Meetings with Aung San Suu Kyi
Sunday, 27 May 2007 07:00 -
By Razali Ismail
Former UN Special Envoy Razali Ismail sought to negotiate between the opposition party and
the military regime from 2000 until 2005. He recalls his meetings with Burma’s most famous
prisoner, Aung San Suu Kyi.In early 2006, I resigned as the United Nations Secretary General’s
Special Envoy to Myanmar [Burma]. By that time, I had been to Myanmar 14 times, stretched
out over a period of four years. The first visit was in 2000 when the United Nations sent me
there with a delegation on my first mission. It was then that I met Aung San Suu Kyi and the
Myanmar Secretary One, Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt. It was he who arranged for me to see her. It was
the middle of June, the monsoon period, and very hot and humid.
I
was taken in a government car to University Avenue where Suu Kyi stayed. We waited in a
room on whose wall hung a huge painting of Suu Kyi’s late father. I was aware of the
significance of the moment as I sat there. I knew that something very special was about to
impact on my life. After a period of waiting she emerged, cool and composed, in a traditional
blue blouse and sarong, with bunga melor (jasmine flower) in her hair. Call it a grand entrance,
if you like. She was polite and dignified, placing me on her right as she sat with me on a
semicircular settee, her back ramrod straight. It was one of those settees without backs, the
kind that tends to make one slouch if one is not careful, and it made me painfully aware of my
own posture, sitting beside her with her back straight as a dancer.
Subconsciously, I felt obliged to match her posture, losing the battle, however, and slouching as
the discussion went on. There was no question about it —she looked very attractive, what with
the scent of the melor in the air at close quarters. At an early part of my conversation with her, I
said, “You are not only courageous but also attractive.” It was obviously an unthinkable faux
pas. But despite what I had heard and read about her from reports and earlier encounters
between her and a UN representative (I was forewarned that she was glacial), we got along
very well from the start. It helped that I was clearly open, held no preconceived ideas and did
not make judgments on her. By the end of a two-hour chat, during which time she did not bend
at all (perhaps symbolic of her uprightness in terms of her principles), a basis for an ongoing
relationship had already developed.
From the beginning, Suu Kyi was interested in understanding how far the UN would go in
helping her and the NLD [National League for Democracy] and how far Asean was willing to
stick its neck out. On Asean, her basic instincts can be said to have been proven right. Asean
has been neither here nor there in its interest and commitments. Constructive engagement was
never really constructive, and there was no sustained engagement. As for the UN, I went
beyond my brief in order to open up the issues for us to re-examine together. She believed
wholeheartedly in the rule of law and hoped that the UN would equally commit to that in helping
Myanmar. In that sense, the UN has done less than deliver.
In most cases, I had two meetings with her per visit—once after seeing the government and
hearing their views and once again after speaking with the government. What did we talk
about? Our discussions covered, obviously, issues of reconciliation, the rights of various ethnic
parties, the future role of the military, etc. But the times with her were very rich. Conversation
meandered to other subjects like life, culture, humanity, law and rights. The Lady (Suu Kyi is
affectionately referred to thus across the country) really can talk. She impressed me, surprised
me, that despite her years of detention she had managed to keep track of virtually everything,
including UN developments and those in the world. She even told me that she had been
re-examining the Myanmar constitution in readiness for the difficult negotiations ahead toward
national reconciliation and democracy.
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Meetings with Aung San Suu Kyi
Sunday, 27 May 2007 07:00 -
At that time, Khin Nyunt was in the ascendancy and understood the necessary ties between
Myanmar and the UN better than the rest of the Tatmadaw [the military]. Khin Nyunt also did his
best to make me see and understand what the military leadership was contributing to the
country. I had to sit for hours listening to this minister or that minister about the achievements of
Myanmar—how many roads, how many bridges, etc. Khin Nyunt also allowed me to speak to
the senior government servants, including the Foreign Ministry, of course, and I grabbed the
chance to say to them, “What’s wrong with your diplomatic skills, even Cambodia can get more
money than you. North Korea is more successful than you in gaining assistance to the country.
But you,” I told them, “what’s wrong with you?” This embarrassed them a bit, which was my
purpose.
So Suu Kyi was happy and grew to hope for results from my visits. I had done my homework
and discovered that the past UN representative had had more difficulty talking to her than to the
government in certain instances. Perhaps my straightforward style put her more at ease.
