>> Good Evening.
I'm John Godfrey, Chair of the Wallenberg
Executive Committee of the University of Michigan
and I'm pleased to welcome you tonight.
Because Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is unable to
travel from and return to Burma freely, this
evening, this event is taking place in a wholly
different format.
Tonight, we will be showing a Wallenberg lecture
that was recorded three weeks ago in Rangoon,
Burma.
We hope to follow the screening of the lecture
with a live conversation by way of video and
audio connections with Daw Suu at her home
in Rangoon.
Normally, we open questions to the audience.
Unfortunately since we are connecting with
our speaker via the internet, technical limitations
make this not possible.
Rather, 4 students have been invited to speak
with Daw Suu and to ask her questions that
they are prepared.
However, we also have distributed cards for
those who may have a question for Daw Suu.
Please keep your questions brief.
We will try to use some of these questions
in the time we have available.
Now, I would like to remember Raoul Wallenberg
and his legacy.
"When you begin, you're not sure", these words
from the poet Seamus Heaney can get us started.
At the age of 32, ten years after he's received--after
receiving his degree in architecture from
here at the University of Michigan, Raoul
Wallenberg arrived in Budapest in the heart
of bloodiest days of the bloodiest conflict
of the 20th century.
His was an assignment without hope to save
the last mortally threatened enclave of Jews
remaining outside the death camps that defaced
Europe.
His past--his path to this abyss had been
oblique.
His departure from what he called his crooked
classical Stockholm, through his student days
here and on arbor.
Across his time of travel in North America,
South Africa and Palestine and to the final
furthest edge where the despair of the Holocaust
rang through the winter air and stripped away
the artifice of the Cosmopolitan Baroque City
of Budapest.
"When you begin, you're not sure", what Wallenberg
brought with him was not just the credentials
of the Swedish diplomat in his leather velis
[phonetic].
He brought with him an ability to perceive
opportunities and he was positioned by his
experience of life and the world to take advantage
of this opportunities.
In his short six short months, Wallenberg
became the intermediary between death and
the possibility of life.
He negotiated endlessly with the predators
in uniforms.
He cajoled, intimidated, threatened.
He innovated, distributing thousands of brightly
colored and official looking passes which
asserted that the bearer under Swedish authority
and protection was immune to arrest and deportation
to death camps.
He was creative declaring buildings to be
under Swedish diplomatic protection and the
thousands of residents exempt from seizure.
He took risks pulling Jews from trains destined
for Dachau and Mauthausen.
He disrupted the Nazi death machine with every
step he took.
Who Raoul Wallenberg became?
Through his life and across those desperate
six months in Budapest is captured in words
written not coincidentally by the woman we
honor this evening.
In her essay "Freedom from Fear" Aung San
Suu Kyi reflects on the connection between
fear and courage.
Fearlessness maybe a gift but perhaps more
precious is the courage acquired through endeavor.
Courage that comes from cultivating the habit
of refusing to let fear dictates one's actions.
Courage that could be described as "grace
under pressure".
Grace which is renewed repeatedly in the face
of harsh unremitting pressure even under the
most crushing state machinery, courage rises
up again and again for fear is not the natural
state of civilized men.
The medal that the University of Michigan
presents commemorates that same fearless spirit
of Raoul Wallenberg, who is every step strengthened
his certainty of purpose and to save the lives
of tens of thousands.
"When you begin, you're not sure", this evening
the University of Michigan recognizes and
celebrates an extraordinary woman who, like
Raoul Wallenberg, teaches us that individuals
of conscience make a different and even the
darkest moments of the human experience.
To introduce our honored speaker, I am pleased
to invite to the stage, Lester Monts, Senior
Vice Provost for Academic Affairs and Arthur
F. Thurnau professor and professor of Music.
Lester.
[Applause]
>> Thank you John.
Good evening to you all and thank you for
coming out to share with us this most momentous
occasion.
This evening, the University of Michigan will
confer the 21st Wallenberg medal.
Over the past two decades, this medal has
been awarded to extraordinary individuals.
These are people who, like Raoul Wallenberg,
have defended and rescued the exploited and
persecuted.
They exemplify the power of the human spirit
to resist oppression when the majority is
silent.
They have given hope to the defenseless and
fearful.
They embodied the daring assertion that one
person can make a difference in a struggle
for a better world.
I want to thank the Wallenberg Executive Committee
and John Godfrey for its dedication to ensuring
that the memory of Raoul Wallenberg lives
on and that the spirit of his convictions
endures in this university that was his home.
As a senior vice Provost for Academic Affairs,
I take special pride in the engagement of
Michigan students who seek to address the
critical problems across the globe.
For the past five years supported by Wallenberg
International Summer Travel Fellowships, undergraduate
and graduate students have taken part in humanitarian
community service projects or civic engagements
across the world.
This past summer, University of Michigan students
assisted in a health and hygiene awareness
campaign in Nepal.
Worked on human rights' issues in Jordan,
contributed expertise to arsenic mitigation
in well-water in Bangladesh and developed
an innovative mobile phone tool to assist
patients recovering from tuberculosis in rural
India.
One student helped implement tools for tracking
the growth and development of children in
Chennai India.
These children visit a center that seeks to
help the poorest of the poor escape the vicious
cycle of poverty.
The center was established 5 years ago by
a student who received the Wallenberg Isabel
Bagramian Summer Travel Award.
This evening, I'm honored to present the Wallenberg
medal to an individual of extraordinary courage
who has devoted her life on behalf of the
people of Burma.
Aung San Suu Kyi is the daughter of Aung San,
Burma's most hallowed hero of independence
from colonial rule.
She was only 2 years old when he was assassinated.
Daw Suu, as the Burmese know her, was educated
in Burma, India and the United Kingdom.
While studying at Oxford, she met her husband
a scholar of Tibet.
She studied philosophy, politics and economics
and spent nearly 3 years in New York for graduate
study.
In 1988, she returned home to care for her
dying mother while there a nationwide uprising
began against the repressive military regime
that had been in power for 25 years.
It had made Burma one of the most isolated
and impoverished countries in the world.
Following a bloody repression in a new military
coup, Daw Suu, the daughter of the hero of
Burma's first independent struggle, was appointed
general secretary of the newly formed national
league of democracy.
With no previous engagement in politics, Daw
Suu became the leader of the Burmese struggle
for human rights and freedom.
She travelled the country side fearlessly
calling for freedom and democracy and defending
the dignity of the Burmese people.
