Suu Kyi urges people to be courageous on National Day

Wed, 01 Dec 2010

Yangon - Myanmar's pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi urged people to be courageous on the 90th anniversary of National Day Wednesday.

The December 1 holiday celebrates protests by Rangoon University students in 1920 which started the independence movement.

"We need to be united, to persevere and be courageous," opposition leader Suu Kyi told about 200 supporters who gathered at the National League for Democracy (NLD) party compound in Yangon.

To mark the day, military strongman and leader of the current ruling junta, Senior General Than Shwe, emphasized "sustained efforts to achieve greater development of the nation," the state-run New Light of Myanmar reported Wednesday.

Than Shwe praised the recent "free and fair elections" and urged Burmese people to "keep working with a strong sense of nationalistic spirit."

The November 7 polls where the first in Myanmar in 20 years, but most foreign observers said they were neither free or fair.

Suu Kyi, whose NLD was banned when they boycotted the polls, on Wednesday said national affairs are the concern of all people and not just "one party's agenda."

The Nobel Peace Prize laureate was released from house arrest about a week after the election.

Meanwhile, the NLD is seeking a judicial order to reinstate it as a legal political party after losing its status in May when it refused to register for the general election.

The party boycotted the election to protest a law that would have required it to drop Suu Kyi as a member if the NLD were to be put on the ballot.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/356026,be-courageous-national-day.html.