"THE LADY" IN ROME

Yesterday a heroine of mine and, I am sure, of many readers of this blog, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, arrived in Rome for a series of meetings as part of her European tour.  "The lady", as she is often called, is a heroine here, too and I would like to add my voice to the many that have welcomed her to Italy.

Aung San Suu Kyi first travelled to the Campidoglio where she received, 19 years late, the scroll that makes her an honorary citizen of Rome. This honour was awarded to her in 1994 but, as she was under house arrest at the time, she was unable to accept it in person. At last, yesterday, it was presented to her by Mayor of Rome Ignazio Marino and one of his predecessors, Francesco Rutelli. In her acceptance speeech, Aung San Suu Kyi remembered visiting Rome as a student 40 years ago, when she had been very impressed by the friendliness of the people. She had enjoyed the gelato, too! Mr Marino told her that Rome would always be with her and that the world needs people like her. 

"The lady" also received the Rome Peace Prize and Roberto Baggio, who had accepted it on her behalf in 2007, was visibly moved.  He said that Aung San Suu Kyi's battles for freedom had not only changed the destiny of her own people, but also the everyday lives of others.

This morning Prime Minister Letta received Aung San Suu Kyi at the Palazzo Chigi and assured her of his full support in her work to advance Burma's transition to democracy, particularly with regard to the constitutional reforms that will be necessary.  Mr Letta thanked "the lady" for her tireless fight for democracy and freedom and invited her to Expo 2015 as food security, one of the themes of the festival, is of interest to her. She accepted the invitation with pleasure.

Later "the lady" discussed human rights and religious freedom in a private audience with Pope Francis and afterwards met President Napolitano, Foreign Minister Emma Bonino, President of the Senate Pietro Grasso and Laura Boldrini, President of the Chamber of Deputies.

The Eternal City loves you, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. Please come again soon!

FREEDOM FOR THE LADY

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was freed "unconditionally" today. I do not wish to mar the celebrations of this day but I cannot help fearing that she will be rearrested in a replay of  the "90 days" series of arrests that we saw in apartheid South Africa.  No one is more aware of this danger than Aung San Suu Kyi herself.  Let us hope, however, that "unconditionally" means exactly that and that this brave lady is allowed to speak freely from now on.  

The world now needs to focus on the campaign to free the remaining 2,020 political prisoners in Myanmar. 

Of the Burmese tradition of releasing a caged bird on New Year's Day, Aung San Suu Kyi has written:

"I could not help wondering how much value there could be to a gesture of liberation that does not truly guarantee freedom."

- Letters from Burma, 1995.

14 YEARS, 238 DAYS

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is 65 today and she spends her birthday in detention.  Myanmar's  Democracy leader has, in fact, spent 14 years and 238 days in detention because the odious ruling junta fears her.  Like all bullies, they fear one who fights them with words of reason more than they fear violence. This is what The Lady herself has to say about fear:

"Within a system which denies the existence of basic human rights, fear tends to be the order of the day. Fear of imprisonment, fear of torture, fear of death, fear of losing friends, family, property or means of livelihood, fear of poverty, fear of isolation, fear of failure. A most insidious form of fear is that which masquerades as common sense or even wisdom, condemning as foolish, reckless, insignificant or futile the small, daily acts of courage which help to preserve man's self-respect and inherent human dignity. It is not easy for a people conditioned by fear under the iron rule of the principle that might is right to free themselves from the enervating miasma of fear. Yet even under the most crushing state machinery courage rises up again and again, for fear is not the natural state of civilized man. "
- Freedom from Fear, 1991

Please visit this site to find out how you can take action to help Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners in Myanmar [Burma].

Thank you.

No sabato musicale this week.  Instead, this is for The Lady:

FERRAGOSTO: A MOMENT FOR "THE LADY"

As this day of celebration draws to a close in Italy, I ask you, if you can, to spare a thought for one who has had no holiday and no freedom in 14 years: Burma's pro-democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, was, in a sham of a trial, convicted last week of breaching national security and sentenced to a further 18 months of house arrest. The regime, of course, knew that the eyes of the world were upon them and had this not been the case, I fear that the sentence would have been harsher, as it would have been and has been for others in Burma whom we must not forget.

This shows that we who live in freedom can make a difference and we can do so at this juncture by joining the call for a global arms embargo on Burma. Countries which have already called for this include the UK, the USA, Australia, France and Italy. Countries which have not yet done so include New Zealand, Canada and Switzerland. [This information is, as far as I can tell from several sources, correct at the time of writing; please correct me if I am wrong.] You can find out more about the arms embargo campaign here and how to get involved, wherever you are, here.

"The Lady" and the National League for Democracy are asking only for those freedoms which most of us take for granted:

"When we ask for democracy, all we are asking is that our people should be allowed to live tranquilly under the rule of law, protected by institutions which will guarantee our rights, the rights that will enable us to maintain our human dignity, to heal long festering wounds and to allow love and courage to flourish. Is that such a very unreasonable demand?"

- Aung San Suu Kyi, Letters from Burma [1996].

POSITIVE DAY - POST 2: AUNG SAN SUU KYI

It is not easy to remain positive when we imagine the likely outcome of the trial of Burma's pro-democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, but we must, for it is her Buddhist faith and the power of positive thought that have carried her through her ordeal thus far.

"The Lady" as she is often called, has been under house arrest for 14 years and is currently being held in the notorious Insein Prison. She faces a possible prison sentence of 5 years which would conveniently prevent her from being able to take part in her country's 2010 elections. A trial verdict was expected today [31st July] but has now been delayed until 11th August.

We who love freedom can take action now by signing the letter to Président Sarkozy here, for France remains the strongest objector to EU sanctions against Burma. We can also keep ourselves updated regarding the situation via the Burma Campaign UK , the US Campaign for Burma and other campaigns in our various countries.

Aung San Suu Kyi herself has something to say about positive friendship:

"According to the teachings of Buddhism, a good friend ..... does not forsake you in times of want and does not condemn you when you are ruined. With such friends, one can travel the roughest road and not be defeated by hardship. Indeed, the rougher the path, the greater the delight in the company of kalyanamitta, good and noble friends who stand by us in times of adversity."

- Aung San Suu Kyi, Letters from Burma [1996].

Let us be good and positive friends to "The Lady" at this time.

Thank you.

PLEASE SPARE A THOUGHT FOR "THE LADY" TODAY

"The man stripped of all props except that of his spirit is sounding not only the depths he is capable of plumbing, but also testing the heights that he can scale."

-Aung San Suu Kyi, Letters from Burma.

Aung San Suu Kyi, Burma's pro-democracy leader, is 64 today. She will spend her birthday in detention, on trumped-up charges, in the infamous Insein Prison. The UN has ruled her detention illegal and there are serious concerns for her health.

In my opinion Aung San Suu Kyi's greatest act of courage was her refusal to fly to London to see her husband, Michael Aris, when he was dying of cancer there. She knew that she would not have been allowed back into Burma to fight for her people.

Aung San Suu Kyi believes in freedom so let those of us who have our freedom show that we believe in her on this day: please leave your message of support for Aung San Suu Kyi here .

Thank you.

Image: US Department of State