>> Facing popular pressure, the military government
allow elections in 1990 but they arrested
Daw Suu and banned her for--from standing
for election.
Despite systematic repression, the National
League of Democracy won with overwhelming
support at the polls.
But the military refused to recognize the
election and embarked on years of violence
and subjugation of the Burmese people.
In 1991 in recognition of her fearless and
non-violence stand against tyranny in Burma's
second struggle for a national independence,
Daw Suu was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
She continued to speak out and in 1995, Daw
Suu was placed under house arrest.
In 1999, her husband died in London.
Before his death, the Burmese regime refused
to allow him to enter the country.
Instead, the regime urged Daw Suu to travel
to be with her dying husband and her children
but she knew she would not be allowed to re-enter
the country.
Many more years of restriction and house arrest
followed.
During intervals when she was allowed to travel
around the country, Daw Suu rallied the Burmese
people who had not given up their resistance.
In 2003, she and her companions were attacked
while traveling and many were killed.
She again was restricted to her house.
Daw Suu has written and I quote, "The only
real prison is fear and the only real freedom
is freedom from fear."
For the past 7 years, she has been isolated
not able to communicate freely, yet from this
imposed internal exile, her unrelenting conviction
that hope can not be silenced and that hope
must be paired with endeavor continues to
ring out across the world.
In November last year, after intermittence
from the UN, the United Kingdom and the US,
Daw Suu was released from house arrest.
She had spent a total of nearly 15 years in
detention.
In recent months and weeks, hope has risen
again for Burma's return to democracy.
But Burma remains on the knife's edge and
as of now, the outcome remains uncertain.
If freedom is restored Burma's 58 million
people will emerge into a changed world and
a transformed Asia.
So in behalf of the University of Michigan,
I am proud to introduce Aung San Suu Kyi,
who although often silenced and exiled in
her home, has led the people of Burma to this
moment when they may reclaim their history.
Daw Suu as John pointed out was not able to
travel to be here in person, but she has kindly
recorded the remarks we're about to watch.
>> Before I begin the lecture, I would like
to thank the University of Michigan for choosing
me as a recipient of the Wallenberg medal
for 2011.
To be so honored is to be moved to contemplate
on the greatness of soul that Wallenberg exemplified
and to be strengthened in the awareness that
the world is in need of many Wallenbergs.
I'm sorry I can not be with you in person
today but a dedication to the course of freedom
binds us close together and to technological
advancement has allowed me to see you and
to speak to you as so we were in the same
room.
I'm grateful to all those who had made it
possible.
An old Burmese' saying "Identifies the three
happiest days in the life of a man".
The first is the day he finishes his novitiate.
Old Burmese Buddhist boys are expected to
be ordained as novices and to spend sometime
in a monastery at least once in their lifetime.
The second one is his wedding day and the
third is the day on which he is released from
jail.
This saying raises many interesting questions
about Burmese's society but the--for the purposes
of this lecture, I will confine myself to
the third day of happiness.
I thought and wondered whether it reflects
a propensity in Burmese men to lend themselves
in trouble over there, it indicates that Burmese
authority is inclined towards excessive use
of their power to punish their subjects.
All without ancestors and their wisdom were
anticipating the events of today.
Looking around at the colleagues and comrades
closest to me, I can not help but notice that
there are few who have not spent sometime
in some form of detention as a result of the
political activities.
What is unquestionable is that our 4 best
believed that the restoration of freedom is
one of the greatest joys man could experience.
Freedom restored, how does it feel?
I spend the major part of the last 20 years
under house arrest.
I've also spend short periods in a prison
bungalow in a military officer's quarter converted
into a detention headquarters and in a prison
guest house.
The day I was placed under house arrest for
the first time in July 1984, I found the situation
curious.
In one reading of a piece of paper the detention
order, my home had turned into prison or had
it.
Surely, it was up to me to decide what the
answer would be.
When I was taken to an isolated bungalow within
the precincts of insane jail in 2003, I again
from the sense of curiosity, the bars and
the windows, declining of the heavy door,
it is also like and yet not quite like, all
the prisons of which I'd read and heard.
Was it up to me to decide whether or not stone
walls and iron bars constituted a prison?
The time spent at the military officers' rest
house in which I was escorted later also provided
much food for thought.
It is built in the grounds of an expensive
army cantonment care had obviously been taken
to make it comfortable and I was treated like
a guest whose movements had been restricted
for inexplicable reasons.
I was a prisoner certainly but need I fear
imprisoned.
In 2009, I was accused of breaking the terms
of my detention order and removed from my
house to the guest house at insane jail.
This place has meant for visiting prison officers
from other parts of the country and there
were neither bought windows nor clanking on
doors and I wondered whether it should or
should not be seen as different from the bungalow
I had occupied six years back.
Should I feel any different?
Intellectual curiosity about the changing
circumstances in which I found myself gave
me a sense of detachment that made me feel
in my mind that I was always free.
I was less a disappointment to those who eagerly
asked me after my release from each round
of detention, how I'd felt to be free.
I don't feel any different would be my honest
but far from exciting answer.
I may not have felt different but freedom
was certainly different from captivity and
one becomes aware of this difference from
the moment of release.
When I was told in 1995 that after 6 years
under house arrest, I could once--once again
look upon my self as a free agent, I was not
quite sure what my first act should be.
The telephone line had been cut for all those
years.
I had to know family waiting to greet me outside
the gate.
I had no idea how to contact any of my friends
or colleagues.
Finally, I asked the departing security officers
if they could let those members of my party
who lived nearest to my house know that I
had been released.
That was a curious sensation to be once again
in a position to decide with whom I would
make contact and in what way.
It is a re-entering into a human society.
When we asked for the release of political
prisoners, we are asking that they be re-admitted
to their rightful place in human society that
freedom of association together with other
freedoms of which they had been deprived be
restored to them.
What is it about freedom that makes it a burning
issue for all the times?
Give me freedom or give me death.
Liberty, equality, fraternity, the ringing
calls for freedom that have resonated across
the ages and across racial and political and
geographical device stand evidence to man's
yearning to be free.
>> But why should this be so?
Why is it that human and animals too instinctively
shy away from the threat of a shackled existence?
It has been argued that it is impossible to
attain a state of pure freedom as the extent
to which living creatures can exercise their
will freely is unavoidably circumscribed by
their own circumstances.
I do not propose to enter into discussion
of free will here.
My aim is simply to examine what freedom means
to ordinary people outside the realm of philosophical
speculation, particularly to those who have
been engaged in the movement for democracy
and human right in Burma.
