Too Far Away - U Kyi Maung's Personal Conversation

U Kyi Maung's private conversation

Alan Clement: How did you meet Aung San Suu Kyi? What is your opinion and attitude towards her?

U Kyi Maung.. Well, unexpectedly, at the house of a very close friend. In Yangon. Thinking back, it was 1986. To be honest, there was nothing special about it. We only talked for a minute or two. The thing that I remember most was that she was shy and quiet. She seemed like a nice girl. She didn’t seem to be into small talk or gossip. The strange thing is, I remember, she didn’t smile at all. That must be why she didn’t want to interact with strangers (laughs). She was quite old. She looked like she was seventeen, but she was about forty-two. To be honest, I didn’t think much of her at all. She was about forty-two at the time. She was quite old. But not a young, fragile girl.

Alan.. What about after this?

Maung. . Then about a year later, my friend U Htwe Myint, came to me. Now this man is in prison. At that time, U Htwe Myint was a very close colleague of his. He said, “Aung San Suu Kyi is interested in entering politics. She wants to know if you are willing to give her some good advice.” I told him that I was not interested at all. Whatever it is, whoever it is. I have no plans to enter politics. U Htwe Myint came twice. I told him the same thing both times. Let’s just say that this matter is over here.

Alan: Is it because if you go back into politics you'll have to go back to prison?

Brother.. No. Absolutely not. It is not a reason to not do politics under an absolute dictatorship. Being arrested is always a possibility. It is a danger that is inherent in the nature of a dictatorship. There is no order here. Whenever the authorities find it inconvenient or disagreeable, they drag someone in. I do not live and work depending on whether I will be arrested or not. I am not careful. I have taken it to heart that I can be arrested at any time. This is a life I live with. But I consider myself a free person. I have been in prison for a total of eleven years, four times. I do not think of this as something unusual or painful.

Alan: Isn't it amazing to know that Daw Suu Kyi is ready to enter the political fray in Myanmar?

Brother..Well, there are things to do for her, the journey is long. Well, she is the daughter of General Aung San. A general is a “great soldier, a great politician”. Our national hero. He will appreciate this. And Suu Kyi is a Burmese citizen. If he wants to enter politics because of his nationality, let him do so. That is his right. But I was surprised that he was interested in me. We were strangers. I did not know him, nor did I know his abilities. A year later, at the end of July 1988, I was taken to prison for the third time. Nine others were arrested with me. I spent twenty-eight days in prison. I had been friends with U Aung Gyi for a long time. U Aung Gyi was a former soldier and politician. He wrote a long letter to U Ne Win. In the letter, he asked for the release of the old man. U Ne Win was a very powerful dictator. I had been released from prison for only an hour or two, and U Htwe Myint came to my house again. “Aung San Suu Kyi wants to see you,” she said. So I started to think. Well, let’s see. What is this woman up to? The time has come. A revolution is brewing. So I went to see her. The gist of the meeting was this. I said, “I am prepared to enter Burmese politics. If I want to go all the way, I have to be patient. I have to be prepared for the worst.” He listened carefully.

Alan: What interests you about Daw Suu Kyi?

Brother. I was a soldier and a prisoner (laughing). I was more than twenty years older than Suu Kyi. I found out later. He was looking for people with different backgrounds. Who could be trusted for the fight, who could be a “candidate,” you know? He was born with revolution in his blood. He needed all kinds of help to get to the end of his journey. So from then on we met often. Later that year, we all formed the National League for Democracy. That’s the gist of it.

Alan: So Daw Suu Kyi has confidence in you as an influential opposition figure?

Brother.. He respects me. He is very kind. He believes that I am trustworthy. When I was given the task of writing this central party statement, I wrote it. Then I submitted it to the party and it was accepted. And Suu Kyi believes that I am intelligent and can speak with judgment. No matter what ideas and opinions Suu Kyi has, he can consider my ideas and opinions. In other words, it is a very good working relationship.

You know, the general idea behind our formation of this committee was simple. There was a huge vacuum in Burma because of the one-party dictatorship. We all filled this huge vacuum. When the party was reorganized, U Tin Oo became the chairman and Suu Kyi became our general secretary. I was responsible for research. But when U Tin Oo and Daw Suu Kyi were arrested on July 20, 1989, I became the spokesperson for this committee. I had to write and talk to foreign journalists. I had to deal with the newspapers. I had to do that.

Alan: It's strange that you, along with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and U Tin Oo, are not all imprisoned. You have become the voice of the Burmese uprising, making the world aware of the NLD's views.

Brother.. Well, they were wrong. They made me out to be a troublemaker and underestimated my position. After that, I became the de facto chairman of the NLD. Until the election on May 27, 1990. On September 6, they dragged me to prison.

Alan: So how did you manage to avoid prison for almost fourteen months after Aung San Suu Kyi and U Tin Oo were arrested?

Brother. You know. You always follow me, you disturb me. I don't speak in anger. I don't speak in a loud voice. I don't use my influence. You know, I like to be quiet. I always remind myself. I'm nothing. That's my honor. I think. That's my only... (laughs)

Alan.. There are other things too. It seems to me that you are free in terms of political ambitions...

Brother. . Yes, I am prepared to leave politics at any time. It is from where I am. I have always said that if any party member is not satisfied with my actions, I am ready to resign without any restrictions. I have told my colleagues. Look, this is a big game. We are players who play the game. So don’t be too egoistic. Don’t be negative. If you don’t like my decision, if you don’t agree with it, if you are not satisfied, if you want me to leave, then I will just leave the NLD. I am ready to leave the whole work in the hands of the people. I think my colleagues will understand this. I only walk a few minutes from my house to Daw Suu Kyi. So I just walk home. I think this attitude is a dignity.

Alan.. Yes, sir, I have a very important question to ask. Why hold free and fair multi-party elections to establish a democracy that has resulted in the imprisonment of most of the elected members, the torture of some to the point of death, and the silencing of the rest?

Brother.. I think they will win.

Alan.. It's shocking. The NVA killed thousands of unarmed pro-democracy protesters. They used torture as an institution to control the population. They used those methods to create a state of fear. And yet you say they really think they can win.

Brother.. The NLD thought we were a disintegrating party. This is how they thought. “The head has been cut off. The limbs can't do anything.” Now, think for yourself. What kind of people are we dealing with?

Alan.. Were they wrong? Let me ask you, is that impossible? The real purpose of the NLD is to eliminate all popular and politically competent people from society. To completely eradicate all traces of democracy from Burma. And is that impossible? Ne Win has created a giant puppet called multi-party democracy to continue his dictatorship. To continue to crush you, he is not only cutting off the head of the democracy movement, but also tearing it apart and making it look like a rotten piece of paper.

Brother..Well, when they actually saw that they were losing in all their own areas, including the military wards, they were shocked. They were angry. They thought that their people would vote for them. You know? What will the results be like? We know that the military intelligence conducted a secret survey. It was too late when they realized that the majority of the people would vote for the NLD. They were really shocked to see the opposite result to what they had expected.

Alan... There were a lot of dishonesty and underhanded tactics throughout the whole process...

Brother.. There is a lot of credible information that supports your idea. However, I heard that some of the top people in the old party were crying when they heard the election results. I heard that in some places, they even organized big dinners to celebrate the victory. We heard this from many sources. They are not very good actors. You know, this news is reliable.

Alan.. There is. I heard that. U Ne Win is still discussing his plan with some people. Anyway. The election results are in, and elected parliamentarians are being imprisoned, so you must assume that you are not far off from being arrested.

Brother.. I have prepared everything. Military intelligence follows me wherever I go. But my freedom