The Lady and the Peacock
Page 54
Bertil Lintner was wonderfully generous with his time and memories when we met in Chiangmai, as was Nyo Ohn Myint in the same city. Gustaaf Houtman and Ingrid Jordt are two Burma experts who in their different ways helped me immensely. Maureen Aung-Thwin of the Open Society Foundations opened her address book for me, to the book’s great advantage. My elder son, Mario, lent me his genial company and his photographic brilliance on more than one exacting field trip. Claire Lewis was a fairy godmother whose wishes have yet to be realized but we live in hope. I offer a deep gassho to Dario Doshin Girolami for helping me once again to put my feet upon the Way.
Others to whom I would like to offer my thanks include:
Shankar Acharya, Gillon Aitken, Andrew Kidd and their colleagues at Aitken Alexander Associates, Jon Bernstein, Ian Birrell, Archie Bland, Richard Blurton, Vicky Bowman, Ruth Bradley-Jones, Katherine Butler, Mark Canning, Baroness Caroline Cox, Peter Carey, Federico Ceratto, Emmanuele Cappelutti and all my other Dharma friends in Rome, Sir Robin Christopher, Alan Clements, Steve Crawshaw, Jason Cowley, Rana Dasgupta, Cecilia Draghi, George Duffield, Sophie Elmhirst, George Duffield, Anne Gyrithe Bonne, Andrew Heyn, Christo Hird, Andrew Huxley, Laurence Earle, Keith Fielder, Jamie Fergusson, Jared Genscher, Imogen Haddon, Catherine Haughney, Suzanne Hoelgaard, Htein Lin, David Jenkins, Liz Jobey, Joshua, Malavika Karlekar, Simon Kelner, Judith Kendra, Sue Lascelles and all their colleagues at Rider, Paul Mander, Charlotte Middlehurst, Sarah Miller, David Modell, Junko Nakayama, Monica Narula, Terry McCarthy, Ohn Mar Oo, Anders Østergaard, Noriko and Sadayoshi Ohtsu, David Randall, Ann Pasternak Slater, Sam Popham, Ben Rogers, Juliet Rogers, Ros Russell, Debby Stothard and Nita Yin Yin May.
In addition, numerous Burmese people and some foreigners within Burma have helped me in the course of this project, offering me their time, knowledge and friendship at considerable peril to themselves, a peril I will not add to by naming them here.
Finally, my wife Daniela and our son Gabriel have lived with this book since its conception and have participated in its creation in more ways than they, or I, can be fully aware of. Thank you.
Despite all the help I have received, I take full responsibility for any mistakes that remain.
I will donate a portion of the earnings from this book to Prospect Burma, the charity supported by Aung San Suu Kyi which has been helping Burmese people study abroad since the crushing of the democracy movement in 1988, and the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners—Burma.
The author would like to thank the following for permission to use copyright material: Anne Gyrithe Bonne, Bonne Film productions for quotes from Aung San Suu Kyi—Lady of No Fear (Kamoli Films, Denmark 2010); Eland Publishing Ltd for material from Golden Earth by Norman Lewis (© 1951, reissue 2003); Farrar, Straus and Giroux, LLC for material from The River of Lost Footsteps by Thant Myint-U (© 2006 by Thant Myint-U); Guardian News & Media Ltd for extract from “Review of Voice of Hope” by Mary Warnock (Observer, May 25, 1997; © Guardian News & Media Ltd 1997); HarperCollins Publishers Ltd for material from Land of Green Ghosts by Pascal Khoo Thwe (© Pascal Khoo Thwe, 2002); Gustaaf Houtman for material from his Mental Culture in Burmese Crisis Politics (ILCAA, 1999); Independent Print Limited for extracts from Independent newspaper articles: “Belief in Burma’s Future” by Aung San Suu Kyi (September 12, 1988), “The Road to Manerplaw” (May 25, 1991) and “Welcome to Burma” (February 21, 2011) by Peter Popham and the following by Terry McCarthy: “Burmese Army