Part 2: Section 8 Summary

This section comes from an open letter titled "The Formation of a People's Committee"—signed jointly by Aung San Suu Kyi and several other leading political figures, dated August 15, 1988. Although the government refused to discuss the document, it did briefly form a commission "to ascertain the aspirations of the people." The initiative itself was written by Aung San Suu Kyi (who prepared the English translation herself). The format is a 13-point bulleted list: (1) People should act in accord with the laws of the country, and the government should respond to the people's lawful aspirations; (2) At an emergency meeting of the Burma Socialist Programme Party (BSPP) on July 23, 1988, Party Chairman Ne Win said he believed the bloodshed and disturbances in March and June could be interpreted to mean that people lacked confidence in the government and the single party behind it...