The desire for freedom is closely related
to resentment against perceived injustices.
The uprising against the dictatorship of the
military backed Burma Socialist Program Party,
BSPP in 1988 was rooted in anger and dissatisfaction
initially stirred up by the demonitization
of bank notes in 1987.
The economic stagnation into which the country
had fallen under the BSPP administration had
made it very hard for anybody to earn a decent
income on astray.
And when the public saw the savings they had
managed to scrape together vanishing over
night, the outrage was dry tender waiting
to become a raging conflagration.
The necessary spark was provided in March
1988 when the crude handling by the authorities
of a fracas that had taken place between students
of the Rangoon Institute of Technology and
local youths lead to clashes between the police
and students, 2 of whom were shot dead.
This was the beginning of massive demonstrations
that swept across the country as people from
all walks of life poured out onto the streets
to give vent to a sense of injury that had
been rankling in their breast throughout the
years of helpless submission to an authoritarian
par.
The uprising of 1988 started out as a movement
against oppression and injustice.
It is a demand for the removal of shackles,
it is call--it was a call for redemption,
a cry for freedom as escape from the restraint
that cramped the quality of life.
To be forced to submit unremittingly to the
will of others is to be denied the right to
exercise control over one's own life.
To be deprived of the basic independence essential
for the upholding of human dignity.
Hundreds of thousands marched to the streets
of all the major cities and towns and even
some of the bigger villages of Burma roaring
out our cause.
At the beginning, that cause was not identified,
there was just a conviction that it was something
quite different from what authoritarianism
had to offer.
It was ironically 3 simple words used by the
aging dictator Ne Win, chairman of the BSPP
in his last speech to the national assembly
that provided the first inkling of what would
turn out to be the cause around which the
Burmese public would rally.
As Ne Win announces resignation from the party,
he declared that the people should chose between
one party system or a multiparty system.
There were many in Burma in 1988 who remembered
that more than 20 years ago there had been
a multiparty system in the country, a multiparty
democracy.
They also remembered that in those far of
days the continued survival in office of a
government had depended on the votes of the
people and consequently the administration
had respected the public and made efforts
to fulfill their demands.
The young who's participation was central
to the movement had neither experienced nor
memory of democratic governance but they were
quick to accept that our cause was democracy
and almost as a natural extension human rights
as well.
However, these were to be the means towards
a desired end.
The goal of the movement for democracy in
Burma was to lay the foundations to institutions
that would make our nation a haven where people
could feel comfortable in their own skins.
Those to wish to denigrate the struggle for
democracy in Burma have contented that our
people barely understand anything about democracy,
that we are neither fit for democratic institutions
nor ready for the exercise of democratic rights,
that the military rule indifferent guises
under which we have had to live since 1962
was simply what we had deserved.
We need to examine such accusations in the
light of what our people expected to achieve
through the democratic revolution.
In October 1988 very soon after the founding
of the national league for democracy, I went
around the country to try to discover what
had moved our people to reject the only system
of government they had ever known and what
we would need to do to realize the legitimate
aspirations that the great majority of us
shared.
During a meeting with new party members from
Zay Cho, a famous market in Mandalay, a young
woman stood up and admitted that while she
wholeheartedly supported the movement for
democracy she did not really knew much about
politics.
I then asked her why she wanted democracy
and she explained that she had a small shop
and she simply wished to go about her business
freely and honestly without shear of undue
interference from the authorities.
And she was convinced that given these basic
freedoms, she would be able to do very well
indeed for herself.
It seemed to me that she had understood the
most important thing about democracy, that
it was not an end in itself but the means
towards achieving a particular kind of society,
one that would incorporate guarantees of basic
freedoms and fair play for the--for it's members.
As I went across the country discussing democracy
and human rights, I would come across again
and again this coupling of freedom with fair
play, with justice.
Everybody wished for better health and education
facilities, a sad economy, a more hopeful
future for their children however and this
I found most encouraging.
The majority believed they could build better
lives for themselves, provided unreasonable
restraints particularly those imposed by corrupt,
unaccountable officialdom were removed.
The young shop keeper from Mandalay and others
like her were expressing in their own modest,
nonacademic way views very similar to those
of [inaudible] sends ideas on development
and freedom.
Development requires removal of major sources
of unfreedom, poverty as well as tyranny,
poor economic opportunities as well as systematic
social depravation, neglect of public facilities
as well as intolerance or over activity of
oppressive states.
Again, Professor Sen, "Greater freedom enhances
the ability of people to help themselves and
also to influence the world."
And these matters are central to the process
of development.
The people of Burma had made democracy their
cause because they wanted the freedom to be
able to help themselves, to engage in politics
in post 1988 Burma was to--start chapter 2
of the history of democracy in our country.
The introduction was the movement for independence
that had politicized the masses and walking
them to the centricity of their rule in the
making of the nation.
Chapter 1 constituted the first years of independence
when the parliamentary democracy had managed
to survive and even to put out gallant shoots
of social and economic progress in spite of
old wounds left by war and colonialism and
new one's that had opened up with the eruption
of the so called multicolored insurgencies.
Multicolored because they were the red and
white mutually hostile communist forces, the
Korean National defense organization and the
white comrades and organization headed by
veterans of the patriotic Burmese forces that
had joined allies towards the end of the war
to defeat Japanese troops of the country.
>> The struggling young democracy of post
independents was brought to a close by the
military coup of 1962.
Chapter 2 of the quest for democracy had to
be started almost from scratch.
From democracy to human rights is a natural
transition.
In 1988, very, very few people in Burma had
heard of the universal declaration of human
rights.
It is evidence of the genius of the document
that once its contents were made known to
those who had [inaudible] than totally unaware
of tis existence, understanding and acceptance
followed quickly.
The very first paragraph of the preamble was
a clear expression of the inarticulate longings
and it is a moving experience to realize suddenly
what it was they had been lacking all their
lives and to be assured that this like was
recognized with understanding and sympathy
by the great and powerful of the Earth.
Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity
and of the equal and inalienable rights of
all members of the human family is the foundation
of freedom, justice and peace in the world,
that is how the preamble begins.
Freedom, justice and peace, were this not
what they had been demanding all along?
The preamble went on to declare that the heart's
aspiration of the common people we'll see
advent of a world in which human beings shall
enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom
from fear and want.
They were the common people.
They were human beings and yes what they wanted
most was to enjoy those freedoms that would
enable them to be to live as dignified worthy
human beings.
