Aung San Suu Kyi Speech

After gaining Independence from British in 1945, Burma was in chaos from civil war erupted from political parties with different ideologies. In 1962, the military decided to take over. It became brutal military dictatorship with cold blooded killings everywhere. People lived in fear and their freedom was violated.
In 1988, a youth was released from his charges because of his personal connection with a government official. This sparked student protests as it was deemed improper. This is also when Aung San Suu Kyi stood up to fight for democracy and became a national icon, along with her party, National League of Democracy.
The primary source is a speech she delivered at Schewedagon Pagoda, where she first embarked on her freedom campaign. As the daughter of the nation’s hero, Aung San, she rose to great political influence.

She used her father’s accomplishments and as his daughter to her key advantage. She was frank in her speech, announcing that she was Aung San’s daughter. Since her father was highly respected, they would naturally expect her to be as great as him. She declared that she should not remain unconcerned of a crisis threatening the nation’s future. This illustrated her readiness and commitment to protect her father’s efforts. Her chosen location to be at a temple which houses the nation’s guardian spirits also highlighted the significance of her rally for her to obtain maximum exposure, as most of the population were Buddhists.
Suu Kyi refrained from targeting officials or making unrealistic promises. Instead, she portrayed herself as an individual fighting for her own rights and to seek reconciliation among various parties to unite and defeat the one party system. She was grateful for the student activists’ efforts praising them and deeply respected those who sacrificed their lives. She assured student activists that she would be clear and firm in her stand and she was nobody’s