Suu Kyi Says Burmese Officials Censored Speech

Jakarta Globe, March 10, 2012

Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi waves to supporters
 as she visits a monastery in Mandalay, Myanmar, on her way to touring an
 election campaign to Sagaing on Sunday. (AP Photo/Khin Maung Win)   

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Yangon. Myanmar’s authorities have censored one of Aung San Suu Kyi’s key election campaign speeches by removing her criticism of the former junta, the opposition leader said in a media interview.

Suu Kyi, who is standing in April 1 by-elections, told Radio Free Asia that officials removed a paragraph from the text of her speech to be aired on state media as part of her National League for Democracy’s (NLD) party broadcast.

“I had to submit my speech ahead of time and one paragraph was censored,” Suu Kyi said.

“The part about how there wasn’t rule of law and the military government had repeatedly used the law to repress the people, that is censored,” she was quoted as saying by RFA on Friday.

Burma was controlled by the military for almost five decades until an army-backed government took power early last year, which has since taken surprising strides towards reform.

Suu Kyi, who spent much of the past 22 years under house arrest, has been welcomed back into the political mainstream and her NLD is contesting all 48 seats available in the upcoming by-elections.

While it is not enough to threaten the ruling party, which is dominated by former generals, the vote is being closely watched as a test of the authenticity of the quasi-civilian government’s desire to reform.

Suu Kyi expressed concern on Thursday that dead people were appearing on voter rolls, telling Canada’s foreign minister that she had asked the election commission to address the issue.

Suu Kyi was under house arrest during the last general election in 2010, which was boycotted by the NLD and marred by widespread complaints of cheating.

Observers believe the regime wants Suu Kyi to win a seat in the by-elections to give its reformist programme legitimacy and spur the West into easing sanctions against the country.

Agence France-Presse