- Title: Profile of Myanmar's leader Aung San Suu Kyi
- Date: 28th March 2017
- Summary: SUU KYI WALKING ON STAGE SUU KYI TALKING SUU KYI WALKING SUU KYI MEETING PEOPLE Suu Kyi urged supporters not to let the issues of race and religion dominate the election, as she fended off questions over the country becoming majority Muslim if her party were to win. Hardline monks and nationalists have branded her National League for Democracy (NLD) too sympathetic to Muslims and unwilling to protect Buddhism, the majority religion in the country of 51.5 million. The issue is particularly sensitive in the town of Toungup in Rakhine State, where Suu Kyi addressed hundreds of people gathered on a soccer pitch in the town. YANGON, MYANMAR (FILE - NOVEMBER 5, 2015) (REUTERS) LEADER OF NATIONAL LEAGUE FOR DEMOCRACY (NLD) AUNG SAN SUU KYI WALKING ONTO STAGE AND SITTING SUU KYI, SAYING (English): "I've said if we win and the NLD forms a government, I will be above the president. It's a very simple message." Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi said on November 5, days before the landmark election, that she would be "above the president" if her party wins, defying a constitutional ban on becoming head of state herself.
- Embargoed: 11th April 2017 04:09
- Keywords: Aung San Suu Kyi profile file Myanmar military democracy National League for Democracy NLD government one year
- Location: YANGON, MANDALAY, NAYPYITAW, TOUNGUP TOWNSHIP, RAKHINE, MYANMAR / BANGKOK, MAE LA, THAILAND / OSLO, NORWAY / BEIJING, CHINA / WASHINGTON, D.C., NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
- City: YANGON, MANDALAY, NAYPYITAW, TOUNGUP TOWNSHIP, RAKHINE, MYANMAR / BANGKOK, MAE LA, THAILAND / OSLO, NORWAY / BEIJING, CHINA / WASHINGTON, D.C., NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
- Country: Burma (Myanmar)
- Topics: Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA00769VI6H1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: THIS EDIT CONTAINS MATERIAL THAT WAS ORIGINALLY 4:3
It is almost one year since Myanmar's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy (NLD) party came to power after decades of military rule.
The Nobel laureate was hailed as an icon of resistance to oppression, who gave up her home and family life in England to become one of the world's most famous political prisoners.
"The Lady", as Suu Kyi was affectionately known by millions of her compatriots, showed steely determination in standing up to the generals who ruled the former Burma with an iron fist following a 1962 coup.
Her continued struggle to lead her country down a democratic path at great personal cost drew comparisons to South Africa's Nelson Mandela and India's Mahatma Gandhi.
But one year after her party was sworn into office, initial enthusiasm after a landslide election win for her NLD and a smooth transfer of power would appear to have squandered.
Suu Kyi now faces a raft of problems, the most prominent of which centres around United Nations allegations that Myanmar soldiers, under the watch of Suu Kyi, have committed crimes against humanity.
Around 75,000 members of the stateless Rohingya Muslim minority have fled to Bangladesh to escape what the UN experts described as an indiscriminate campaign of violence by Myanmar troops and police.
Suu Kyi's support for the operation and her rejection of most allegations have strained Myanmar's relations with the West.
Mired in complex peace talks, Suu Kyi has taken her eye off the economy, investors say, meaning a sluggish pace of reforms, slower growth and a sharp drop in foreign direct investment.
Several fresh conflicts have also erupted since Suu Kyi took power, displacing about 160,000 more people, according to UN data.
Suu Kyi was born in Yangon, then called Rangoon, on June 19, 1945. Her father, national hero General Aung San, who led Myanmar to the brink of independence from British rule, was assassinated by rivals when she was just two-years-old.
She lived much of her life abroad before returning to the family home on Yangon's Inya Lake in April 1988 to care for her ailing mother. - Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2017. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
