February 4, 2011

CALD Delegation Meets Daw Aung San Suu Kyi

A small contingent from Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats (CALD) met CALD Honorary Individual Member, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, and democracy icon Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in her lakeside house in Yangon last 31 January 2011. Prior to this, the CALD delegation also had a meeting with party officials of the National League for Democracy.

Both meetings emphasized the need for increasing people-to-people contacts and for building networks in different sectors to facilitate social and economic development. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi also reiterated the importance of genuine dialogue and national reconciliation, and conveyed her party’s willingness to “negotiate with honour and security for the people of Burma.”

When asked about his thoughts about Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, CALD Chairman and head of the delegation, Professor Rajiva Wijesinha, MP, said, “I was particularly impressed by the effervescent good humour with which she deals with her ordeal. That, combined with quiet determination, never to compromise on principles, but willing to understand the feelings of all concerned, augurs well for progress in her aim of bringing democracy to her country.”