The different freedoms are connected and mutually
strengthened.
I've emphasized freedom from fear in our struggle
because I see it as a master key that will
open the door to other freedoms.
Fear renders us dumb and passive.
Fear paralyzes.
If we are too frightened to speak out we can
do nothing to promote freedom of speech.
If we're too frightened to challenge injustices,
we will not be able to defend our right to
freedom of belief neither will be we dead
to ask for the rectification of the social
and economic ills that make our lives a misery.
Fear anywhere in any language belittles, negates
and degrades.
The Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore described
the heaven of freedom as a place where the
mind is without fear.
Freeing ourselves from fear has been the unseen
crucial part of our struggle for democracy
in Burma.
It takes courage and commitment to achieve
freedom and to uphold it where there are no
laws and institutions to protect basic human
rights.
Individuals have to fall back on their own
will to practice and promote the freedoms
in which they believe.
The support of those who share the commitment
helps them greatly in this endeavor.
More than 10 years ago I asked the students
of an American university to use their liberty
to promote ours.
This message was picked up by peoples from
across the world.
We have been helped in our struggle.
We have not been alone.
Contact with free peoples and hunts us the
sense of freedom.
During the years and the house arrest, such
contact through the radio or through books
helped to keep my mind free.
To this day, whenever I receive a new book
I feel a stir of excitement and anticipation
of the wider world into which I would be admitted
through its painters.
I can never be grateful enough to those who
have helped me to feel I was part of the free
world even during those times when that world
seemed as far away as the most distant stars.
Even as a lighter stars managed to reach us
after long years so the sympathy and solidarity
of peoples very often complete strangers who
care for our freedom as though it were their
own breaks through human and geographical
barriers to give us solace and strength.
An unshackled mind is a first step to its
genuine freedom.
That is as liberating for others as for our
own selves.
If we are sensitive to our own need for freedom
but indifferent or even contemptuous of the
same need in others, we devalue the concept
of freedom.
Liberty that is used to inflict pain and justice
on others is an admiration.
It is no longer liberty it degenerates into
license.
The ability to value the freedom of others
as we value our own freedom is based on breath
of vision, a capacity for empathy and a sense
of responsibility.
If freedom is to survive and flourish we who
believe in it must prove that it is a force
that can be directed along positive channels
by dedication to a healthy balance between
rights and responsibilities by our ability
to respect the hopes and aspirations of others
as we would wish others to respect our own
hopes and aspirations.
I refer to Raoul Wallenberg as a great soul
at the beginning of the lecture.
It is difficult enough for the average man
to value others as he values himself.
But to value others more than one's own self,
that is a rare phenomenon indeed.
We in the movement for democracy in Burma
have been admired and applauded for our efforts
to gain freedom and to justice for our people.
But in the face of a Wallenberg, we feel humbled.
We are struggling for our own people, our
own country.
What Wallenberg did was to sacrifice himself
for peoples of a different country, a different
race, a different religion.
For him, the differences were much less significant
than the ties of common humanity.
He teaches us that the highest form of freedom
is freedom from the narrowness of mind that
ties us to prejudices and to hate and makes
us indifferent to the sufferings of those
we perceive as different from ourselves.
When I was released from house arrest last
year, I explained that I did not feel any
different because my mind had always been
free.
Now, almost a year on, let me tell you what
it means to be free.
It means that I can sit down and recall this
lecture.
It means I can communicate with you.
It means I can go out of my house at any time
I please.
It means I can talk to friends, confer with
colleagues.
It means I can work to take our country further
along the road to democracy.
Freedom means activity.
Freedom means movement.
Freedom means life.
To deny freedom means to deny life.
That is why lovers of life cry out, "Give
me freedom or give me death" and that is why
I would like to conclude with his tribute
to Raoul Wallenberg.
Greater value has no man than this but he
lays down his life for the freedom of his
fellow human beings.
[ Applause ]
>> Tonight we are using Skype to speak with
Daw Suu at her home in Rangoon where it is
about 7 in the morning, actually it's a little
bit earlier than that.
This is a difficult undertaking because of
Burma's limited network bandwidth capacity.
We hope to have a video and an audio connection
and to provide her with both an audio and
video connection so she can see all of you
in Rackham Auditorium.
If we are unable to secure a video connection,
we will try to maintain an audio connection
alone.
And if communication with Skype is unsuccessful
or is interrupted, we will try to establish
contact with her via telephone.
>> This process may require several minutes
and will require some patience from you.
I would like now to introduce our panel of
students who have very generously volunteered
to be here with us this evening.
I'd like to introduce Dominic Nardi, Dominic,
over here [inaudible], who's a doctoral student
in political science and who works on the
Judicial Politics of Southeast Asia.
Sarah Feenstra, is a senior in the LS&A Honors
Program with a concentration in neuroscience
and a minor in international studies.
Andrea Alajbegovic is a junior in the LS&A
Honors Program with a concentration in International
Studies.
And Tyler Jones is junior in the LS&A Honors
Program with an individualized interdisciplinary
concentration in asymmetric conflict.
I'd like Lester now to come to the platform.
[ Pause ]
[ Applause ]
>> Good morning Daw Suu.
>> Good morning.
>> Thank you for joining us, it's such an
early hour, and thank you for your inspiring
courage.
My name is Lester Monts, I am the senior vice
provost for academic affairs here at the University
of Michigan and it is my honor to welcome
you to the University.
I am standing in Rackham Auditorium where
students, faculty and staff are gathered as
well as members of the Ann Arbor Community
for the presentation of the 21st Wallenberg
Medal.
As you cannot leave Burma before freedom for
Burmese people is secured, we are honored
to present the Wallenberg Medal for the first
time in Absentia.
We're privileged to have you with us via the
internet and we're arranging to deliver this
medal to you, through your courage and sustained
endeavor on behalf of human rights, freedom
and democracy for Burmese people and through
your conviction in the power of the human
spirit to confront, resist, and overcome tyranny,
you are truly a champion of Raoul Wallenberg.
And I want to show you your medal.
[ Pause ]
[ Laughter ]
[ Applause ]
>> Thank you very much.
>> Good morning Daw Suu, my name is John Godfrey,
and I am pleased to introduce you to the University
of Michigan students with whom you'll be speaking.
May I present Andrea Alajbegovic, Dominic
Nardi, Tyler Jones, and Sarah Feenstra.
And I would like to start and to invite Sarah
to come up and to ask the first question.
[ Pause ]
>> Daw Suu, it's an honor to be with you today.
