of my country want the two freedoms
that spell security: freedom from want and freedom from
fear.  It is want that has driven so many of our young girls
across our borders to a life of sexual slavery where they
are subject to constant humiliation and ill-treatment.  It
is fear of persecution for their political beliefs that has
made so many of our people feel that even in their own homes
they cannot live in dignity and security.

Traditionally the home is the domain of the woman.  But
there has never been a guarantee that she can live out her
life there safe and unmolested.  There are countless women
who are subjected to severe cruelty within the heart of the
family which should be their haven.  And in times of crisis
when their menfolk are unable to give them protection, women
have to face the harsh challenges of the world outside while
continuing to discharge their duties within the home.

Many of my male colleagues who have suffered imprisonment
for their part in the democracy movement have spoken of the
great debt of gratitude they owe their womenfolk,
particularly to their wives who stood by them firmly, tender
as mothers nursing their newly born, brave as lionesses
defending their young.  These magnificent human beings who
have done so much to aid their men in the struggle for
justice and peace -- how much more could they not achieve if
given the opportunity to work in their own right for the
good of their country and of the world.

Our endeavours have also been sustained by the activities of
strong and principled women all over the world who have
campaigned not only for my own release but, more
importantly, for our cause.  I cannot let this opportunity
pass without speaking of the gratitude we feel towards our
sisters everywhere, from heads of government to busy
housewives.  Their efforts have been a triumphant
demonstration of female solidarity and of the power of an
ideal to cross all frontiers.

In my country at present, women have no participation in the
higher levels of government and none whatsoever in the
judiciary.  Even within the democratic movement only 14 out
of the 485 MPS elected in 1990 were women -- all from my own
party, the National League for Democracy.  These 14 women
represent less than 3 percent of the total number of
successful candidates. They, like their male colleagues,
have not been permitted to take office since the outcome of
those elections has been totally ignored.  Yet the very high
performance of women in our educational system and in the
management of commercial enterprises proves their enormous
potential to contribute to the betterment of society in
general.  Meanwhile our women have yet to achieve those
fundamental rights of free expression association and
security of life denied also to their menfolk.

The adversities that we have had to face together have
taught all of us involved in the struggle to build a truly
democratic political system in Burma that there are no
gender barriers that cannot be overcome.  The relationship
between men and women should, and can be, characterized not
by patronizing behavior or exploitation, but by METTA (that
is to say loving kindness), partnership and trust.  We need
mutual respect and understanding between men and women,
instead of patriarchal domination and degradation, which are
expressions of violence and engender counter-violence.  We
can learn from each other help one another to moderate the
"gender weaknesses" imposed upon us by traditional or
biological factors.

There is an age old prejudice the world over to effect that
women talk too much.  But is this really a weakness?  Could
it not in fact be a strength? Recent scientific research on
the human brain has revealed that women are better at verbal
skills while men tend towards physical action. Psychological
research has shown on the other hand that disinformation
engendered by men has a far more damaging effect on its
victims than feminine gossip.  Surely these discoveries
indicate that women have a most valuable contribution to
make in situations of conflict, by leading the way to
solutions based on dialogue rather than on viciousness or
violence?

The Buddhist PAVARANA ceremony at the end of the rainy
season retreat was instituted by the Lord Buddha, who did
not want human beings to live in silence "like dumb
animals."  This ceremony, during which monks ask mutual
forgiveness for any offence given during the retreat, can be
said to be a council of truth and reconciliation.  It might
also be considered a forerunner of that most democratic of
institutions, the parliament, a meeting of peoples gathered
together to talk over their shared problems. All the world's
great religions are dedicated to the generation of happiness
and harmony.  This demonstrates the fact that together with
the combative instincts of man there co-exists a spiritual
aspiration for mutual understanding and peace.

This forum of non-governmental organizations represents the
belief in the ability of intelligent human beings to resolve
conflicting interests through exchange and dialogue.  It
also represents the conviction that governments alone cannot
resolve all the problems of their countries.  The
watchfulness and active cooperation of organizations outside
the spheres of officialdom are necessary to ensure the four
essential components of the human development paradigm as
identified by the UNDP: productivity, equity, sustainability
and empowerment.  The last is particularly relevant: it
requires that "development must be BY people, not only FOR
them.  People must participate fully in the decisions and
processes that shape their lives."  In other words people
must be allowed to play a significant role in the governance
of their country.  And "people" include women who make up at
least half of the world's population.

The last six years afforded me much time and food for
thought.  I came to the conclusion that the human race is
not divided into two opposing camps of good and evil.  It is
made up of those who are capable of learning and those who
are incapable of doing so.  Here I am not talking of
learning in the narrow sense of acquiring an academic
education, but of learning as the process of absorbing those
lessons of life that enable us to increase peace and
happiness in our world.  Women in their role as mothers have
traditionally assumed the responsibility of teaching
children values that will guide them throughout their lives.
It is time we were given the full opportunity to use our
natural teaching skills to contribute towards building a
modern world that can withstand the tremendous challenges of
the technological revolution which has in turn brought
revolutionary changes in social values.

As we strive to teach others we must have the humility to
acknowledge that we too still have much to learn.  And we
must have the flexibility to adapt to the changing needs of
the world around us.  Women who have been taught that
modesty and pliancy are among the prized virtues of our
gender are marvellously equipped for the learning process.
But they must be given the opportunity to turn these often
merely passive virtues into positive assets for the society
in which they live.

These, then, are our common hopes that unite us -- that as
the shackles of prejudice and intolerance fall from our own
limbs we can together strive to identify and remove the
impediments to human development everywhere.  The mechanisms
by which this great task is to be achieved provide the
proper focus of this great Forum.  I feel sure that women
throughout the world who, like me, cannot be with you join
me now in sending you all our prayers and good wishes for a
joyful and productive meeting.

I thank you.