A letter to dear Ma Suu
Dear Ma Suu
Don’t be angry with me for calling you Ma Suu. You are younger than me. I am a retired government senior official. I am still serving at a certain institution in the country to the best of my intellectual and physical ability.
I trust you have also heard about the unruly activities of NLD members holding prayer services at pagodas for your freedom. Some patriotic youths who could not tolerate such disturbing acts came in groups wearing T-shirts portraying the picture of you and your late husband Michael Aris. Some of them responding to the acts of NLDs of their own volition. They also wore T-shirts portraying the picture of you together with your two sons. You were only 27 years then.
Today’s youths have unyielding spirit and the spirit to love the race and nation and deep reverence for the religion. I hope you may know this. Their thoughts are advancing in this age of globalization. As you know, we are now in the age of Internet and E-mail. So, youths have much general knowledge and wider vision. They are watching the daily incidents in Afghanistan and Iraq. They are discussing Israel-Palestine problem. They download the world affairs including the news of Iran, North Korea and Africa.
You should not misjudge them. They are today’s youths. They are also watching Myanmar affairs. They know what is happening in Myanmar. They also listen to VOA, BBC, RFA and DVB. But those radio stations cannot trick them. They are intelligent and rational. They know the actual reason behind all those activities of NLDs — white campaign, letter campaign, Tuesday prayers at the Shwedagon and other pagodas for your freedom and White Sunday campaign to visit families of law breakers serving prison terms. They know that all those activities are being launched without goodwill. Those activities can be carried out peacefully. Youths know that committing the act only on Sundays in groups is not sincere. The perpetrators in reality are trying to cause unrest in the wards that are always peaceful. If the perpetrators have the real goodwill they should visit those families every day instead of going to them once. Do they really need to go in groups? It is sure that those perpetrators have no goodwill. Ma Suu, it is crystal clear that they are trying to make political gains and to cause disturbances.
The government has placed restriction order on you in your own house for four years. You can stay peacefully at your own house. You have nothing to worry. You have been receiving cent per cent health care services. You can practice vipassana. We both are now over 60-year-olds. You as a Buddhist may have belief in the law of Karma. Every action has its own reaction. You reap what you sow. You are under the command of your deeds of your previous existences. Your future existence will depend on what you do in this life. You should try to free yourselves from the Samsara (the cycle of rebirths) through practicing Bhavana throughout your remaining life.
Please do not think that I am lecturing you. I assume that ours is the only country in the world that keeps one harmful to national peace and stability in one’s own house. Most countries take severe action against such persons. You are permitted to stay in your own house under restriction order because our country has the teachings of the Buddha and the officials have sympathy and compassion. Even if other countries have such practice, we will excel in offering privileges and showing sympathy and consideration.
I would say you know who shouted in a rowdy way and incited mass protests in the places wherever you were. Among the people, some are in protest against and some are in support of you, and there may be a small or large gap between the numbers of your protesters and your supporters. However, I am sure you notice there is a growing number of people who dislike stirring up troubles and placing too much reliance on external elements in the activities. The Dabayin affairs was largely due to such activities, wasn’t it? If you had not gone there and given anti-government talks to gather a crowd, there would not have been the incident. It would be all right if you held talks with your party only at your office. I wonder why you did so. It was the result of your activities.
You know who are inciting mass protests in our country. They are a handful of people. The government is magnanimous and far-sighted. There will not be such problems any longer if the government arrests and jails all of them. Nonetheless, it is detaining just a few people who posed grave dangers. It is to your knowledge that the government shows benevolent attitude and ignores the cases that are not serious. You think over whether the government has done irresponsible activities such as it did not care anything and arrested all people who had violated the law and disrupted stability, peace and development of the nation.
Now, it is implementing a variety of development projects. And the representatives of various national races are holding discussions at the National Convention the government is convening. Who prevented your members from attending it, and drove them out of it? In reality, they walked out of the National Convention of their own accord.
The government is unremittingly striving in all sectors for transforming the nation into a discipline-flourishing democratic one. I wonder why you are desirous of creating public outrage to disrupt the drive, why you and your members stick to negative attitude to and fail to participate in the nation-building tasks. Your father is the national leader and the father of the Tatmadaw and it is undeniable. Nevertheless, you failed to preserve own lineage and married to a foreigner and gave births to Anglo-Myanmar sons to disgrace your father and harm his image. If your father were still alive, he would be heartrending for your choice of the life-long partner. The entire people were with a broken heart when they heard of your marriage.
By the way, I would like to recount the experiences. I think you still remember that. It was in 1972. At that time, I was in an arid region on duty. On 1 January 1972, you and your spouse Michael Aris were on your honeymoon. You left Yangon to Taungdwingyi by train and then to Natmauk. Then, you had to proceed to Bagan-NyaungU. At that time, there was no railroad to Bagan-NyaungU from Natmauk. So, you asked the then division level officer for help. In that regard, the division assigned duty to the district, and the responsibility was mine. At that time, I was provided with a Land Rover for my convenience in making field trips by an international organization. The division level officer instructed me to send it with a driver and petrol filled up to you.
Have sympathy for me, please. How could I be in the mood for making arrangements for your convenience with the automobile provided just for the nation? I was very sorry and moved to see your conditions. I submitted my personal feelings to the division level officer and declined to provide you the car. My superiors were equipped with patriotic spirit and they did not turn down my proposal. Then I made a trip to another township. I was downhearted, and had to ignore how you got to your destination. It was due to my patriotic spirit.