Coup” (September 19, 1988), “Burma Opposition Will Not Give in to Army Rule” (September 20, 1988); “Fragile Peace Settles on Rangoon” (September 21, 1988); “Ne Win Still Fights for Control” (September 28, 1988), “Rangoon Peaceful for Funeral of Widow (January 3, 1989), “Opposition Vote Leaves Burma’s Rulers Stunned” (with Yuli Ismartono, June 15, 1990), “EC to End Boycott of Burmese Junta” (June 15, 1990); Irrawaddy Publishing Group for material from “Memories of 8.8.88” by Dominic Faulder and interview with Gene Sharp, March 2011; Bertil Lintner for material from his Outrage (Kiscadale,1989); Lonely Planet for material from Burma, edition 4, by Tony Wheeler and Joe Cummings (© 1998, YR Lonely Planet); New York Times for “A Daughter of Burma, But Can She Be a Symbol?” by Steven Erlanger (November 1,1989); Oxford University Press, India for material from Remembered Childhood—Essays in Honor of Andre Beteille, ed. Marlavika Karlekar and Rudrangshu Mukherjee (Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 2009); Pan Macmillan for material from Defeat into Victory by William Slim (2009); Penguin Books for material from Freedom from Fear by Aung San Suu Kyi (reissue 2010) and Letters from Burma by Aung San Suu Kyi (reissue 2010); Penguin Books and Michael Joseph for material from Forgotten Land; Rider Books, Random House and Editions Stock for material from The Voice of Hope by Alan Clements and Aung San Suu Kyi (2008); University of Pennsylvania Press for material from Karaoke Fascism by Monique Skidmore (2004); Washington Post for extracts from “Myanmar Crushes Monks” Movement” by William Branigin (October 28, 1990) and “Myanmar Moves on Opposition, 2 Leading Activists Under House Arrest” by Keith B. Richburg (July 22, 1989); Wisdom Publications, 199 Elm Street, Somerville, MA 02144 USA, www.wisdompubs.org, for material from In This Very Life by Sayadaw U. Pandita (reissue © Sayadaw U Pandita, Saddhamma Foundation, 1991); Zed Books for material from Burma: Insurgency and the Politics of Ethnicity by Martin Smith (1998). While every effort has been made to trace all copyright holders, if any have been inadvertently overlooked, the author and publisher will be pleased to make the necessary arrangement at the first opportunity.
INDEX
Acharya, Shankar 196, 197, 190, 199, 200
Alaunghpaya, King 277, 278
Albright, Madeleine 307–8, 319
Algeria 198–9
All-Burma Patriotic Old Comrades League 67
All-Burma Students’ Democratic Front 279
All-Burma Students’ Union 64
Allies 6, 12, 13, 131, 161–2, 163
Allott, Anna 238
Anawrahta, King 277
Anglo-Burmese War (1824) 7, 123
Annan, Kofi 367
Anti-Fascist People’s Freedom League (APFL) 12, 13, 14, 91, 162, 178, 369
Aquino Jr., Benigno 246
Aquino, Corazon 118
Aris, Alexander (son) 23, 70
life
birth 223
babyhood 221, 223, 235
childhood visits to Burma 223, 229
Dragon School, Oxford 235
shinbyu ceremony 25, 237, 292
in Indian Himalayas with Michael 238
visits Suu Kyi in Kyoto 241
joins Suu Kyi in Burma 34, 49
granted visa 97
with Suu Kyi before her house arrest 157
with Suu Kyi on her hunger strike 245
leaves Burma 247
Burmese passport invalidated 248
acceptance speech for Suu Kyi’s Nobel Peace Prize 300–1
Suu Kyi’s commitment to 119, 247–8
Suu Kyi’s reminiscences 106, 140, 142
Aris, Anthony (brother-in-law) 206, 207, 209, 217
Aris, Evelyn 230
Aris, John (father-in-law) 206–7, 230
death 245
Aris, Kim (son) 23, 70
life
birth 230
babyhood 235
Dragon School, Oxford 235
shinbyu ceremony 25, 237, 292
in Japan with Suu Kyi 238, 239
joins Suu Kyi in Burma 34, 49
granted visa 97
with Suu Kyi before her house arrest 157
with Suu Kyi on her hunger strike 245
leaves Burma 247
Burmese passport invalidated 248
acceptance of Suu Kyi’s Nobel Peace Prize 299
Suu Kyi’s commitment to 119, 247–8
