Who is Aung San Suu Kyi?

It’s Wednesday, and you know what that means, it’s time to meet another key character in the news. Today we are giving you a rundown of Aung San Suu Kyi, former State Counsellor (leader) of Myanmar. From being one of the country’s peace icons to the leader of a regime accused of genocide — meet Aung San Suu Kyi. 

A quick historical rundown of the political situation in Myanmar:  
After gaining independence from Britain in 1948, armed forces ruled Myanmar (also known as Burma) from 1962 until 2011, when a new government was established to return to civil rule. Before the new government was established in 2011, there were numerous protests and campaigns for democracy in Myanmar.  

This is where Aung San Suu Kyi comes in. 

The late 80’s, early 90’s 
This was an important time period for Aung San Suu Kyi and her political career. Remember how we said before that Myanmar was ruled by armed forces? Aung San Suu Kyi was incredibly active in calling for a democratic government. 

She rose to prominence, particularly during the 8888 Uprising, which was a series of pro-democracy protests that were met with violent suppression. She became an icon for democracy within the country and founded a political party, the National League for Democracy (NLD) in 1988. She became increasingly popular with young people, and of course, pro-democracy supporters. 

House arrest
Just under a year later in 1989, she was put under house arrest by the military government for her democratic efforts. She spent nearly 15 years in house arrest. During this time, Suu Kyi received ongoing support from world leaders such as former U.S. President Barack Obama, and countries like Australia, Japan, and Israel all calling for her release from house arrest. Her philosophy, especially during this time, was heavily influenced by non-violence and Buddist concepts. 

1990
In 1990, the then-military government called an election, which Suu Kyi and her party won, but the junta (a military group that rules a country by taking force) refused to give up power. 

Nobel Peace Prize
Suu Kyi was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize in 1991, cited as "an outstanding example of the power of the powerless" for her efforts. She was unable to accept her prize and give an acceptance speech due to being under house arrest. Her sons accepted on her behalf. It wasn’t until 2012 until she was able to give that speech. 

2015
After being in and out of house arrest over a 21 year period, campaigning for a democratic government and gaining plenty of national and international support, she led her political party to its first election victory in 2015. It was the first openly contested election in 25 years. 

The controversy 
After taking her leadership role, her peace efforts were quickly overshadowed by Myanmar’s treatment of the Muslim Rohingya minority. Myanmar is currently facing a lawsuit at the International Criminal Court of Justice, accused of genocide. Ms Suu Kyi herself has been accused of not intervening in the rape, murder and possible genocide of the Rohingya people by not condemning the military, and not acknowledging the treatment of the Rohingya people. 

Despite this, she still remains incredibly popular within Myanmar. 

Where is she now? 
After the military coup that was triggered following the 2020 election results (that Suu Kyi overwhelmingly won), she is being held in an unknown location. Despite winning the election, she lost her leadership role to the military, which has now gained control and has declared a year-long state of emergency.