The Burmese Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi is the daughter of the legendary liberation movement leader Aung San, who was assassinated during the transition period in July 1947, just six months before independence, when Ms Suu Kyi was only two.
Aung San Suu Kyi is Myanmar’s icon of freedom. She won Nobel Peace Prize in the year 1991. She led the opposition to the military junta that had ruled Burma since 1962. Inspired by the non-violent campaigns of US civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., and India’s Mahatma Gandhi, she organized rallies and travelled around the country, calling for peaceful democratic reform and free elections.
She was one of the founders of the National League for Democracy (NLD), and was elected secretary general of the party. She opposed all use of violence, and called on the military leaders to hand over power to a civilian government.
The Peace Prize had a significant impact in mobilizing world opinion in favour of Aung San Suu Kyi’s cause. However, she remained under house arrest for almost 15 years until her release on 13th November, 2010.
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