Suu Kyi’s reminiscences 106, 140, 142
Aris, Lucinda (sister-in-law) 207, 331
Aris, Michael (husband) 5, 18–19, 111, 121, 131, 326
background 206–7
life
>
falls in love with Suu Kyi 207–8
tutor to royal house of Thimphu 25, 209–10, 222
courtship of Suu Kyi 25
engagement to Suu Kyi 217–18
letters from Suu Kyi 19, 217, 218–19
marriage to Suu Kyi 18, 219, 220
first trip to Burma with Suu Kyi 220–1
in Bhutan with Suu Kyi 221, 222
doctoral thesis 223
Brompton flat 223
in Nepal with Suu Kyi and Alexander 221, 223
visits Burma with Suu Kyi and Alexander 223, 229
Scotland stay with his family 229
St. John’s College fellowship 230
married life in Oxford 23, 25–6, 230–5
Noriko Ohtsu’s impressions 231–2
Wolfson College fellowship 235
St. Anthony’s College tenure 23
Indian Institute fellowship in Shimla 26, 238
visits Suu Kyi in Kyoto 241
receives news of Khin Kyi’s stroke 27
with Suu Kyi in Burma 34, 36, 39, 49, 53–4, 70, 78, 85
granted visa 97
suggests Ma Thanegi keeps diary 99
phone calls to Suu Kyi 104
go-between role in Suu Kyi’s hunger strike 245–7
visits to Suu Kyi in detention 254–6
letters and gifts to Suu Kyi 272
delivers Suu Kyi’s speech of thanks for honorary degree 291
visits Suu Kyi under house arrest 304
accuses Ma Thanegi of disloyalty 320
terminates relationship with Ma Thanegi 329
last Burma visit 330
work as Suu Kyi’s “other half” 328–31
prostate cancer 4, 332–3
refused visa 4, 332
death 4, 333
Monopoly clashes with Suu Kyi 157
passion for Tibet 23, 207, 208–9, 221, 331
regime insults 53
Armed Forces Day 146
Assistance Association for Political Prisoners 249
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) 310, 315, 322, 338, 360
Attlee, Clement 14, 104, 177
Aung Aung 105, 140, 141, 157
Aung Gyi (student) 48
Aung Gyi, General
arrest (1965) 203
arrest (1988) 43
“communist” allegations against Suu Kyi and NLD 96, 115
condemns Enquiry Commission report 31–2
economic policy 202
election defeat 268
joins Suu Kyi’s resistance movement 68–9, 74
and NLD 84–5, 92–3, 94, 95, 96, 115
verdict on U Nu’s “prime minister” announcement 64
Aung Lwin, U 107
Aung Lynn Htut 320, 357, 361, 364
Aung Myint 77
Aung San (father) 5, 6, 9–15, 250
ana and awza 289
Buddhism 168
charisma 6
commemoration of death 40
conscientiousness 171
life
as student at Rangoon University 6, 9, 39, 43, 85, 90–1
as “Thakin” leader 9
and “Revolution of 1300” 9–10, 15, 43
Japan trip 10, 239
“Blue Print” (authorship disputed) 284–5
fights alongside Japanese 26, 162, 278
civil murder charge 162
trains Burmese Independence Army 10
misgivings about Japanese 10, 11, 161
meets Khin Kyi Rangoon Hospital 11–12
marriage to Khin Kyi 12 (1942)
joins Allies against Japanese 12–13, 398
sets up Anti-Fascist People’s Freedom League 12
interview with William Slim 13, 161–2, 163
refuses army pension 169
Myitkyina visit 136
anticipates early death 165–6
calls for nonviolent action against Britain 13–14
meets with Nehru 180
independence negotiations with Attlee 14, 104
signs Panglong Agreement 14, 104, 177, 278
elected leader of Burma 1947 14
fleeting presence in family 164–5
assassination 14–15, 24, 33, 127–8, 165–6, 176, 300, 331
burial place 52, 98
marginalized by regime 148–9, 164, 258, 284
Maung Maung’s portrayal 47
Ne Win assassination order rumor 40
parallels with Suu Kyi 15–16
photographs 12, 15
and political legitimacy 92, 130, 284
Suu Kyi compared 398
Suu Kyi’s biography 9, 26, 161, 165, 236–7
U Tin Oo’s memories 68
veneration in Burma 13, 32, 38, 39, 44, 300
Aung San Chit (sister), death 164, 165
Aung San (Ko Ko) Lin (brother) 15, 24–5, 142, 164, 166–7, 169, 170
death 119, 170–1
Aung San Oo (brother) 24, 34, 38–9, 48, 50, 164, 166, 168, 180, 204
absence from Suu Kyi’s wedding 220
blocks repairs to Suu Kyi’s house 368
froideur 205