You exemplify remarkable courage and perseverance
throughout your life.
Who has been an inspiration to you or served
as a role model for you?
>> I've had many role models, to begin with
of course it's my father and then my mother.
People soon forget that [inaudible] and although
my father [inaudible] reached to me, it is
my mother who taught me how to live, who taught
me how important it was to have a high--highly
developed sense of duty and who taught me
what real courage was, 'cause she was one
of the brave people I have ever come across.
>> Hello Daw Suu, my name is Andrea Alajbegovic,
now I would like to practice my question by
saying that I'm truly honored and privileged
to have the chance to ask you about your speech
and your remarkable dedication to the people
of Burma in the promotion of human rights.
My question is, how do you feel that your
time at your house arrest and other forms
of captivity have affected the movement you
helped build, if it all?
>> I'm not quite sure how it's affected all
the people who are in the movement but I think
the fact that I was placed under house arrest
for so many years did focus attention on our
movement for democracy.
And because it did that, I think I have to
say I feel that the years of detention was
worthwhile and in any case, I think I learned
a lot from those years of detention, I saw
many aspects of life which I've not seen before.
So I think in the end, it depends on how you
use your time, what you make of it.
A lot depends on what you put into life, not
what life puts out for you.
>> Thank you.
[ Applause ]
>> Hello Daw Suu, my name is Dominic Nardi,
[foreign language].
[ Foreign Language ]
>> [Foreign Language], my wife is actually
Burmese so if I can take a moment and just
extend our personal thank you, she was prospect
Burma fellow.
And I know your support has meant a lot to
her over the years so thank you.
I'm--my background a lawyer so if you don't
mind I'd like to ask you a question about
the new constitution.
We all know that there has been a lot of criticisms
of the constitution but oftentimes we may
see countries transition to democracy, sometimes
they replace their constitution and sometimes
they simply amended.
So I was wondering for Burmese constitution,
can you envision a transition to democracy
under this constitution or do you think you
will have to be replaced?
>> I think we first start thinking about it
in terms of amendment because there are some
parts of the constitution which we do not
think are at all compatible with the democratic
values but there are other parts which are
not entirely [inaudible] to democratic values.
So I think we should start trying to amend
the worst part of the constitution, and if
it is the wish of the people, we may have
to change the whole constitution.
That's after all what democracy is about that
our country should be run in accordance with
the will of the people.
And since constitution is fundamental to how
a nation is run, in the end these people must
decide whether they want to go in for total
replacement or for amendments.
>> Thank you.
[ Applause ]
>> Daw Suu good morning, my name is Tyler
Jones.
I would like to preface my question by thank
you for your inspirational remarks this evening.
From the situation in Burma today to the ongoing
crisis in the Middle East, I believe that
today perhaps more so than any other time
in history, your words are truly salient.
My question for you is regarding some comments
you made in 2007 regarding nonviolence in
protests.
When speaking about the Burmese antigovernment
protests, you highlighted the importance of
nonviolence and the quest for democracy even
though this may ultimately prolong the quest
for freedom.
Today, similar protest have taken root in
the Middle East, recently an Egyptian activist
is quoted as saying, "The Egyptian revolution
was peaceful whereas most revolutions ends
with thousands getting their heads cut off,
we spared the heads."
And today they are working against our revolution.
In your view how can those in the Middle East
today continue along the path of nonviolence
and still hope for a successful regime change?
>> I believe in nonviolence, not everybody
believes in nonviolence, but I think that
in the long run, nonviolence pays.
As I said, as you mentioned, I have said that
it take--it's a longer route, it's more difficult,
but there are fewer wounds to be healed.
Now, those heads that were not cut off, perhaps
now they are thinking against the revolution.
B that means there has been less blood shed,
fewer wounds and that in the long run, Egypt
can come be able to come to an understanding--the
people of Egypt would be able to understand
each other and there'll be less friction.
I think what is so important for all peoples
in all countries is to be able work hard,
a situation which is acceptable to all, not
just to say we've got work to its harmony,
towards peace and [inaudible] and the fewer
wounds there have been the easier it will
be to work towards peace and harmony.
And so, what if some are heads are thinking
against you?
Heads are there to be--to think.
>> I prefer heads that think rather than heads
that nod all the time or shake all the time.
Let's all think and let's all think of a way
of resolving our differences.
I prefer people with heads than the [inaudible].
[ Laughter ]
[ Applause ]
>> Hello again.
How can citizens of countries outside Burma
such as the United States be better world
citizens in regards to promoting democracy
and human rights in Burma?
>> I've always emphasized awareness, I think
that the people of the United States especially
the young people need to be aware of what
is going on in the rest of the world.
You are very fortunate, of course you may
not think so in times like financial crisis.
But compared to many people in other parts
of the world, the citizens of the US are very
fortunate indeed.
And I would not like you to forget others
in your all good fortune, not to forget the
misfortune of others.
And I would like you to understand that you
are a very fortunate country and not always
be looking at the dark side of things.
Example, you can afford to take democratic
rights for [inaudible] when you organize vacation
like--you think perfectly easy, you want to
have this classification, you organize it,
you want to award a gold medal to somebody
from the outside of the world, you can do
it.
It's not easy for people like us and many
others like us who live in countries where
there is no genuine freedom when they unfold
democratic institutions to save, guard our
rights.
I would like you to remember that you are
fortunate, I would like--I wouldn't like that
United States always to bring itself down
'cause we do appreciate you as a friend and
as a defender of democracy.
So to begin with, you've helped us support
by defending our own democratic values by
doing whatever you can to make your citizens
totally democratic and open minded because
these two go together, you cannot really practice
democratic values if you're not [inaudible]
'cause democracy ends on the participation
of any people as possible.
So if you first defend your democratic values
and your broad mindedness, you can help the
rest of the world.
Then of course, you want some practical help
as well, you would always like [inaudible]
movements of democracy and you'll help us
educate young people.
In the long run, the gracious help and that
in the realm [inaudible].
>> Thank you.
[ Applause ]
>> This next question is inspired by my thoughts
about how the United States has not had a
female head of state as of yet, so I would
like to ask you if you feel that being a woman
has affected your success as the leader of
the nonviolent democratic movement in Burma?
>> Well, perhaps, they're waiting for you,
you never know when the next--
[ Laughter ]
[ Applause ]
>> When the next head of state of the United
States is going to be woman.