Whatever it was, there was a developing rapport between us that seemed, perhaps in her mind,
to give her permission to just talk to me honestly about the problems that plagued her and her
beloved country. So she talked about her struggles, what she had been doing, when she came
back from England what happened to her, how she was reluctantly, as she said, induced into
the struggle for democracy but just to visit the country of her birth, also because somebody was
not well in her family. So it was not as if she was intending to follow in her famous father’s
footsteps. But it was clear that she was, certainly, her father’s daughter.
I do not speak Burmese, but for my purposes it was unnecessary to know the language, for Suu
Kyi spoke impeccable English. In fact, if she were invisible on the other side of a room and you
heard her speak, you would have thought that it was some English person talking. Imagine—the
unbending posture, traditional dress, flowers in the hair, and then, the Queen’s
English—certainly a heady combination. And she knew it. That is why, together with the grand
entrances and the wealth of her knowledge, she always made a huge impression. In fact, I once
told her that if she ever became prime minister, she could give the other Asean prime ministers
a run for their money debating democracy and development.
I encouraged, or rather, pleaded for Suu Kyi to find ways to talk to the military leaders. In turn, I
pleaded with the government to speak to her. By my second visit, Senior General Than Shwe
agreed that there would be talks between them and her, and that Gen Khin Nyunt would
coordinate on the government’s behalf. The talks did indeed happen between the two sides if
not directly between Suu Kyi and Khin Nyunt. Curiously, she kept this a secret from me, and it
was only many visits later, on the verge of her detention being lifted, that Khin Nyunt told me,
even showing me photographs of her at dinner with the entire phalanx of the military. I was
flabbergasted, and the next afternoon when I went to see her, I said that I had a bone to pick
with her. It was only then that she revealed that there had indeed been a few talks but not at the
right level, not with Khin Nyunt, not satisfactory. According to Suu Kyi, the dinner with the
generals was in fact a monologue with the senior general doing all the talking.
Talking to the government was an exercise in trying to decipher all manner of statistics thrown
at me, one after another—“we have built the 29th bridge, we have done this, we have done
that,” they would say. They were, after all, a military government and as such their minds
worked on a different level. They saw it all purely as a matter of clear, planned objectives, as if
good governance were merely a matter of moving tanks from one place to another. Only after
these necessary introductions concerning the junta’s success with achieving stability and order
was I able to interject, to put in feelers and grope my way around the sensitive issues. Of
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Meetings with Aung San Suu Kyi
Sunday, 27 May 2007 07:00 -
course, in terms of statistics, what they said was indeed true—they had in fact built this road
and that bridge, etc. But to what end?
When I went back to see Suu Kyi, statistics melted away. There was a clear focus, and of
course, hers was political—the prime objective must be to win democracy for Myanmar so that
the people could understand and benefit from democracy and development, improve their lives
and be protected by the rule of law. She knew how far behind Myanmar was in that sense. I
asked her, “You are seen to have banded together with the West, to have adopted what the
West wants; your cry for democracy, what motivates it? Is the aim of democracy to help the
repressed of Myanmar or is this the exhortation of the West?” I told her that this was one of the
reasons why she had alienated some of her Asean neighbors, why they looked upon her with
unease. Her struggle, I said, should be manifestly seen to be one from within and not appear to
be at the behest of others.
She would bridle at these accusations and would often let loose about Asean—“What has
Asean done? I should have gotten help from them, but what have they done? Their
ambassadors are afraid to see me.” There had been instances when Asean had been shocked
out of its complacency to act on her behalf, as when the Depayin incident occurred on 30 May
2003. In that instance, Suu Kyi and a big number of her supporters were ambushed in the
northern village of Depayin. But the Asean mantra of non-interference has allowed for a
situation where Asean contributes to a status quo situation much to the detriment of the people.
When she was to be released from detention in 2002, one of the understandings was that she
would not go out and demonstrate or speak badly of Myanmar outside. She was to help the
government bring about good things for the people. But you are talking about an icon—you
release her, everybody flocks to see her. She was always particular about not creating
demonstrations, but after a while she could see that there was so much to be done yet so little
was actually being done. With people pleading to her to help, her visits took on political
overtones. She became more of a politician and started traveling farther outside of Yangon
[Rangoon]. Everywhere she went, tens of thousands followed. The military leaders were
disturbed. I made the point to a minister I knew for some time that it would be a mistake to let
Suu Kyi travel around and not begin the critical talks between the government and the NLD.
