Tuning in…
Tuning in…
Castaway
1 appearance
Leader of Burma's opposition party NLD, known as the Lady, an icon of democracy fighting for human rights in her homeland.
On the island
Eight records
Asia's Hero General Aung SanFavourite
And it's a song about my father, which was sung in the early days of the war when he first became the young national hero, the commander of the Burma Independence Army.
Academy of St. Martin in the Fields
I've chosen the overture to the magic flute because my husband Michael liked it very much.
Andy chose the song because he thought this is a good augury.
the song I've chosen is one that was sung by the person I would like to think of as my second mother.
Pachelbel's canon because for me it represents both tranquillity and resilience.
I've chosen this for my personal assistant, Doctor Tim Ah, and she said the green, green grass of home.
Largo from Symphony No. 9 'From the New World'
it reminds me of all those people in the States and elsewhere who helped us in our cause for democracy.
In conversation
Presenter asks
1:18What do you make of your position in Burmese society and of where Burma is at this moment?
My position in Burmese society is simply that of somebody trying to build up the foundations of a genuine working democracy. I'm one of many people working towards it. And where Burma is, is we're at the beginning of the road to democratization. I do not think we can say that we have started the genuine process of democratization yet, but we now have the opportunity to start.
Presenter asks
4:22How important was music in enabling you to stay calm and centered during your years under house arrest?
It was very important. During the years of house arrest, music was a way of keeping me in touch with friends and family who were far away, and I have chosen music that reminds me of people who are important to me. I have to confess that I don't really have a talent for music. I wish I did, but I don't have a talent for music.
Presenter asks
8:26You once said that your mother let you take it for granted that women could do anything. Can you tell us more about her?
Well, I didn't know anybody except my mother as the head of the family, and she was very disciplined, she was very courageous, she was very strict. I thought at times she was far too strict, but I have to say that when I was in a position of having to cope with things such as prison, I was very grateful to her for having brought me up in such a disciplined way. She was exemplary in many ways.
The keepsakes
The book
I would like to take the Buddha's Abhidhamma, but I must mention why I am quite happy to take the Bible. My grandfather's a converted Christian. ... And of course the Abhidhamma is, I would say, the compendium of Buddhist philosophy. And this I would like to study in greater depth and it would on a desert island I would have a lot of time to do that.
The luxury
a rose plant that changes its colours every day
My goodness, luxuries are not something I indulge in. A pot of roses? Yes. A never ending supply. ... I would like the kind of rose plant that changes its colours every day.
Presenter asks
34:23Can you tell me more about that choice [between staying in Burma and going back to your family]?
I'm not terribly fond of melodrama, and I think that when people have chosen a certain path and they should walk it with satisfaction and with determination and not try to make it appear as a tremendous sacrifice, I think then it's like asking for something back, saying, Here I am making this sacrifice, and I don't think you should do it. Whatever you do out of your own free will, that should be a gift that you give to life or to those whom you love.
Presenter asks
36:03Explain more to us about why you made the choice not to go [to see your dying husband].
It was not even a choice I had to make. The answers are as clear. And it was much less dramatic than what you've described. My liaison officer was sent to me and he explained to me that they would not give Michael a visa because they did not think that it would be appropriate for him to come at a time like that when he could so easily get into a very serious state while he was in Burma. But that, of course, if I wished to, I could go. So I simply said, No, I'm not going, and I stood up, so he knew it was time to leave, and he left.
Presenter asks
38:59How are you finding the reality of day-to-day politics? Because it can be a mucky old business.
I've always known that. Don't forget my father was a politician and his assassination was arranged by another politician. So I've never had illusions about politics. I didn't come into politics to be popular. Now, if I were to take sides in the situation, for example, in the Rakhine to which I think you're referring, it would create more animosity between the two communities. Violence has been committed by both sides. People who are afraid of being burned in their beds are not going to talk to one another and try to find a way out of the situation. So I've been saying all along what we need is security and rule of law.
“My father is my first love and my best love.”
“I do feel fear, but there are times when you can't think about fear because there are other things to think about.”
“I'm fond of the army. People don't like me for saying that.”