But the--I think that when I just [inaudible],
when it comes to heading any kind of organization
or a nation, you mustn't forget that the first
head of government was an Asian, if you remember
it was Mrs. Bandaranaike from Sri Lanka or
Ceylon as it was then.
And we are very constant that our women can
do just as well if not better than the men.
And I'm sure this the same thing applies to
the United States.
I would like to see a woman at the head of
the [inaudible] system to see in the world.
So hurry up.
[ Laughter ]
>> Thank you, thank you.
[ Applause ]
>> Thank you, thank you.
>> Hello Daw Suu, I wanted to ask you about
what Burma can do today, to prepare for a
better democracy tomorrow probably because
in Southeast Asia, we've seen several countries
that are transitioned to democracy, it still
face huge challenges, the political conflict
in Thailand, election violence and poverty
in the Philippines, so what can Burma--what
should Burma be doing now to make sure that
when democracy does come, it's democracy not
just a name but also in practice, thank you.
>> It all comes down to education, doesn't
it?
We at the National League for Democracy spend
a lot of our time trying to educate.
I'm hesitant a little to use this word, it
sounds, because it sounds a bit patronizing,
but I don't mean it in that way at all.
What I mean is opening up the minds of our
people and to supply them with as much information
and knowledge as possible so that they can
think for themselves.
As I said earlier one of the most important
things about democracy is broadmindedness.
We want people to be able to understand other
people's points of view.
I think for a working democracy, you do need
to be broadminded.
You need to be able to empathize with others.
So we try to teach our young people as much
as we can about the responsibilities of democracy.
Whenever I talk about democratic rights, I
never forget to mention the fact that their
responsibilities as well, that rights and
responsibilities go together.
For a democracy to succeed, I think that is
extremely important.
From the very beginning, we must make our
people understand that democracy is not just
about rights, rights, rights, it's about responsibilities
as well.
You want a government of the people and the
people must take responsibility for that government.
So I think this is what we need, this is what
we're trying to achieve in Burma.
And sometimes I think that because our movement
has been so long and so difficult, perhaps,
the cost of that very fact are the people
will be better qualified, to defend and preserve
democracy when we get that.
[ Foreign Language ]
[ Applause ]
[ Foreign Language ]
>> My second question is regarding the current
situation in Libya.
Last week Muammar Gaddafi was killed effectively
ending his oppressive rule in Libya.
However, with still much attention paid to
the civil war and not much focus given to
the post war nation building, Libya is now
left without a legitimate governing body and
the clean up from a bloody civil war.
How in your view is a possible for countries
like Libya who have never really known any
form of democracy to begin to develop a country
that speaks for the people?
>> I'm glad you mentioned these problems in
Libya because this is exactly what I meant
when I say that if you get to democracy or
freedom through violent means then you leave
wounds that will be very, very difficult to
heal.
I think they have to start, make a start,
nobody gets anywhere without making a start.
And I think the whole world needs to help
Libya to get over the trauma of the last few
months and learn to get over the bitterness
to get rid of the bitterness.
I think that the most frightening for any
country is when the people are set against
each other and when they are deeply felt feelings
of hatred and resentment.
I do not think that the feelings of hatred
and resentment are going away from--going
to go away from Libya's just because they
have moved Gaddafi.
These are going to on, people have shot at
each other, people have killed each other,
people have tortured each other, these are
not going to be forgotten hurry.
But we need some people who will start this
in Libya.
I would like to see a genuine nonviolent movement
emerging out of the people of Libya who will
help to heal the wounds of the country and
to put it on the right part.
It's not going to be easy and I'm not expecting
Libya to be transformed overnight into a peaceful
country where everybody understands everybody
else.
But somebody, some point must begin and let's
hope for a Libya Martin Luther King, a Libyan
Gandhi, a Libyan Nelson Mandela, we must hope
for these things.
[ Applause ]
>> I have a question from an audience member
for you Daw Suu.
How can academia and Universities in Burma
help in the quest toward democracy?
>> I have to say that I think first of all,
Universities in Burma should start educating
our young people because the system here is
very, very bad.
And until our young people are well enough
educated to see what is happening in the rest
of the world to be able to examine our own
history and to understand why we have come
to--where we have come to, then I do not think
we will be able to make progress.
>> So our universities need to be real educational
institutions not just places that churn out
half educated young people, so this is what
we want.
First of all, we want to raise standard of
it of education in our universities and we
would like your help in this.
Until the people, until our young people have
required--acquired the basics of an educated
society, we will not be able to go forward.
Once our young people are probably educated,
they will be able to see for themselves what
our country really needs and what we need
to do to preserve the values that will help
our country to go forward as a democracy.
So you asked earlier what can the United States
do to help, well the United States and the
rest of the world can help us to educate our
young people as well as possible.
>> Thank you, thank you.
[ Applause ]
>> I have another question from the audience
member here.
The question is, what skills did you draw
from your college education that you have
used and valued the most in your life's work?
>> When I was under house arrest, very often
I will think of my friends, the one who are
at university with me.
And those memories were not just some of the
happiest memories that I had, but the most
strengthening because I remembered that we
were all--we all came from different countries,
of course, there were--I had English friends
because I was studying in England but--I had
Indian friends, I had Pakistani friends, I
had Thai friends, I had Kenyan friends, Ghanian
friends, friends from all over the world.
And I think that was the most important part
of my university education that I learn to
know people from all parts of the world, and
to understand that we all shared the same
hopes and aspirations and fears, that we were
all human beings.
And it's very, very nice to be human beings
young together because--and don't forget that,
don't waste your youth.
Youth is a lovely time.
And it was a time when we [inaudible], our
feelings of warmth and sympathy for each other.
And these friends are still my friends and
that's what I got most out of my university
education that you can reach out to people
from different parts of the world, from different
cultures who belong to different religions.
And you can still build up such a solid and
such a deep understanding that it carries
through for the rest of your life and you
can think of them when you're in times of
trouble and fear, well, this is not bad world
after all.
>> Thank you.
[ Applause ]
>> Hello Daw Suu, I have a question from an
audience member.
Can you comment a bit about the situation--the
political situation in Thailand right now?
And in particular, do you see any similarities
with the political struggle going on there
and the struggle in Burma for democracy?
Thank you.
>> I'm sorry, going on where?
>> The political situation in Thailand?
>> Thailand, well, Burma and Thailand are
neighbors, very close geographically but we
are quite different in many other ways--in
many other ways.
We try to learn from what's going on in other
parts of the world and we try to learn from
their successes as well as their mistakes.
