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• Daw Aung San Suu Kyi • Dr.Sein Win • Others Printable Version

On behalf of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Dr. Sein Win, Prime Minister of the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma, receives the Nelson Mandela Human Rights Award in Toronto on 9 December 2000

Daw Suu Wins Canada's Nelson Mandela Rights Award

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi became the first recipient of the Nelson Mandela Human Rights Award conferred by the Canadian Auto Workers Union.

She accepted the award via a videotaped message, recorded in secret in her house while under military scrutiny.

The Toronto Star reporting the event which took place in Toronto on 10 December said, "Though Daw Aung San Suu Kyi speaks perfect English, her video message was dubbed over, because the speech was hastily recorded and the tape smuggled into Canada."

The 1991 Nobel Peace Prize winner "is happy and upbeat, looking much younger than her 55 years."

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of the National League for Democracy (NLD), which won the 1990 elections but never allowed to take office, recorded the acceptance speech some two months ago, when she found out she would be the first recipient of the Canadian Auto Workers Union's Nelson Mandela Human Rights Award.

Receiving the award on her behalf, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's cousin, Dr. Sein Win, prime minister of the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma, said the Burmese military government has survived largely because of a lack of concrete action by other nations.

"If the international community ... almost every democratic nation, were to work together, the military could not stand in this age.... We call on all parliamentarians to support our cause.''

The military dictatorship has until today refused to honor the election results. Members of the National League for Democracy party are being persecuted by the military. The military junta is notorious for its forced labor and human rights abuses, where ownership of a fax machine or modem is a crime punishable by 15 years in prison.

The International Labour Organization, a United Nations body made up of governments, employers and unions, passed a resolution Nov. 27 calling on Burma to end its "widespread and systemic'' use of forced labour. The resolution compels member countries - Canada included - to "cease as soon as possible any activity that could have an effect of directly or indirectly abetting the practise of forced labour.''

"It is the kind of action crucial for eventual democracy in Burma," Dr. Sein Win said.