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AUNG SAN SUU KYI
from In Quest of Democracy
(1990)
IN 1886, the British invaded the Kingdom of Burma and made it part of the
massive colonial enterprise known as British India (encompassing present-day India,
Pakistan, Burma, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka). During World War II, Aung San Suu
Kyi's father and partial namesake, the nationalist leader Aung San (1915-1947),
However, Aung San soon became disillusioned by Japanese militarism and fascism,
enlisted the aid of the Japanese to expel the British and proclaim independence.
and he turned his forces against the Japanese. As the war ended, Aung San negoti-
ated with the British for Burma's permanent independence, and he would almost
certainly have been its first prime minister had he not been assassinated by a rival
politician six months before the official transfer of power occurred.
Though she was the daughter of Burma's most revered hero, Aung San Suu
Kyi (b. 1945) spent most of her life outside her native country. She attended high
school New Delhi, where her mother was the Burmese ambassador to India
.
Upon graduating, she studied at England's Oxford University, where she met and
married Michael Aris, a leading scholar of Tibetan culture. During this time, events
in Burma were quickly deteriorating. The country's democratically elected govern-
ment was overthrown in 1962 by the Marxist dictator Ne Win (1910 or 1911–2002),
whose authoritarian regime plunged Burma deeper and deeper into poverty and
international isolation. In 1988, Aung San Suu Kyi was doing advanced graduate
work at London's prestigious School of Oriental and African Studies when her mother
suffered a severe stroke. She returned to Burma in April 1988, five months before
massive popular uprisings ended Ne Win's twenty-six-year rule.
In the chaos that followed the revolts, Aung San Suu Kyi emerged as a strong
political leader and democracy advocate, but a military junta seized power (and
officially, though controversially, changed the English version of the country's name
from Burma to Myanmar). Despite promising free elections, the junta had no
intention of handing control to an elected government; they scheduled immedi-
ate elections in 1990 under the assumption that no opposition to their rule could
organize in such a short amount of time. To ensure their victory, they declared
Aung San Suu Kyi ineligible to run for office and placed her under house arrest,
and the political party that she had formed, the National League for Democracy
(NLD), was barred from taking part in the elections in any way. Nonetheless, the
NLD won 82 percent of the popular vote, forcing the junta to void the election
and rule as an unelected dictatorship. Instead of taking her rightful place as the
elected prime minister, Aung San Suu Kyi remained under house arrest. When
she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991, her oldest son accepted the
442
AUNG SAN SUU KYI - In Quest of Democracy
443
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award in her stead. She was released in 1995 but was placed under house arrest
again from 2000 to 2002 and yet again in 2003. In 2010, she was finally released
from house arrest and, in 2012, won a seat in Burma's parliament, where she
continues to serve.
In the essay "In Quest of Democracy," a selection from which appears here,
Aung San Suu Kyi attempts to answer one of the standard charges made by
nondemocratic governments throughout the world: that democracy is a Western
form of government and a remnant of imperialism that represents values alien to
the non-Western world. To answer this charge, Aung San Suu Kyi argues deduc-
tively. First she examines the role of government in Buddhist scripture (nearly
90 percent of the population of Burma/Myanmar is Buddhist). She narrates the
story of the original social contract in Buddhist scripture and briefly explains the
ten duties of kingship in the Buddhist tradition. She then applies these principles
to the present definition of "democracy." The essential elements of democracy,
fairness, and respect for human rights, she asserts, have always been present in
the Buddhist traditions of her people.
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Opponents of the movement for democracy in Burma' have sought to undermine
it by on the one hand casting aspersions on the competence of the people to judge
what was best for the nation and on the other condemning the basic tenets of
democracy as un-Burmese. There is nothing new in Third World governments seek-
ing to justify and perpetuate authoritarian rule by denouncing liberal democratic
principles as alien. By implication they claim for themselves the official and sole
right to decide what does or does not conform to indigenous cultural norms. Such
conventional propaganda aimed at consolidating the powers of the establishment
has been studied, analysed and disproved by political scientists, jurists and soci-
ologists. But in Burma, distanced by several decades of isolationism from political
and intellectual developments in the outside world, the people have had to draw
on their own resources to explode the twin myths of their unfitness for political
responsibility and the unsuitability of democracy for their society. As soon as the
movement for democracy spread out across Burma there was a surge of intense inter-
est in the meaning of the word “democracy", in its history and its practical implica-
tions. More than a quarter-century
of narrow authoritarianism under which they had
1. Burma: The Union of Burma was established organizations, but is rejected by prodemocracy
in 1948, having previously been part
forces within Burma because it was not ratified
India. In 1989, the ruling military junta declared
United States, Great Britain, and Canada con-
that the country would be known as the Union
tinue to call the country Burma, as does Aung
Myanmar, with the designated short form
San Suu Kyi.
