Leader of Burma’s democratic movement. Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has devoted her life to the freedom of the Burmese people. For peacefully advocating a nonviolent struggle over a military dictatorship, she won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991. The repressive government of Burma has kept her in detention for much of the time since 1989. She still won’t give up. With a crowd of 500,000 watching her, Aung San Suu Kyi seized the microphone. She was just a housewife. She had never held political office. All she wanted was freedom—true democracy—for her beloved country of Burma. Her plan? That was the surprise. She stuck to one principle: nonviolent demonstration. The brutal Burmese leaders reacted by killing hundreds and crushing the pro-democracy rallies. Suu Kyi’s response was the same. Peace. They placed her under house arrest without charges or a trial. When her pro-democracy party won the first Burmese elections held in thirty years, making her the rightful prime minister, the junta ignored the results.
