Who is Aung San Suu Kyi

Aung San Suu Kyi is one of the world's most renowned freedom fighters and advocates of nonviolence.  Her struggles are for her home country of Burma and Burma's struggles for democracy while suffering under a strict and brutal military regime.   Aung San Suu Kye was educated in Burma, India and the United Kingdom.  

She grew up with only one parent as her father was assassinated when she was just two years old.  In 1988, she left London to take care of her dying mother.  During this time, she entered the newly formed National League for Democracy political party.  She game many speeches calling for freedom and democracy.  The military regime did not look favorably on her message as they responded with extreme violence as they killed up to 10,000 protesters including women, children and others. 

A few months later, the military regime began to weaken and was forced to call for a national election in 1990.  Suu Kyi campaigned for the NLD which led to her being detained along with others in the party by the regime.  Even with being under house arrest, the NLD still went on to win an amazing 82% of the seats in parliament.  However, the military regime never recognized the results.

Suu Kyi's legal troubles continued as she was held again from 1989-1995, and again from 2000-2002.  In May of 2003 she was arrested and locked behind bars after the Depavin massacre in which up to 100 of her friends and supporters were beaten to death by the regimes goons.  In 2003 she was let out of prison but confined to house arrest where she has remained ever since.

Over Suu Kyi's life, she has won several international awards including the Nobel Peace Prize, The Sakharov Prize from the European Parliament, The United States Presidential Medal of Freedom, and the Jawaharlal Nehru Award from India.  She has called on people from around the world to help the struggling people of Burma regain their freedom, asking "Please use your liberty to promote ours."