Myanmar. This change has been adopted by the
United Nations and by some other international
444
LAW AND GOVERNMENT
or
been fed a pabulum? of shallow, negative dogma had not blunted the perceptiveness
political alertness of the Burmese. On the contrary, perhaps not all that surprisingly,
their appetite for discussion and debate, for uncensored information and objective
analysis, seemed to have been sharpened. Not only was there an eagerness to study
and to absorb standard theories on modern politics and political institutions, there
was also widespread and intelligent speculation on the nature of democracy as a
social system of which they had had little experience but which appealed to their
common-sense notions of what was due to a civilized society. There was a spontane
ous interpretative response to such basic ideas as representative government, human
rights and the rule of law. The privileges and freedoms which would be guaranteed
by democratic institutions were contemplated with understandable enthusiasm. But
the duties of those who would bear responsibility for the maintenance of a stable
democracy also provoked much thoughtful consideration. It was natural that a peo-
ple who have suffered much from the consequences of bad government should be
preoccupied with theories of good government.
Members of the Buddhist sangha in their customary role as mentors have led
the way in articulating popular expectations by drawing on classical learning to
illuminate timeless values. But the conscious effort to make traditional knowledge
relevant to contemporary needs was not confined to any particular circle—it went
right through Burmese society from urban intellectuals and small shopkeepers to
doughty village grandmothers.
Why has Burma with its abundant natural and human resources failed to live up to
its early promise as one of the most energetic and fastest-developing nations in South-
east Asia? International scholars have provided detailed answers supported by careful
analyses of historical, cultural, political and economic factors. The Burmese people,
who have had no access to sophisticated academic material, got to the heart of the
matter by turning to the words of the Buddha on the four causes of decline and decay:
failure to recover that which had been lost, omission to repair that which had been
damaged, disregard of the need for reasonable economy, and the elevation to leader-
ship of men without morality or learning. Translated into contemporary terms, when
democratic rights had been lost to military dictatorship sufficient efforts had not been
made to regain them, moral and political values had been allowed to deteriorate without
concerted attempts to save the situation, the economy had been badly managed, and
the country had been ruled by men without integrity or wisdom. A thorough study by
the cleverest scholar using the best and latest methods of research could hardly have
identified more correctly or succinctly the chief causes of Burma's decline since 1962.
Under totalitarian socialism, official policies with little relevance to actual needs
had placed Burma in an economic and administrative limbo where government
2. Pabulum: food, or a diet. Because of histori-
cal confusion with the word "pablum," or food
for infants, the word has come to connote shal-
low or trite thought
3. Sangha: a collective word for the ordained
monks and nuns in the Buddhist religion, similar,
in some respects, to the English word "clergy."
AUNG SAN SUU KYI . In Quest of Democracy
445
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bribery and evasion of regulations were the indispensable lubricant to keep the wheels
of everyday life turning. But through the years of moral decay and material decline
there has survived a vision of a society in which the people and the leadership could
unite in principled efforts to achieve prosperity and security. In 1988 the movement
for democracy gave rise to the hope that the vision might become reality. At its most
basic and immediate level, liberal democracy would mean in institutional terms a
representative government appointed for a constitutionally limited term through free
and fair elections. By exercising responsibly their right to choose their own leaders
the Burmese hope to make an effective start at reversing the process of decline.
They have countered the propagandist doctrine that democracy is unsuited to their
cultural norms by examining traditional theories of
.
