It’s 10 a.m., and the 2-year-old is still waiting for breakfast. Aliou Seyni Diallo collapses to his knees in tears and plops his forehead down on the dirt outside his family’s hut.DAWEI, Myanmar – Euphoric seas of supporters waved opposition party flags and offered yellow garlands. They lined crumbling roads for miles and climbed atop trees, cars and roofs as Aung San Suu Kyi spoke at impromptu rallies. Some cried as her convoy passed.
Cheered by tens of thousands, the 66-year-old opposition leader electrified Myanmar’s repressive political landscape everywhere she traveled Sunday on her first political tour of the countryside since her party registered to run in a historic ballot that could see her elected to parliament for the first time.
“We will bring democracy to the country,” Suu Kyi said to roaring applause as her voice boomed through loudspeakers from the balcony of a National League for Democracy office in the southern coastal district of Dawei. “We will bring rule of law … and we will see to it that repressive laws are repealed.”
As huge crowds screamed “Long Live Daw Aung San Suu Kyi!” and others held banners saying “You Are Our Heart,” she said: “We can overcome any obstacle with unity and perseverance, however difficult it may be.”
Suu Kyi’s campaign and by-elections due April 1 are being watched closely by the international community, which sees the vote as a crucial test of whether the military-backed government in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, is really committed to reform.
About 3,800 Burmese live in Fort Wayne.
The mere fact that Suu Kyi was able to speak in public in Dawei – and her supporters were able to greet her without fear of reprisal – was proof of dramatic progress itself. Such scenes would have been unthinkable a year ago, when the long-ruling junta was still in power and demonstrations were all but banned.
Suu Kyi’s visit was equivalent to waking a sleeping dragon, environmental activist Aung Zaw Hein said. “People had been afraid to discuss politics for so long,” he said. “Now that she’s visiting, the political spirit of people has been awakened.”
Looking into the giant crowds, Hein added: “I’ve never seen people’s faces look like this before. For the first time, they have hope in their eyes.”