Then Depayin happened and she was nearly killed. She was unceremoniously clapped into
prison. They did allow me to see her after it became untenable for them, though they never told
me she was in prison. They called me, so I went. It was like one of those detective stories—they
changed cars, changed drivers, I had no idea who the guy behind the wheel was. I got into the
car and I thought, “What on earth am I doing?” I was driven farther and farther and I was all by
myself. I thought, “Am I going to be safe?” There were cars with tinted windows following. Then
all of a sudden, we had arrived. And what a destination it was, Insein Prison, the general prison
where all manner of crooks and criminals were gathered. Pronounced like “insane,” the irony of
the prison’s name was certainly not lost on me. Inside the compound, I was driven first to the
left, then to the right, then finally, to a concrete hut.
And there she was. In a small concrete hut with a well outside. I went in to see her and was
shocked. She was dishevelled, totally unlike the vision who usually greeted me. She said to me,
“I want justice, Raz,” and then turned to one of the military officials she knew who was standing
beside me and commanded, “I want my clothes. From my house. I don’t want to wear these
clothes that you’ve given me. And I want all my make-up to be brought to me.” I was taken
aback by the fact that her humanness was betrayed by this. Then she said, amazingly, that she
was prepared to turn the page for the sake of the people and reconciliation, saying she was still
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Meetings with Aung San Suu Kyi
Sunday, 27 May 2007 07:00 -
prepared to talk to the government. When I got back to Khin Nyunt, I was angry and sad. I said,
“How can you do this? What am I supposed to tell the world?”
So I kept quiet for a while and did not tell the world she was in prison. I did say that she was
safe and that her spirit was strong. I told only the UN Secretary-General that she was in prison.
The last time I saw Suu Kyi was in March 2004 when she was back at her home under house
arrest. She reiterated her readiness to meet the generals, despite Depayin, for the sake of the
people. Suu Kyi had come a long way to realize that democracy can only be done through the
generals, with the latter still in the driving seat. This realization of hers is in stark contrast to the
imperious, principled and unbending Suu Kyi I had met over twenty meetings ago. She was
hugely concerned as to how far behind Myanmar was compared to its neighbors. She was
equally disturbed by the fact that other ethnic groups were not given a level playing field, the
Rohingyas, for example. I was unable, to the very end, to make the generals recognize and
acknowledge the changes in Suu Kyi. Than Shwe continued to label her as a marionette of the
West and quite recently efforts are afoot to make Suu Kyi irrelevant to Myanmar.
I think that Than Shwe sees me as being close to Khin Nyunt, which is true, because since he
allowed us to work together, we developed a good relationship. Since I am viewed as being part
of him or his period, I know they would not want me. Thus my resignation as the UN special
envoy is timely and allows them to consider someone else. It is a pity, though, I have built a
broad base of useful contacts with Khin Nyunt and the others, including the ethnic groups, and
these same people might come back to power. Now looking back, I cannot help but feel that we
did not do enough to ensure the continuing survival and role of Khin Nyunt. So with Myanmar, I
do not see any prospects of change, as there are no internal dynamics operating there.
So the Lady languishes in detention for God knows how much longer, one season after another,
from the monsoon, the cool season and the mango showers. I do not know how she does it, but
I do know that she will remain unbowed under all circumstances. It is not personal freedom that
she is after. She will only accept this if it comes with freedom for her beloved people. I
remember when she was in prison just after the Depayin incident. Her son Alexander contacted
me to say that he would like to visit his mother. So I said I would try. When I posed the question
to her, she immediately responded with a firm denial, saying that she was no different than any
of the others there in prison. She said, “Why should I be treated differently? Why should my
child be allowed to see his mother when there are countless others who never see their unjustly
imprisoned mothers again for the rest of their lives?”
Such is Suu Kyi, fortified by her strong principles. Even as I write this, I can see her sitting on
that settee, back straight, calm. Awaiting the time when there can be talks or meaningful
changes. But does time wait even though she believes she has time on her side? The
intransigence of the military and the ineffectiveness of Asean do not provide hopeful signs. But
the scent of her bunga melor lingers yet, and she continues to wait, upright, undeterred, in her
house. And the people wait with her. This article is an excerpt from Number One Wisma Putra published by the Institute of Diplomacy
and Foreign Relations of Malaysia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2006
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