Junta
marks Suu Kyi’s birthday with criticism -
The Irrawaddy, June 20, 2005
The Burmese government made a thinly-veiled criticism of
Aung San Suu Kyi in the state-owned New Light of Myanmar at
the weekend. No other media in Burma was able to mark the National
League for Democracy leader’s 60th birthday, but the state
newspaper used the occasion to warn of “women who are sharp
but anxious to be popular misusing their abilities and qualifications.”
Aung San Suu Kyi has routinely been accused of seeking popularity
at the expense of the nation by Burma’s state-run press.
“Such Myanmar women should not place too much reliance
on their strong qualities lest they may be put on record in
the list of the women who destroy the motherland,” the
article noted.
Prior to Suu Kyi’s birthday, the paper on Saturday ran
another article for Burma Women’s Day, two weeks before
the event is due to take place, this time noting Burma’s
women who “have been able to bring honour to the nation.”
There was no mention of Burma’s only Nobel Peace Prize
winner in the extensive list. Instead the article warned of
Burmese women who marry foreigners, a reference to Aung San
Suu Kyi’s marriage to Michael Aris, a Briton with whom
she had two sons before he died of cancer in March 1999.
Junta marks Suu Kyi’s birthday with criticism
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