When Aung San Suu Kyi swept to power in Myanmar, the world hailed a new era.
But one year on, the persecution of the country's Rohingya Muslim minority is tarnishing her international reputation.
Meanwhile, fighting rages in the country's north, the number of political detainees has risen sharply, and the economy has slowed. Aung San Suu Kyi's supporters say she can't be blamed, and that undemocratic forces are undermining her. Others point to mismanagement and a fundamental lack of political experience.
101 East returns to Myanmar to find out if the high hopes held for pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi have turned to dust.
Talk to Al Jazeera - Aung San Suu Kyi: 'There is no rule of law'
Myanmar's opposition leader explains her vision for the country and why she seeks to become its next president.
Myanmar is a country in transition. After years of
unforgiving military rule its borders are beginning to open to outside
scrutiny.
The march to freedom is being led by Aung San Suu Kyi, Nobel
Peace laureate and chairperson of the opposition National League for
Democracy.
She had returned to Burma in 1988 after years of living
abroad, only to encounter a violent military dictatorship. She became
the loudest voice calling for democracy and human rights.
| "I don't think one person can be wholly responsible for change in his
or her country .... I have never claimed that I could do everything I
wanted in Burma. |
It did not take the military junta long to recognise the
threat she posed to them, and in 1989, the military government, which
had renamed the country Myanmar, placed her under house arrest.
Aung San Suu Kyi spent the next 15 years in custody.
In 1991, her determination to win democracy was rewarded
with the Nobel Peace Prize. But today, as she makes the transition from
activist to full-time politician pursuing her goal of being president,
Aung San Suu Kyi faces many challenges, including the fate of the
Rohingya people.
Described by the UN as being amongst the most persecuted
communities in the world, the Rohingya saw more than 125,000 people
internally displaced in 2012. The Rakhine state is one of the most
impoverished of Myanmar, and the waves of violence in the region have
worsened conditions.
Aung San Suu Kyi has, however, been criticised for failing to speak out strongly in their defence.
Asked how she would describe what is happening there, she
says, "I don't know what is happening there, but what has always
concerned me from the very beginning and I have talked about it often,
but nobody seems to be really interested in it, is the lack of rule of
law. I have always said that the first step we must take is to establish
rule of law, that both communities may feel safe, and then we can
progress towards a situation where we can talk over the problems and try
to find lasting solutions. But when there is no rule of law and people
are in fear of their life and their security, it is very difficult for
them to be able to sit down and talk things over."
Aung San Suu Kyi says she cannot decide what is done in the Rakhine state.
"I'm not part of the government .... I cannot say why there
is no rule of law, but it is not for me to establish rule of law, I
don't have the authority. People forget that even as an opposition
leader I am the leader of 44 MPs in a legislature of over 600, and yet
they expect me to be able to do the things that only government really
has the right or authority to do ... I think this is the price you pay
when you have received so much support and sympathy from the world all
over, that they would expect you to live up to certain expectations, but
I have never claimed that I could do everything I wanted in Burma," she
says.
She is close to realising her lifetime ambition of leading her country. But what is her vision for her country?
On Talk to Al Jazeera, we ask if can she navigate
her way to power past the generals, some of whom may have taken off
their uniforms, but others still wielding ultimate control.
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