Now I'd rather not talk about the mistakes
of other countries, but thinking of the successes
of course Thailand is well ahead of us, economically
and even politically because Thailand has
had a number of democratic elections not perhaps
as smoothly as one we'd wish for but certainly
they have passed through a number of democratic
elections and build up a number of democratic
institutions.
For example the time media is certainly a
lot of--a lot of fear than we are and this
is something that we admire.
But we do not look upon Thailand as the one
country that we should see as an example,
there are many other countries that we study,
that we observe, and as I said earlier, we
try to find out how they've succeeded, where
they've succeeded and where their mistakes
have been and how we should avoid them.
One of the advantages of--been right at the
very back is that we can profit from their
mistakes of others.
[ Foreign Language ]
[ Applause ]
>> I have a question from the audience which
asks, what is the best strategy to keep or
rather to stop the ongoing civil wars in Burma
and what would it take to have a broad based
antiwar campaign?
>> This is a very difficult question, we've
been trying to find the answer to this question
for the last 60 odd years ever since we achieved
independence.
We've never been able to achieve a situation
of absolute peace in Burma, they have always
been some form of insurgencies or other going
on in this country.
We need to become a true union.
We think that the most important think in
the end is a spirit, we always talk about
building up a spirit of a true union, we've
got to understand each other, we've got to
respect each other, we've got to learn to
know each other the better.
I think that our ethnic nationalities have
genuine reasons for their grievances.
We need to address those issues.
I do not have all the answers, if only I had
all the answers 'cause we'd be there by now.
But we are trying to find the answers, I think--and
we first have to start by talking to one another.
This is what we believe in, we believe that
human beings are--we can talk to one another,
animals can't talk to one another although
I believe there are some scientists who say
that they can talk--well, not talk but communicate
with one another to a far greater degree than
we think they can.
But still no one can deny that human beings
can talk and we've got to use this facility
to come to an understanding with one another.
I believe in talking, talking, talking, this
is what we're doing now, aren't we?
We're talking to one another, trying to learn
more from one another.
And I believe that the--because Burmese are
the majority in this country, they have a
duty to be more broad minded, to be more tolerant,
and to work harder towards peace and understanding.
[ Applause ]
>> You mentioned in your talk that freedom
from fear has been the unseen crucial part
of the struggle for democracy in Burma.
How have you been able to realize this freedom
in your life?
>> Well, I wasn't, I have never thought of
myself as a very brave person.
But I've had to work to free myself from fear,
this of course started when I was a very little
girl and I was terribly scared of the dark
and I decided one day that this is something
I have to get over because it was such a burden.
I think you start thinking seriously about
freeing yourself from fear, when you--create
a burden that is, if you live with fear, if
you let fear influence your life, that is
genuine like a freedom even if you're not
in freed--in prison, even if you're not under
house arrest.
If you're frightened all the time, then I
think you must be the most unfree person imaginable.
And the reason why I started to try to free
myself from fear as a little girl was because
I couldn't bear the burden of going into a
dark room and being frightened.
And so I just sat down and talked to myself
one day, what is it that I'm frightened of?
I've got to face it and I've got to get over
it.
And I managed to get over it.
Actually it only took me two weeks to get
over my fear of the dark simply by walking
round and round in dark rooms for 2 weeks
in succession and I realized that nothing
was going to happen to me in the dark.
[ Laughter ]
>> Thank you.
[ Applause ]
>> Daw Suu, I have another question from the
audience.
What do you think--it is about China and what
do you think of your influence between your
country in the relationship between your country
and China and what do you think of the political
transition to democracy in China?
>> First of all, I think I have must made
the point which I make very, very often that
Burma and China are neighbors and we will
always be neighbors as long as this world
will last.
>> And because of that, I would like to maintain
good friendly relations with China and with
all our other neighbors.
I do no think this is impossible because we
have always maintained good relations with
China even at the time when Burma had a democratic
government after independence.
And China was a very strong communist society,
we still managed to maintain good relations.
So we've got to work towards that and with
regard to China's transition to democracy,
I myself believe in democracy and I believe
that basically, human beings want to be free
and they also want to be secure.
And democracy is a system that tries to give
both in good balance, security and freedom.
And because of that, I believe that human
societies will work towards democracy and
that there will be a transition to democracy
not just in China but in other countries all
over the world, not all at the same time,
not all in the same way and of course, not
exactly the same sort of democracies.
But basically, the kind of system that assures
both freedom and security for its citizens.
>> Thank you.
[ Applause ]
>> I think I have to get to the word of Burmese
before you begin.
[ Foreign Language ]
>> Okay.
>> Sorry.
[ Foreign Language ]
>> Well I was actually asking how your wife
was because you said she was Burmese.
>> She unfortunately can't make it tonight
but, you know, she's watching us live so I
know this means a lot to her, so thank you.
I actually, my next question is from her.
[ Laughter ]
>> She might need to ask about trust in Burmese
society, because both in Burma--
>> About?
>> About trust.
>> Oh, yes.
>> Yeah, both within Burma and even amongst
Burmese living in America now they're very
often different groups of Burmese people don't
trust each other, they--people don't trust
the government, the government doesn't trust
the people.
In Washington DC where I live for several
years, Burmese activists don't trust academics
who study Burma.
And in Burma, many of the ethnic minority
groups don't trust the government.
So I guess in short, what can be done to rebuild
a trust both within Burma and amongst Burmese
population around the world.
Thank you.
>> I've always thought that it had something
to do with lack of self confidence because
Burma as a society has not exactly promoted
self confidence in our people.
And if you lack self confidence, it's very
difficult to trust others.
You're suspicious, you're jealous, have you
come across the famous Burmese envy syndrome?
That is based on lack of self confidence.
So we need to build up self confidence in
our people.
We need them to understand that you don't
have to take away from others in order to
have more yourself.
And if you can [inaudible] that by giving
more to others, you make yourself a more complete
person.
Then I think this lack of trust would lessen,
well, it's very appropriate that you should
ask this question at this lecture because
Raoul Wallenberg was a man, was full of self
confidence.
And the work that he did required trust, we
have to trust others while he was carrying
out his very, very dangerous mission, or no,
there was [inaudible], this one mission that
that as put it as missions because it is so
multifaceted.
And a man like him, he was able to do this,
he was able to trust others, 'cause he trusted
himself, he had full confidence in himself.
So if you [inaudible] into how our people
[inaudible] one another, you've got to help
us to build up our self confidence.
[ Foreign Language ]
>> This has a lot to do with the way in which
[inaudible].
>> Thank you.
