Suu Kyi praises SA democracy
Los Angeles -
Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi
wrapped up a landmark two-week US trip praising eastern Europe and South
Africa's democratic transitions - but saying Myanmar must find its own
path.
The opposition icon, who flies
home on Wednesday, said Myanmar has to develop its own form of democracy
- one that would probably not be like that of the United States, where a
presidential election is only weeks away.
“It can't be like America's
democracy because Burma is not America,” she told several thousands
supporters gathered on Tuesday in Los Angeles for her last public
appearance before she left for home.
“Each country develops its own
type of democracy, not something that should be imposed from above. I've
always been against so-called disciplined democracy, which has been
advocated by the military regime.”
Suu Kyi, who spent 15 years under
house arrest until her 2010 release, arrived in the US on September 17
for the visit, which included a meeting with President Barack Obama in
the White House.
The
67-year-old, who won the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize - although she only
accepted it in person in June of this year - also met in Washington with
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who visited Myanmar in December.
After meetings in Washington and
New York, Suu Kyi travelled to Kentucky and Indiana and visited Yale and
Harvard universities, before a public event in San Francisco at the
weekend.
In translated excerpts of a BBC
interview that aired Saturday, Myanmar President Thein Sein said he
would accept Suu Kyi as president if elected, although he added he could
not alone amend rules that bar her from power, including one
prohibiting high office for those with close foreign relatives.
Suu Kyi was asked in Los Angeles -
where she appeared relaxed and energetic, joking and speaking mostly in
Burmese during a 90-minute question-and-answer session - what she would
do if she were Burma's president.
She dismissed the question by
saying: “You should consider how the present president of Burma is
handling the situation, rather than asking me how I would handle it if I
were the president of Burma… Let's be practical.”
Asked what democratic models
Myanmar could look to, she said: “We have many, many lessons to learn
from various places, not just the Asian countries like South Korea,
Taiwan, Mongolia and Indonesia.”
She
also cited “the eastern European countries, which made the transition
from communist autocracy to democracy in the 1980s and 1990s, and the
Latin American countries, which made the transition from military
governments”.
“And we cannot of course forget
South Africa, because although it wasn't a military regime, it was
certainly an authoritarian regime.”
She added: “We wish to learn from
everybody who has achieved a transition to democracy, and also… our
great strong point is that, because we are so far behind everybody else,
we can also learn which mistakes we should avoid.”
In a nod to the current deep US
political divide between Republicans led by Mitt Romney and the
Democrats of Obama - battling to win re-election on November 6 - she
stressed the need for compromise.
“Those of you who are familiar
with American politics I'm sure understand the need for negotiated
compromise,” she said with a smile.
Supporters gave her a rousing
reception when she arrived at the LA Convention Center for Tuesday's
event, where security was tight - a small group of Muslims protested
outside against “genocide” in Myanmar.
“She is very inspirational for us, we admire her,” said Corina
Yang, 36, who is half-Chinese and said it was the first time she had seen Suu Kyi.
Asked if she would make a good
president, Yang said: “She's a very straightforward person, and I really
like her personality. She is a very honest person, so I really wish her
one day to become president in our country.” - Sapa-AFP