Aung San Suu Kyi's UK visit

Monday, June 25, 2012

 

Aung San Suu Kyi in Norway where she receives her Nobel Prize, 21 years after she was awarded it.Last week, Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi visited the UK for four days. Having once lived in the UK, she had not been able to travel here for 24 years as she was confined to house arrest by the Burmese regime.
Earlier last week she visited Norway, where she was presented with her Nobel Peace Prize, 21 years after it was awarded to her in 1991.
Speaking at the London School of Economics, Ms Suu Kyi highlighted that for true reform to take place the rule of law should be applied to all those responsible for the atrocities of the past two decades and more. Quoting Bishop Desmond Tutu from South Africa, she said: "Time will not heal, there has to be acknowledgement".
She also stressed that foreign investors should carefully consider the impact their investments may have on the Burmese people. This warning comes after sanctions were lifted and foreign investment was once again allowed in Burma few months ago. Much money is to be made in the country, but who will benefit and who will be left behind?
Ms Suu Kyi reminded us about the difficulties faced by Burmese refugees on the Thai-Burma border. Suu Kyi visited the Mae La camp (near Mae Sot where IRT supports projects), Thailand, in early June. There are more than 140,000 Burmese refugees, mostly ethnic Karen, living in 10 camps along the 1,800km Thai-Burmese border.
IRT is thrilled about the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and looks forward to the positive change we hope this will bring to the future of Burma. However, we realise that the road ahead is a long one and we intend to keep on supporting the Burmese refugees in Thailand all the way.
Want to know more about IRT's involvement with refugee work in Thailand? Read more about our work in Thailand. We are also delighted to be taking part in the London 10K 2012 which we have dedicated to our Thailand projects. This means that every penny raised by our runners will go to the Burmese refugees in our Thailand projects.


Source : http://www.irt.org.uk