[ Applause ]
>> In your remarks, you spoke of a necessity
to remove oppression and intolerance from
society in order for development to be possible.
However as we see today in Egypt, though the
Mubarak Regime is no longer in power, conflict
between the guard and reformers continues
to solve democratization.
My question is, do you it really is possible
for true democracy to develop in countries
like Egypt or Burma where roots of oppression
and corruption seem so indelibly ingrained
in the political psyche?
Thank you.
>> Whoa, wasn't there oppression at--in the
United States?
[ Laughter ]
>> Well, after all?
You can't pretend that there was never such
as a thing as oppression in the United States.
And you walked your way out of it.
I think people have to work their way out
of situations like that.
What's--one point of inhuman if we are prepared
to stay in a pit forever, we've got to climb
out and I believe that the human beings do
have the ability to climb out of these pits
of hatred and resentment and anger and intolerance.
We have to learn to do that.
And I think one of the ways in which we learn
is through the example of others who can prove
that tolerance is better than intolerance,
that freedom is better than oppression.
This is why free countries and free people
have a lot of responsibility.
As I said earlier right and responsibilities
go together.
You're enjoying all the rights of democracy
have to pay its responsibility as well.
You have to make people understand not being
patronized, not by being arrogant but with
[inaudible] that you can get rid of oppression,
you can get rid of anger and resentment and
intolerance and build better lives for yourself
and further surround you.
>> Thank you.
[ Applause ]
>> What steps of progress toward democracy
in Burma do you anticipate in the next few
years and how do you see yourself being involved
in that?
>> First of all of course we refer to gain
the release of all the political prisoners.
[Applause].
You cannot call yourself a democracy unless
there are no political prisoners.
Unless a country is freed from prisoners of
conscience, it's not a really free country.
So, this is one of the things we have to work
towards.
But there's another more important in the
long run, more important work for all of us
and that is peace.
And we talked about this earlier, peace between
all the ethnic national [inaudible], we've
got to achieve that.
There can be no democracy without genuine
peace and no genuine peace without democracy,
these two go together.
And for me this is the most important thing
that we've got to work towards in the next
one, two years, to establish a genuine union
in Burma.
We want all our ethnic nationals to be at
peace with one another and to build our new
nation to get unless we are all together in
this we won't succeed.
>> Thank you.
[ Applause ]
>> What advice would you give to young people
who would--who aren't happy with and would
like to change the current social and political
systems and placing your country or in any
country?
>> First, I think you've got to ask yourself
what it is you're unhappy about.
It's easy to be unhappy but it's more difficult
to rarely find out what it is you're unhappy
about.
And once you know what it is you're unhappy
about then you've got to stop trying to change
it provided it's not an entirely selfish reason
such as not--not getting the biggest ice cream
cone you can get and so on if you're a child.
But you've got to understand why you're unhappy.
And 
by resolving your own unhappiness, are you
going to be helping others as well?
I think that's important.
I don't think you should see your unhappiness
apart from other peoples lives, we are all
connected to one another and young people,
young people are so lucky because they've
got so much time ahead of them.
I said earlier that when I was under house
arrest, I use to think of my place as a student
and used to--and would me happy because we
were so full of--and we were so full of confidence,
there was life open up ahead of us.
And I would like you to see it like that,
there is all of you that I had to do in which
you can do so much to make our world a better
place to live in.
>> So if you're unhappy, find out what is
that is making you unhappy and [inaudible]
do some [inaudible], don't just sit there,
you won't get anywhere just by sitting there.
>> Thank you very much.
[ Applause ]
>> Well, unfortunately this is the final question.
But I didn't--very often, when you're under
house arrest, you are known as the world's
most famous political prisoner and celebrity
is sometimes a great thing but celebrity can
also sometimes be a burden.
And I wanted to ask you generally how you
deal with your celebrity on whether you see
it as a burden, an asset or something else.
And them more specifically, I know that there's
a Hollywood movie about you coming out later
this year so could you comment about that?
Thank you.
>> Well first of all, I never thought of my
self as a celebrity, that's rather an embarrassing
sort of word isn't it?
[ Laughter ]
>> I worry a little about the politics of
celebrity, that I have to say, I think there
is--there could be too much of that.
And I think that could make you lose track
of what is really important.
So celebrity is a dangerous thing and its
best not to think about it too much.
Now with regards to the--with regards to yourself
I mean and when you consider celebrities then
I think you should try to learn as much as
you can from them, the dangers of the celebrity
involves, of course there are advantages,
I don't deny that because people knew me well,
I was protected.
This is why I say that the real heroes of
our movement are the--totally unknown people.
The ones who have worked very hard and to
go to prison, whose names are never mentioned
in any speech by any statesman who never received
any prizes and who'd probably never received
any prizes in the future.
But who are still satisfied with what they
have done because they have done something
in which they believe.
These are the real heroes of our movement.
And when I think about them, this very makes
me feel very, very humble indeed that a celebrity
is really far less of a hero than somebody
who is totally unknown soldier of our cause.
And with regard to that film, I find it a
little embarrassing, I have to confess that
I don't like the ideas of films made about
me.
I don't know what's in it, let me say that
I've met Luc Besson and his wife, I like them
very much as people but I'm not terribly keen
on watching a film, perhaps I never will.
And I would just like to say this is a particular
vision of who I am and what I went through,
it's not necessary an accurate reflection
of what I am and what I had to go through.
>> Thank you again.
[ Applause ]
>> Daw Suu, thank you very much.
On behalf of the University of Michigan's
Wallenberg Committee and the Rackham Graduate
School, we would like to thank you for joining
us and our best wishes go to you.
Thank you.
[ Applause ]
[ Inaudible Remark ]
>> I would also like to thank you before you
break up the--I like to thank the extraordinarily
dedicated staff who set up this around the
world conversation, this includes the professionals
who enabled us to have this lecture this evening
and the amazing technical crew both in Rangoon
and here in Ann Arbor who managed to set up
this impossibly complicated conversation.
[ Applause ]
>> you should know that this event is being
carried by both the Voice of America and Radio
Free Asia and it will be available--[applause].
And it will be available very, very soon on
the University's website.
And I also would like to thank our students,
Andrea, Tyler, Dominic, and Sarah again.
[Applause].
And we mustn't' forget our American Sign Language
Translators Christine Saunders [phonetic]
and Krista Moran [phonetic].
[ Applause ]
>> Please join us in the lobby for some light
refreshments.
Thank you very much.
[ Silence ]