The Buddhist view of world history tells that when society fell from its original
state of purity into moral and social chaos a king was elected to restore peace and
justice. The ruler was known by three titles: Mahasammata, “because he is named
ruler by the unanimous consent of the people”; Khattiya, “because he has dominion
over agricultural land"; and Raja, “because he wins the people to affection through
observance of the dhamma (virtue, justice, the law)". The agreement by which their
first monarch undertakes to rule righteously in return for a portion of the rice crop
represents the Buddhist version of government by social contract. The Mahasammata
follows the general pattern of Indic kingship in South-east Asia. This has been criti-
cized as antithetical to the idea of the modern state because it promotes a personal-
ized form of monarchy lacking the continuity inherent in the western abstraction of
the king as possessed of both a body politic and a body natural. However, because
the Mahasammata was chosen by popular consent and required to govern in accord-
ance with just laws, the concept of government elective and sub lege4 is not alien to
traditional Burmese thought.
The Buddhist view of kingship does not invest the ruler with the divine right to
govern the realm as he pleases. He is expected to observe the Ten Duties of Kings,
the Seven Safeguards against Decline, the Four Assistances to the People, and to
be guided by numerous other codes of conduct such as the Twelve Practices of Rul-
ers, the Six Attributes of Leaders, the Eight Virtues of Kings and the Four Ways to
Overcome Peril. There is logic to a tradition which includes the king among the
five enemies or perils and which subscribes to many sets of moral instructions for the
edification of those in positions of authority. The people of Burma have had much
experience of despotic rule and possess a great awareness of the unhappy gap that
can exist between the theory and practice of government.
The Ten Duties of Kings are widely known and generally accepted as a yardstick
which could be applied just as well to modern government as to the first monarch
of the world. The duties are: liberality, morality, self-sacrifice, integrity, kindness,
4. Sub lege: "Under the law"; the phrase here refers to a government that is bound by, and account-
able to, legal authorities.
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LAW AND GOVERNMENT
446
the people).
would be to ensure the economic security of the state.
10
austerity, non-anger, non-violence, forbearance and non-opposition (to the will of
generously towards the welfare of the people makes the tacit assumption that a
The first duty of liberality (dana) which demands that a ruler should contribute
government should have the competence to provide adequately for its citizens. In the
context of modern politics, one of the prime duties of a responsible administration
Morality (sila) in traditional Buddhist terms is based on the observance of the
five precepts, which entails refraining from destruction of life, theft, adultery, falsehood
and indulgence in intoxicants. The ruler must bear a high moral character to win the
respect and trust of the people, to ensure their happiness and prosperity and to provide a
proper example. When the king does not observe the dhamma, state functionaries become
.
corrupt, and when state functionaries are corrupt the people are caused much suffering
It is further believed that an unrighteous king brings down calamity on the land. The
root of a nation's misfortunes has to be sought in the moral failings of the government.
The third duty, paricagga, is sometimes translated as generosity and sometimes as
self-sacrifice. The former would constitute a duplication of the first duty, dana, so
self-sacrifice as the ultimate generosity which gives up all for the sake of the people
would appear the more satisfactory interpretation. The concept of selfless public
service is sometimes illustrated by the story of the hermit Sumedha who took the
of Buddhahood. In so doing he who could have realized the supreme liberation
of nirvana in a single lifetime committed himself to countless incarnations that he
might help other beings free themselves from suffering. Equally popular is the story
of the monkey king who sacrificed his life to save his subjects, including one who
had always wished him harm and who was the eventual cause of his death. The good
ruler sublimates his needs as an individual to the service of the nation.
Integrity (ajjava) implies incorruptibility in the discharge of public duties as well as
honesty and sincerity in personal relations. There is a Burmese saying: "With rulers,
truth, with (ordinary) men, vows”. While a private individual may be bound only by
the formal vows that he makes, those who govern should be wholly bound by the truth
in thought, word and deed. Truth is the very essence of the teachings of the Buddha,
who referred to himself as the Tathagata or "one who has come to the truth.” The
Buddhist king must therefore live and rule by truth, which is the perfect uniformity
between nomenclature and nature. To deceive or to mislead the people in any way
would be an occupational failing as well as a moral offence. “As an arrow, intrinsically
straight, without warp or distortion, when one word is spoken, it does not err into two."
VOW
5. Sumedha: In Buddhist tradition, Sumedha
was a man who inherited great wealth from
his parents but, instead of accepting it, opened
his treasury to the people of the village and
declared that anyone could take whatever they
wanted. Upon renouncing his wealth, Sumedha
became a hermit and attained the status of a
Buddha.
6. Nomenclature: a system of naming. Unifor-
mity between nomenclature and nature means
that what is said to be true corresponds to what
is true.
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