Aung San Suu Kyi
appearance 24, 42, 189–90, 183, 232, 297, 371, 397
attachment to Puppy 222
and Aung San
awareness of his legacy 5–6, 16, 24–5, 118, 127–8, 172, 191, 218, 300
childhood memories 165
compared 398
effects of his death 165, 166
feels his presence 290–1
immersion in his life and work 239
parallels 15–16
writes biography 9, 26, 161, 165, 236–7
author’s meetings with 341–4, 397
awards 385
honorary degree from University of Nepal 291
Honorary Fellowship, St. Hugh’s College 298
Nobel Peace Prize 299–301, 315
Sakharov prize for Freedom of Thought 299
Thorolf Rafto Prize for Human Rights 299
beliefs
Buddhism 312, 370, 292–3
freedom of the spirit 254
nonviolence 116–17, 145, 153, 370, 388–9, 392, 294
challenges and defies Ne Win 56, 58, 145, 151–2, 257, 369
character 24, 42, 144, 193, 205
alleged stubbornness 343–4
consistency 398
discipline 292
generosity of spirit 255
hospitality 230
irreverent humor 24, 185, 194, 305
liking for tradition 233
moral commitment 190–1, 193, 194, 281–2, 327
suited to confinement 398
tomboy tendencies 172
truthfulness 233–4
closeness to Aung San Lin 167, 170
commitment to Burma 5, 25, 26–7, 18–19, 229–30, 241–2
“communist” allegations 96, 108, 115, 147, 153, 261
corporate sponsors 108
development of thinking 258–9
identification with democratic cause 101
impact on Burma 369–71, 387–8
impact on the world 388–94
interests and activities
cycling 196
literature 175, 184–5, 190–1
meditation 255, 292, 295–6
punting 196
writing 175
international celebrity 3, 117–18, 298, 384–6
life
birth 6, 13, 131–2, 161, 163
early childhood in Rangoon 163–71
schooldays in Rangoon 171–6
residence in Delhi 16, 24, 71, 179, 180–8, 189, 204
at St. Hugh’s College, Oxford 18, 25, 189, 190–200
alcohol experiment 112, 197
friendship with Dora Than É 198–9, 210, 231
Algeria visit 198–9
love affair with Tariq Hyder 199–200, 207, 208
visits Burma as a student 40, 41, 42, 200–1
Burmese marriage candidates 2
00–1, 207, 208
decides to go abroad 203
lack of direction post-graduation 204, 221
in London with the Gore-Booths 205
declines invitation for audience with Ne Win (1967) 206
romance with Michael Aris 25, 207–9
abortive postgraduate studies in New York 210–11
UN post in New York 18, 25, 211, 213–14, 219
volunteers in New York 214
passport incident 215–16
visits Michael in Bhutan 217
engagement to Michael 217–18
letters to Michael 218–19
marriage to Michael 18, 219, 220
visits to Burma with Michael 220–1
married life in Bhutan 221, 222
Brompton flat 223
birth of Alexander 223
Nepal trip with Michael and Alexander 221, 223
Scotland stay with Michael’s family 230
visits Burma with Michael and Alexander 223, 229
meets Kyaw Zaw in Rangoon 229–30
married life in Oxford 18, 23–4, 25–7, 230–6, 305
birth of Kim 230
inability to breastfeed 235
work for Bodleian 236
visits Burma for shinbyu ceremony 237
rejected for PhD 237–8
SOAS literature course 27, 238
research fellowship in Japan 26, 238–42, 259
in Shimla with Michael 26, 90, 238, 258
receives news of Khin Kyi’s stroke 27
returns to Burma to nurse Khin Kyi 4, 15, 27, 30, 119
takes Khin Kyi home 34
witnesses Institute of Medicine protests 33
joined in Burma by family 34–5
watches Ne Win resign on television 39
decision to enter politics 39, 119, 240–1
crash course in political history 42
absence from protests 46
University Avenue think tank 47–8, 49–50, 63
“People’s Consultative Committee” proposal 48–9
secret meeting with U Tin Aung Hein 51
Rangoon General Hospital speech 15, 51–2, 250
Shwedagon pagoda speech 53–8, 67, 71, 81, 92, 295, 388
success with Burma Spring reforms 59
rejects U Nu’s “prime minister” announcement 64
first meeting with U Tin Oo 67–8
meeting with election commission 68–9
call for interim government 69
house besieged 74–5, 84