Day: January 21, 2011
Do your duty
Here’s something worth watching:
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In just a few words, Aung San Suu Kyi answers a lot of questions about her plans: she advocates negotiations with the Burmese regime and reconsideration of sanctions, based on their political and social impact. Can she pull off this kind of “engagement” strategy? What sort of deal can she hope for from a regime that has everything to lose from democratization? Or is she deluding herself into thinking it has a softer side? Only time will tell, but she is clearly committed to trying the negotiation route, without ruling out nonviolent confrontation.
She also in this clip betrays an acute awareness of the information revolution, and is reportedly getting an internet connection. I’m not a “twitter revolution” kind of guy (though I do tweet @DanielSerwer), and obviously the regime will read everything she types. But they will also hear everything she says. The virtues of electronic connectedness for mass action, even if the regime follows every byte, should not be underestimated. The day they shut her down, they’ll have a big crowd in the street.
In the end, she wants to be remembered as someone who did her duty. Would that all leaders had her concise elegance.
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